It’s no secret good talent is one of your company’s biggest assets.
In Hire the Best Candidate, the One You Can’t Afford, Rubicon Project founder and CEO Frank Addante shares lessons based on his experience.
“One rule that has served me well is to focus on hiring the absolutely best people I can find, rather than many average ones.”
This applies for any industry, but is particularly suited to accounting and finance hires.
He gives five reasons for for hiring the best people:
1. Great people attract great people.
2. Great people increase your team productivity.
3. Great people magnify your horsepower.
4. A strong team lowers overhead (quality over quantity).
5. A strong team lowers incremental and per employee costs.
Then, what’s the secret to finding that great hire? How can you identify that person?
Let’s assume your pool of candidates all meet, or exceed, the qualifications. They are in the second or third round of interviewing and so far have met all the criteria.
Dr. Ronald Riggio offers these tips to Learn the Right Way to Interview Job Candidates:
- One-on-one interviews are the most expensive way to hire. Avoid them if possible and use a panel.
- When you do interview, make sure your questions are systematic and structured.
- Keep the same questions the same for all candidates so you can compare easily.
- Ask questions that dig deeper in the information already available on the resume.
- In the end it’s about personal judgement. Make sure more than one interviewer is involved to ensure greater reliability.
- Avoid making snap judgements about people in the first few minutes of the interview.
As the Great Recession becomes a part of the past, and organizations begin to hire more, good hiring will become more and more important. It is critical to get hiring for accounting and finance positions right. The cost of a bad hire is high in terms of team morale and training costs. Taking the time to fill the positions with the right people rather than settling for the best available candidate will pay off in the long-run.
This article originally appeared on Clear Focus Financial Search.