Help Wanted

For any business to grow, great employees must be hired. When companies have good teams in place, they prosper. Whether it’s human resources managers, recruiters or business owners doing the hiring, finding good employees requires being efficient at sourcing, asking pointed questions and evaluating the information received.

Mastering these skills will enable anyone charged with the task to make sound decisions about the candidates being considered. Recruiters and human resources personnel don’t need to have performed the jobs for which they hire because their field of expertise is hiring. Business owners have the benefit of knowing their businesses inside and out because the likelihood is that they have performed most of the jobs within their companies themselves. If you have a recruiting professional, great. If you’re an owner, who has first-hand knowledge of the business, that’s good too. Either way, the questions that need to be answered are: 1) How do we attract qualified candidates? 2) How do we know they will be able to get the job done? 3) Are we making the best possible decisions?

Where to look
At Valley View Farms independent garden center and nursery, we are both a retail business and a growing operation. While our needs differ as far as the types of candidates we hire, our hiring strategy is the same. Both businesses are pressed for time to hire efficient seasonal employees (which can be difficult since most unemployed candidates are looking for full-time work). How can you find good candidates who are willing to work on a short-term basis and still maintain the level of production you need to be successful?

Clearly no one wants candidates who can’t or won’t perform. Do recruiters and business owners have soft spots? Sure they do. Everyone has met candidates with whom they connect and want to give an opportunity. But hiring decisions need to be based on intellect, not feeling. Will the candidates be able to perform the job right off the bat with minimum supervision? We’d all love to help build a better workforce by giving people who may require a little extra time and support a chance. But time is of the essence. The season is short, and every bit of energy must be used wisely to maximize output.

Recruiting sources are plentiful and can include: referrals, high schools, colleges, trade schools, state agencies, staffing companies, newspapers, billboards, online recruiting sites, job fairs and open houses. While it’s best to utilize a variety of sources, growing operations tend to rely on a few more than others. Both John Miller, Valley View Farms greenhouse manager and Ben Radebaugh, president of John H. Radebaugh Inc., find that retirees and housewives/husbands are flexible candidates who make good hires. Radebaugh said that high school students are also a viable source of hard workers. Retirees, housewives/husbands, and students are typically not looking for full-time jobs. Often they are limited by outside restrictions such as limitations on earnings for retirees, child rearing responsibilities and school and sports schedules.

Placing ads in large city newspapers can attract high volumes of candidates, but the job of sifting through a large number of unqualified applicants can be tedious and time consuming. Both Miller and Radebaugh agree advertising in local papers is more effective in attracting qualified candidates.

Previous employees who are eligible and willing to return to work are most welcome as they already know the ropes, said Bill Foard, owner of Valley View Farms.
Creating and maintaining a healthy working environment is essential in attracting candidates and retaining good employees. A good employer brand will automatically generate a large number of referrals as well.

Make sure candidates understand up front the physical requirements.
“Employees may walk 25-30 miles a day,” Foard said.

Dig deeper
Be prepared to ask a lot of questions and call references. If you don’t understand an answer, press on and continue questioning. Ask for explanations and clarifications. Sometimes when candidates are not being direct, they are avoiding areas of their background or employment with which they are uncomfortable. Find out what the reason is and decide whether or not it could affect their performance – by asking more questions.

Former supervisors are typically willing to provide a wealth of information regarding how candidates have performed for them. Teachers and guidance counselors are able to speak about students’ grades, attendance and activities such as sports and clubs. Go directly to the people who will be able to provide the most information.

Human resources managers normally only confirms titles, dates of employment and whether or not the candidates are eligible for rehire. The references listed on the application are not necessarily the contacts with whom you want to speak, especially if they are friends or relatives. You can call direct supervisors at jobs listed on the application even if their names have not been provided as long as the application includes a release and it is signed by the candidate. Most candidates will divulge their supervisor’s names even if they did not choose to use them as references.

Want to know more?
Learn which questions to avoid when interviewing a job candidate at
www.NurseryManagementOnline.com/ask-the-right-questions-during-the-interview-process.aspx

Karen Debus is human resources manager for Valley View Farms in Cockeysville, Md. She is certified as a professional in human resources.