Employing the right person for a role is crucial to the health of your business, just as appropriate business insurance is crucial to protecting it. In this article we explore how you go about getting recruitment right in the property services sector.
Choosing the best person for your role will save you time, money, effort and the need to manage them closely. Choosing an unsuitable candidate can result in significant setbacks, including costing you time and money in having to go through the recruitment process yet again.
Your employment process
So, ask yourself about your employment process. How rigorous is it?
For example, how do you interview potential employees? What reporting or other work examples do you ask them to show you as part of the recruitment process? Could you take them onsite with you (if the role will require it) to see how they respond to/manage certain situations?
Importantly, when you ask “tell me about a time when you did XYZ in your previous role/s”, do you encourage them to follow the STAR interview response technique (Situation, Task, Action, Response)? If they can clearly articulate their answer in this way it helps you ensure they are bringing up a real-life work situation. This in turn will help you determine if they are the right person to accomplish what you need them to in their role in your business.
Ask yourself when you employ a new pest technician, building inspector, cleaner, maintenance person or other:
- How do I know they are technically sound?
- Can I be sure they’ve kept up with changes to products, regulations, codes of practice and so on?
- Will I be confident they will use best practice application techniques?
- Are they aware of what insurances such as professional indemnity and general liability cover them for, and don’t?
The importance of upskilling
Don’t be shy to dig deep and identify any areas that require improvement – anyone who is interested in their career will be keen to answer your questions. If they really want the role they will be keen to hear constructive feedback on how they can improve.
Nothing in today’s world stays the same for long. Be sure your employees can keep up with the moving industry landscape.
When you employ a new office manager how do you know they are capable of managing your systems? How efficient will they be in completing their tasks?
When it comes to any type of property services sector employee, do you carefully check references and (if possible) speak to others about their reputation in the industry? How can you trust what they tell you?
If you make the correct choice you will enjoy positive customer feedback. The operational efficiency achieved will improve your happiness and overall team engagement.
Think about your past experiences with employing staff and consider how you can improve upon that where possible. Try to step out of your position and see it from someone else’s point of view.
Being honest with yourself will help you identify gaps in your recruitment process and be a better employer in future. Getting recruitment right can take some time and practice, but is well worth the effort.