How to Hire New Employees (+ Training Tips)

Where do you find prospective candidates for a position on your team? What’s the process of hiring new employees?

To build a strong and effective team, you must hire the right people and train them to succeed in their roles. Bad hiring decisions can cost you time and money while hiring the right person can add immense value to your team.

Let’s look at some tips for identifying, selecting, and training the right candidates.

Identify and Interview Prospective Employees

The first step to learning how to hire new employees is finding them in the first place. To attract the right candidates, write a clear and effective job description. In The First-Time Manager, Jim McCormick suggests that it cover three types of requirements: First, specify the knowledge and technical skills required for the job. Second, explain the behavioral qualities you’re looking for, such as being punctual. Third, lay out interpersonal requirements important for the job, such as accepting feedback positively.

(Shortform note: Some experts advise against listing a specific set of skills and behavioral qualities, arguing that this can limit your applicant pool and exclude people with diverse backgrounds and experiences who could bring great value to your organization. When writing your requirements, ask yourself whether each one is really necessary for the role to avoid narrowing down your options unnecessarily.)

Once you have prospective candidates to interview, McCormicks recommends you prioritize attitude over qualifications. He argues that an employee with a good attitude is more valuable than a better-qualified employee with a bad attitude. When interviewing your candidate, ask questions assessing attitude—for example, “What’s your ideal workday like?” Specifically, you should look for traits like commitment and good judgment as opposed to interest in social activities or holidays.

(Shortform note: In The Infinite Game, Simon Sinek describes how many effective teams adopt the attitude-first approach to recruiting that McCormick suggests. For instance, the US Navy SEALS prioritize candidates who have good attitudes and can work well with the team over those with bad attitudes, even if they’re better performers. This is because team members with good attitudes will enhance the rest of the team’s performance while those who are difficult to work with will undermine the team’s efforts. Therefore, if the candidates you’re choosing between have all met a minimum standard of skill and competence, you should hire based on attitude to build a team capable of collaborating and achieving higher-level results.)

Train New Hires

Once you’ve selected a candidate, the next step is to train them to perform well in their role. McCormick suggests you find a good trainer to effectively train new hires. This should be someone who can clearly explain each responsibility and break down the job into smaller pieces so that the new hire doesn’t get overwhelmed. McCormick cautions against assigning a person who’s leaving or was recently fired from the role to train new employees because they won’t provide quality training. Once you have a trainer in mind, meet with them and discuss a training plan.

Next, spend the first day helping the new hire familiarize themselves with their new work environment. Take this time to clearly communicate your expectations—for instance, that you value attitude and continuous improvement. Provide them with support so that they can meet your standards and don’t expect perfection from them—this will prevent them from feeling overwhelmed.