BusinessTN

Hiring new employees is all in a day’s work for most business owners, but for a small business with only a handful of employees, the addition of someone new can radically alter group dynamics and affect the overall productivity of the office. It’s critical, then, that when interviewing a prospective employee, small business owners are fully equipped to choose the right person for the job.

"The best person for the job isn’t always the person that you immediately like,” says Denise Gore, president and owner of Nashville-based outsourcing company OffSite Works. It’s easy to get off-topic when conducting an interview, and employers often let emotions get in the way of selecting the best candidate, Gore says. Just because the person shares a similar background or favorite sport does not mean that he or she will necessarily complement the business. It’s easy to lose focus during an interview, especially when the candidate seems nice and interested in the discussion.

One way to stay focused is to develop an outline of questions to ask. When formulating the questionnaire, it’s best that the questions methodically reflect the aspects of the job description, Gore says. It’s also important that you ask each candidate the same questions, she says. “That way, when you sit down to compare all of the potential candidates, you’ll be able to truly assay which person would be best for the job.”

Sometimes it helps to have more than one person conducting the interview. Even if you’re running a really small business and you don’t have the manpower to have a full hiring committee, you always can enlist the help of an advisor or mentor who can help you gauge whether or not a particular person is suitable. The presence of a third person often can help keep the interview from going off-track.

Be sure to ask open-ended questions, recommends Barbara Cragg, a human resource consultant in Nashville. “Some questions do require a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer," Cragg says. "But try as much as possible to ask questions that allow the candidate to open up and reveal as much as possible. Saying: ‘I see you became a manager in your last job after only five months with the company, tell me about that,’ will garner more information about the candidates’ past experiences, and the manner in which they answer may provide some insight into the person’s psyche as well.”

Another way to make an interview more effective is to ask the most critical, hard-hitting questions first, Gore says. If those critical questions aren’t answered in a way that’s acceptable, you can end the interview sooner and avoid wasting time. For example, if a small business is looking to hire someone for a leadership position that involves a lot of group interaction, it might not be wise to invest time in an extended interview only to discover at the end that the person is someone who prefers to work alone.

Of course, it’s possible to avoid such instances completely with the use of a short phone interview before the candidate comes in to interview face-to-face. OffSite Works puts all of its potential employees through this type of interview to screen out people who might be misinformed about the specifics of the position. “There are specific things we need to know candidates can do before they even come in to interview,” Gore says. “We need them to understand exactly what positions they are interviewing for.” During the phone interview, small business owners can make sure that the candidate is familiar with the job description and possesses any special certifications or special skills needed for the position and discuss the level of time commitment that is needed. That short phone interview can act as a screening process, weeding out candidates before they even sit down for the in-person interview.

Another technique that’s becoming increasingly popular is the use of computer-based personality and behavioral tests. Whether they’re administered for free online or by private companies, these tests are being used by companies to determine whether someone is right for the job. “Finding someone whose personality and behavior best fit into an office team already in place could make a big difference—and the things that those tests reveal aren’t always brought to light within the context of a face-to-face interview,” says Brent Ballow, a partner at consulting firm Avant Resources.

Whatever the method, choosing the best candidate for a job is a process that small businesses shouldn’t take lightly. “Hiring and firing people can be a significant cost and major disruption to a small business’ operations,” Gore says. “You might as well do it right the first time.”