How To Hire (And Retain) Great People

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

As I speak with business owners and hiring managers, one of the most common laments is, “I’m having trouble finding and keeping great people.”

We are currently in a time when unemployment is at a decade low, various visa programs to admit foreign talent remain tight and some demographics of the U.S. population are particularly challenging. When it comes to age, the pool of talent for many businesses resides in the smallest population cohort.

But beyond that, we’re trying to hire for “fit” — and it’s not working.

When I entered recruiting, it didn’t take long to figure out that both job hunters and employers would misrepresent themselves to one another.

Job hunters have been trained to behave a certain way with people who are in positions of authority from the time they are in school to the time they walk into your office or business.

On the other hand, very few employers ever confess to a job hunter that they are stepping into a minefield. After all, no one ever says, “I’ve just been moved into this role. My predecessor was fired, and her predecessor was fired. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what my fate will be if I can’t turn this thing around!” Instead, every job is said to be “a wonderful opportunity” with “a terrific team of people” and “great advancement opportunities.”

Is it any wonder that people become annoyed or angry to discover you withheld critical information from them?

Hiring people who care and giving them complete information about what they are stepping into goes a long way when correcting your staffing issues.

The question is: how do you find these people and reject the others?

Here’s what you can do to improve your odds of recruiting and retaining great people.

1. Prioritize those who care about doing a good job.

As I sat in a restaurant one day, I noticed two employees who were friendly to customers and noticed and handled details in a way that seemed natural and smooth. These are usually the people who are taken for granted while managers and business owners try to “fix” poor performers.