“A great team is one of the best assets a business owner or operator can invest in” (Sugars, 2006). In his book, Instant Teambuilding, Brad Sugars the CEO and Founder of ActionCOACH details some keys to finding and keeping great team members. In today’s business climate, finding talent is not only imperative to ongoing success, but it is also a scarcity that all business owners must plan for.

Recruiting the right candidate in an employ-rich market might seem easy, but the affects of the pandemic are still being felt. Since candidates have more options and more leverage than ever before, business owners are scrambling to fill a mounting number of open positions. More resignations than ever before have left businesses with too many positions and not enough qualified applicants. It seems counter intuitive, but employees have figured out they have options and are no longer settling for the first offer. To complicate things even more, recent surveys show many defections after hiring. “According to the executives who participated in (2021) Futurestep’s survey, 10 to 25 percent of their new hires leave the company within six months of being hired” (Korn Ferry Futurestep Survey: 90 Percent of Executives Say New Hire Retention an Issue (recruitmentbuzz.co.uk)).

To combat this flood of employment openings, business owners need to think ahead, and forecast needs just as they forecast goods and supplies. Business owners need a system for vetting and attracting qualified candidates. It is critical.

Sugars details four specific steps to creating a recruiting system for your organization in Instant Teambuilding. Advertising, Callbacks, Interview, and Decision and Follow-up. Keep in mind that every step along the way gives candidates a glimpse of your business and its culture, so make sure your process reflects the best your organization has to offer.

Before you draft any job advertising, consider these questions.

Who is it you want to employ? What skills and characteristics do you want them to have? What other attributes would you like them to have? Too often, employers don’t entice applicants to apply because they don’t reflect the culture of the business.

Many recruiters focus on the generic skills, past education and experience; forgetting to tap into the ‘heart and spirit’ of the desired candidates. “Skills can always be learned, improved upon, or acquired, but passion, personality and heart are the things that will give any team a winning edge” (Sugars, 2006).

Targeting your ad properly is key, but there are several other elements to keep in mind when crafting a recruitment advertising.

  • Be specific.
  • Be exciting.
  • Focus on the benefits of the job.
  • Write as you speak.
  • Write in the present tense.
  • Keep it simple.
  • Follow the AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) formula
  • Be credible.
  • Create a strong headline and consider including a question.
  • Include an element to pique curiosity.
  • Use words that readers relate too. Avoid industry jargon unless your target is familiar.
  • Get to the point quickly.
  • Keep sentences short.
  • Include a Call To Action and contact details.

Once you have your ads completed, post them on multiple platforms and ensure you announce your openings on social media. Get your current employees to repost and share the ads as well. This gives your ad a higher chance of being seen by the right candidate and provide endorsements, if you will, from your current team members.

Once applications start coming in, a business owner must have a system to vet and invite applicants to the next steps of the process. Phone vetting is critical. The member of your team handling calls to and from the candidate selected for the next steps should have script and a clear understanding of what kind of candidate you are looking for. Energy and enthusiasm are the key.

Once the candidate has been scheduled for an interview, the next stage of process can begin.

ActionCOACH offers a systematic and comprehensive approach. It is a ‘self-selection’ or deselection process which includes a group interview and applicant questionnaires, that gets the entire your team involved. The process is outlined in depth in Sugars’ Instant Teambuilding. Whichever process you implement, keep it consistent with every candidate.

Here are some tips when vetting resumes:

  • Look for consistent grammar and spelling.
  • Does the resume include actual description of the work or skills required?
  • Does the applicant offer non-job-related insight?
  • Look for what the candidate leaves out of the resume (as much as what they put in).

Here are some great questions to ask during your interview process. Have each member of the team ask a question, and have each of the candidates share their answers.

  1. What sort of jobs have you applied for and why?
  2. What are you looking for in a job? Why?
  3. What do you want to achieve in life?
  4. How do see (insert organization’s name) helping you get there?
  5. What is one thing that made you apply for this position?
  6. What do you think the job is all about?

Using an interview evaluation checklist, ask the team to rate the candidate from 0-10 on the following attributes:

  • Responsiveness
  • Attentiveness
  • Positivity
  • Happiness
  • Neatness (Appearance)
  • Commitment
  • Common Sense
  • Practical Ability
  • Honesty

Also ensure you focus on strengths and weakness as part of your evaluation.

Ultimately, the process you create for recruiting the best team must be organic and authentic to your organization. Research different approaches and develop a system that can be replicated. Don’t wing it. Adding team members is a monumental and expensive proposition. If you settle for a mediocre process, chances are you will get a mediocre candidate pool.