How I Ensure That All My New Hires Are Top Notch

By Phara McLachlan, CEO, Animus Solutions, Tampa, Fla.
When I started my management and IT consulting company Animus in 2004, I had no employees. I hired independent contractors to handle any work I couldn't take on myself. But as the company began to grow, I realized that if I wanted to maintain control over the quality of our work, I would need to start hiring.

Finding good workers was much harder than I anticipated. Many candidates with great resumés and recommendations couldn't do the work they said they could do. Project managers weren't completing projects on time; sales people weren't making any sales. I was wasting all my energy picking up the slack and didn't have time to focus on developing my business.

Here's how restructuring our interview process and making a key, though unconventional, hire completely turned the situation around.

I changed my interview process
At the end of 2008, I designed a much more thorough interview process. Previously, I had interviewed all job applicants myself. Now candidates interview with a human resources representative, the COO, a consultant in professional services and someone in marketing before I speak with them.

The new process is advantageous for a few reasons. It means that applicants are asked to demonstrate their knowledge and abilities in multiple spheres. At a small company like Animus, it's important that employees are able to wear multiple hats, even if they specialize in one area. It also means that we rely less on resumés and more on human-to-human conversations. If we spend enough time with candidates, the points that they exaggerated on their resumés reveal themselves.

When I interview candidates now, I am free to focus on big-picture questions like what their long-term career goals are, if they plan on staying with the company, if they're willing to travel, and if they can be flexible in the type of work they do for us.

Putting some distance between new job applicants and myself also sets the right tone both for the applicant and for my current employees. This way, I am treated more like the boss, instead of another employee who can pick up the slack.

I hired a life coach
At the same time, I created an unconventional new staff position that's made a huge impact on the company as a whole. Hiring a life coach, Debbie Lundberg, not only improved the hiring process, but also increased the productivity of current employees and helped calm tension around the office. I met Debbie at a Greater Tampa Bay Chamber of Congress Orientation and she gave me such good advice about a current miscommunication I was having with an employee, that I decided to hire her.

When Debbie came to the company, she designed a personality test for job applicants. It's turned out to be very helpful in revealing, for example, whether an employee will need a lot of feedback and support, or if she simply needs the tools to get the job done. The test helps us determine whether the employee will work better as part of a team or alone, and what types of roles she is suited for. It also tells us if someone simply isn't a good fit for our organization.

Debbie also helps employees cope with their personal problems, which might otherwise get in the way of their work. Employees can talk to her about whatever is on their minds, be it work, personal, or family-related issues. As the CEO, I can help employees tackle problems with their work, but I am not as well-equipped to counsel them about their personal lives or in some cases legally allowed to.

She's facilitated mediations between employees as well: I had one senior staff member who wanted to become a partner, but I didn't think he was ready to take on the role. Debbie mediated that situation, and though the staff member moved on to another company, we maintain a great professional relationship because of Debbie's careful handling of the situation.

We are growing fast
Our new process is working out so well that we are preparing to double the number of our employees from 20 to 40 over the next year. In 2010 we made $2 million in revenue, twice what we made the previous year. We are looking to hit $5.3 million in 2011. Employee retention rate is at an all-time high, and the staff is more cheerful than ever. I'll always have to manage my employees -- making sure they are happy in their positions, that their goals and expectations are met, and that they are communicating with their colleagues -- but now I can be confident that they'll get the job done.

Phara McLachlan spends her free time with her husband Scott and two children Ethan and Ava, as well as ballroom dancing and writing poetry.
-- As told to Harper Willis

Read more:

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