Why Small Business Owners Make Bad Hiring Decisions

Why Small Business Owners Make Bad Hiring Decisions
By Minesh Baxi

If you are a small business owner, quite often you are the only person who is making the hiring decisions. It is up to you to define job descriptions, collect resumes, interview and then decide who will be the best fit for the positions you need filled.

Obviously, all of this is over and above the daily requirements that you face to gain clients, manage the resources and make sure you are profitable. Doesn't it sound like a daunting task?

You have to be superhuman!

Quite often hiring comes across as an activity that does not need as much attention as possibly, courting a new client. With the never-ending list of things to be done, it is understandable as well.

Here are 5 reasons why small business owners fail to make good hiring decisions:

Lack of time: The business owner is swamped as discussed above and is unable to take the time to make sure that he is making the best hiring decision.


Needs a body right now: Typically a small business owner does not have enough back-up staff to handles tasks within the organization if an employee leaves. This creates a crisis and the employer is forced to make decisions too quickly. As you know - haste makes waste.


Too emotionally close to the decision: Due to lack of enough people to help make a hiring decision, the employer is the key decision maker and maybe, the only decision maker. Unfortunately this puts the employer too close to the candidate and the process of hiring. Hence the employer may make decisions which are more based on emotion than information.


No formal training in hiring: Hiring seems to be almost like an additional, unwanted and unimportant task which befalls a manager. So very few employers go through enough training to understand the intricacies of hiring.


Lack of funds: The employer is usually working with a limited budget and sacrifices getting hiring support from a consultant, background checks, use of assessments and proper legal counsel and ends up hiring a candidate that may have shown up as a problem employee if a more detailed investigation had taken place.
About the Author: Minesh Baxi is the co-author of "Stop Hiring Losers" and you can download free one hour audio overview of the book at http://www.StopHiringLosers.com

According to the Dalai Lama . . .

My page-a-day calendar, "Insight from the Dalai Lama", offers really good advice for last Tuesday:
Follow the three R's:
Respect for self
Respect for others
Responsibility for all your actions.
I think that says it all . . .

Hope and Faith

I had an interesting conversation this morning with a young man who used to work for us. He thanked me, initially, for believing in him; in placing him in a position, we gave him hope. He said that our finding him a position made him look at things a little differently; for the first time in a long time, he saw that people do care about others, and that he now had a way he could start to take care of his family again.
Then, he told me that he was downsized from his position last Friday and I couldn’t help but feel the devastation in his voice. He had spent the better part of the past year paying off bills, saving a little money, taking care of some personal issues, and preparing for his family’s future; and now this, effective immediately. Get your things and you’re done; leave now. What a terrible way to end something that you thought was so good? I understand the ‘safety and security’ reasoning behind it, don’t get me wrong, but where is the humanity in treating your employees like that?!?
I had no words of wisdom to offer; I don’t think he was looking for that. All I did for him was listen to his story and let him know I would do what I could to help him out. I tried to offer hope, but ‘hope’ won’t pay his bills right now. It could, however, help make things a little easier.
I’ve been working on (and off) this entry all day and have not come up with a good story or anecdote on how to lessen his pain, nor do I have a solution or resolution for him. I’ll still try to find him another position; I gave him my word I would do what I could for him. But, if I don’t find a position for him, I do hope he finds solid ground to land on. I know he will do well. He’s motivated, honest and hardworking. He knows who he is; he’ll continue to be true to himself. Maybe at the end of the day, that is what it is all about.

'Dear Abby' on dress code

An interesting letter to 'Dear Abby', I hope she doesn't mind me posting it here!

Dear Abby,
I work for a large multinational company, and I am often shocked at the way people dress. Although there are clear business/casual guidelines, these lines are crossed by men and women alike. Talks behind closed doors have no effect. Sending out the corporate dress code to the staff has yielded no change in behavior.

I finally consulted the HR department and came up with an approved solution. The dress code was again sent out to all employees in my department, with the warning that the next violation would mean being sent home and deducting the time as a vacation day.

Sure enough, "Disco Dolly" showed up in a sheer, low-cut, sleeveless blouse with a micro-mini skirt and strappy sandals. When I sent her home, she complained that she was saving her vacation days. I told her she had violated the company's dress code -- again.

I also pointed out that her chances of promotion were now compromised thanks to the demonstration she had given that following simple instructions was beyond her capabilities. If you want to be regarded as a serious professional, dress like one! Some "suggestions":

1. DRESS FOR SUCCESS, not sex. Women should not dress like streetwalkers. Leave the sexy, short, filmy dresses, cleavage-baring blouses and spaghetti straps for your personal life. This is an office, not a cocktail party.

2. COVER UP. No sandals or designer flip-flops. We don't want to see your pedicure, your toe rings, the crust on your heels, or smell your feet.

3. MAKE IT FIT. Anything that hugs the body too tightly is not right for the office. We have a woman working here who looks like a sausage stuffed in a floral polyester casing. It's hard to take her seriously. The same goes for a man whose pants are so tight that you can tell his religion. Ditto for pants that are so loose and low-slung you can see his underwear or her thong.

4. DON'T POLLUTE. By this I mean go easy on the fragrance. Some people have breathing problems and allergies. Do not pollute the office with a scent that arrives 10 minutes before you do and lingers hours after you've gone. This applies to men as well as women.

5. BATHE. There seems to be a new "natural" cult popping up whose adherents believe that washing removes vital oils from the skin and should be avoided. This phenomenon is more often, but not always, a male habit. Anyone in close contact with others should bathe or shower DAILY. -- TRYING TO RUN A BUSINESS IN FLORIDA

DEAR TRYING: I'm willing to wager that your letter will be posted on millions of bulletin boards in the business world. Your "suggestions" make good sense. While many companies allow employees to dress down on "casual Fridays," any business that wants the people it hires to be taken seriously should impress upon them that they must present themselves in a professional manner. Some companies do this in the form of an employee manual that lays it out in black and white. Because your directive was ignored, you were right to let "Disco Dolly" know there would be a penalty for noncompliance.

It's not what you know or who you know, it's who knows you

It used to be such a common saying; "It's not what you know, but who you know". In today's ever-changing marketplace, we have to add "it's who knows you' to make that statement legitimate.
True, most say you get your next job through referrals. To a point, anyway. Just because you know, or are thinking about someone, doesn't mean they are thinking about you.
When looking for a new position, it is important that YOU come to mind first for the person who will be hiring. When working with a staffing company, or several of them, it's important to stay in touch ON A REGULAR BASIS with your recruiter. Just because you met once doesn't mean you are guaranteed a job. It may take some time and the more you stay in touch with your recruiter; the more your recruiter gets to know you, the more likely they will be able to find a position for you. The better your recruiter knows you, the easier it will be to place you. That is the key in developing a successful relationship with a staffing company.
Discuss with your recruiter(s) how often to make contact. And then stick to the plan! Make sure you come to mind first with your recruiters; it could make all the difference!