Over 66{938cd9e8dae860e800efc538277d4f7684e6f6981618ba70d1c34357a53c2e1f} of businesses believe it is “very difficult” to find qualified employees. Only 6{938cd9e8dae860e800efc538277d4f7684e6f6981618ba70d1c34357a53c2e1f} claimed to have “no problem”. “What can I do to find quality employees?” you ask. That’s where we come in! After doing extensive research, we found there are a number of things you can do to find quality employees and determine if they will “fit” in your company culture. Read on for more.

Where Quality Employees Look for Jobs

I think it’s safe to say we all wish there was a magical place all quality employees go! Unfortunately sometimes we do have to dig a little. Here are a few places to find quality employees:

• Other Quality Employees: People tend to associate with similar people. If you have a particularly hard-working employee, chances are they know other hard workers. Give your employees an incentive to recruit other professionals.
• Career Websites: People that are more technically-oriented tend to look online. Make sure your job description is well-written to attract professional applicants. Some job seekers will skip right over your job description if it doesn’t look credible. Helpful Tip: Use the search engines to see what websites are listed in the top 3 with job listings for your industry. Now you know what websites professionals in your area will be checking out.
• Other Professional Businesses: There’s nothing wrong with observing an employee on the job and offering them a position in your company. Realize you’ll have to offer them something better in order to get them to switch jobs!
• Professional Service Organizations: Networking is by far the best way to recruit quality employees. Use your contacts to find out if there are professionals in your area that are currently looking for work.
• Advertise on Your Service Trucks: Have magnetic signs created that you can add to your service trucks any time you have a position available. This is an easy and fast way to reach a lot of people. Plus the signs are reusable!
• Post the Position on Your Website: Many companies leave open positions on their website all year long. This way they are constantly recruiting new talent.

Congratulations! You’ve found quality people. Now how do you determine who’s the best fit for your business?

Hire Mr. or Ms. Right

In your lifetime you’ll spend more time at work than at home. You often spend years choosing a spouse. Don’t be afraid to be picky in choosing the next technician you work with. Shake up the interviews you do at your office in order to find out who that person you’re interviewing really is. Do the “stuffy” office interview for the first time around. However, once they pass that initial interview, conduct a few tests to get a taste of their personality.

• Unorthodox Questions: See how they react when your throw in a question that seems a little off the wall. One of my favorites is “If you were a kitchen utensil, what would you be?” Notice their body language when you ask. If they get nervous, they may not do well under pressure. If they laugh and give you an answer you can see that they aren’t easily thrown off.
• Personality Test: However, if you don’t have time for a company-wide game or drive, conduct a personality test. There are many personality tests you can purchase online to find out who your job candidate is.
• Stressful Task: Drum up one of the most stressful situations you’ve had to deal with on the job. Ask your interviewee to describe in detail how they would handle things. This will give you a lot of insight into their personality.

Be creative and do your best to break past your interviewees “best behavior” facade. Find out who this person really is before making a decision to accept them into your company.