I have to admit, I’ve never been nominated for the boss-of-the-year award. I expect a lot from my employees and believe an office is a place of business, not a home away from home. That being said, I’ve never had any trouble hiring people. Why? Because I always pay fair market value and I’m clear about my goals and expectations. I’d humbly suggest that if you adopt an approach to hiring similar to mine you might also avoid hiring problems.
My staff works hard because I try not to have any more people on the payroll than I need. Because I run such a tight ship I look for people who are flexible and adaptable. If I need a specialist for a period of time I hire a temp or consultant. The characteristics I most value, in addition to flexibility, are predictability and candor. I’d rather have a person who consistently does B work, than someone who sometimes does A work but other times falls down to C work. Predictability allows me to compensate in advance for any failings so I know all the bases will be covered. I’d also rather have someone who admits he doesn’t know something, or has made a mistake, than someone who tries to wing it or cover up an error. I’m not looking for my staff to be superstars . . . that’s my job. I just want them to work hard, do their best, and be honest with me. I plan on staffers staying with me for anywhere from one to three years. Shorter than that and a temp would be more economical. Longer than that and it would be more profitable to outsource the job.