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Are You Hiring the Right Personalities?

Tristan Anwyn

January 29, 2015

Hiring new employees can be an exciting time, an opportunity to find the right people to help your small business grow the way you want it to.

It can also be nerve wracking - after all, you trust your employees with the day to day running of your company. That's why finding the right personalities matters.

Personality Can't Be Taught

It can be all too easy to focus on finding the candidate with the right skills, while overlooking personality. Of course skills are important, but here's the rub: New skills can be taught, but personality can't.

As the article "How Your Personality and Career Path Can Influence Each Other" points out, personality can affect key things like how a person responds to pressure, which as a business owner, you need to know.

Employees who have the right personality for your business are more likely to:

• Respect and value your company;
• Be motivated at work;
• Help to create a positive atmosphere;
• Fit in well with your team;
• Be more productive.

An employee who is a good fit will be a happier employee, which is good news for both of you.

So just what should you a small business owner be looking for in their potential employees? And how can you make sure you find what you need?

One Size Doesn't Fit All

The better you understand your culture, the easier it will be to find employees who are a good fit for it.

Take a look at how your small business does things and what works best. Think about:

• The kinds of people who have done well in your business before. How would you describe them?
• How you run things on a day to day basis. Formal or casual? Collaborative?
• What your meetings and daily communications are like. Are meetings fun and collaborative, or more serious? Do you have an open door policy?

Don't forget to take into account the specifics of the role you're hiring for, too.

For example, if you want a strong leader, a deep-thinking introvert may not fit.

On the other hand, if you're looking for someone who can carry out their tasks without much input, a go-getting extrovert may not be the hire for you.

Make the Interview Count

The interview is your best chance to assess each candidate's personality, so it's vital that you make it count.

Here are some tips to make sure your interview helps you to dig a little deeper:

• Pay close attention to how they respond to social cues. Consider whether they make good eye contact, and how they elaborate on answers;
• Ask other employees who had the chance to interact with them how that went. Zappos famously check out how candidates treat their company shuttle bus driver, and it's a good idea. Find out how they interact when they're not being directly assessed and you'll get a clearer idea of who they really are;
• Ask the right questions. Choose questions that require a longer answer, and that give them the chance to elaborate on their thought processes, ambitions, or how they handle problems;
• Vary your interview technique. Don't be afraid to try out group collaboration exercises, practical tests, or even quirkier ideas such as creative tasks so you can really see them in action;
• Be honest. To find the right person for your business, you need to be honest with them about your company culture and what will be expected of them.

Hiring the right personalities is your ticket to helping your small business grow strong.

Be honest with yourself and your potential employees, so you can find people who will thrive in your team.

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