How to Find A New Office Staff Member

How do you find a new office staff member?

You need the type of person who you can trust, who knows their stuff and will fit in as a great team player.

Sometimes you get lucky and don’t need to look very far at all.

A few years ago I had an individual that I haven’t talked to in years call me at home.

She was currently employed as an accountant and was looking for a new job. It just so happened that we were in the process of hiring an additional staff member when I received her call and the possibility of hiring this person seemed to be “just what the doctor ordered”.

It’s not every day that situations like that occur – you just can’t expect great employees to find you.

So here’s some advice on how to find a new office staff member…

Seek out a wide range of recruiting resources

Don’t rely on just running a Help Wanted ad in your local newspaper.

Look to the internet for an online job board.

Call local colleges that specialize in educating the person you seek for your office.

Work with employment agencies.

Let us (your accounting firm) know of the position you hope to fill. And even post the job on your own website.

More and more businesses are finding that new hires are coming from internet-based sources.

Also, don’t forget that you have a resource pool right in your office with the employees you currently employ. Great employees will look for other great employees with whom they wish to work.

Offer a competitive compensation package

More often than not this means more than determining their salary.

Potential employees are looking for health insurance and what your office offers in the way of retirement plans.

Getting creative with your benefit structure and keeping a focus on the overall package will highlight your practice as a top choice for the candidate.

Market yourself and your practice

Keep in mind that while you are evaluating a candidate for the job, they are also checking you out.

Potential employees are looking to join positive work environments, opportunities to use the skills they have acquired, and an employer that appreciates their work.

So, tailor your interview process to include presenting the strengths of your office.

Be prepared to hire

Turnover in your office is sure to happen.

Keep a “talent pipeline” listing and document a hiring process that you can turn to when a position opens so that you can quickly fill the position with a top candidate.

Your staff will appreciate your attentiveness to the team of employees that remain and “office stress” will be reduced by not having to tread water for a long time while you get the recruiting process started.

Hire people that “fit-in”

Too often the emphasis is put on finding a candidate that will fit the job description rather than focusing on how the person would fit into the office culture.

Recently a client called me to explain that he had found a good candidate for a position that he was trying to fill but he was concerned about how she would fit in with the rest of the staff. After some discussion, it was determined that it would be easier to teach skills to another candidate than having to deter attitude or habits of the qualified individual.

Asking potential new hires to write down the 50 things for which they are most thankful or utilizing a testing tool that measures a person’s natural abilities are just a couple of ways that you can increase your chances of having the next person you hire “fit in”.