By Henry Brown

Putting up ads for the new position, filtering out resumes, calling in candidates for interviews – the hiring process involves a lot of steps and quite a bit of work from both parties.

That’s why it’s so important to get it right as soon as you think you’ve found the best candidate – and having to start the entire tedious process all over again is something most small business owners would like to avoid.

Luckily, there are a few ways to make sure that you’re not only identifying the best candidate during the interviewing process but also that the right employee comes to you. Here are a handful of tips to make it happen so that you can get it over with and get back to work as soon as possible.

Try not to rush the process

Sure, it’s frustrating for anyone that’s looking for a job to be called into several rounds of interviews or even wait for the final results, but this is such an important decision and you should never rush the hiring process.

Focus the first interview on establishing if the candidate has the key traits that you’re looking for in a team member, such as an ability to work in a team, show empathy, calm, and patience. After this, you’ll move forward to dig a bit deeper into their set of skills and general work experience.

Take your time to evaluate the candidate and consider if he/she is, in fact, a great match for your company. By not spending enough time on this during the initial hiring process, you’re running the risk of hiring the wrong person, which, of course, can be extremely disruptive to your business.

Consider your company culture

What might have been right for your competitors is not necessarily right for you. Nobody knows the culture of your company as well as you do so take some time to consider the type of person you’d like to take onboard.

How will they fit in with the existing culture, how can they contribute to it, and would they be able to change it for the better if they stay for a while?

Remember that how you treat your current employees as well as the office perks you have in place will also have an affect on the candidates who choose to apply for the position. Make sure that you’ve built the kind of company that people would like to work for and that your place of business is a place people would be proud to come to work everyday. With that in mind, have a look at this commercial landscaping service; it just makes your business slightly more desirable.

A good point to keep in mind is that the people you’ve already taken onboard may know someone who can benefit your company. Good people know good people, as they say, and you should take advantage of their network first.

Another excellent tip is to make one of your top-performing employees join you during the process. That way, they’ll be able to pinpoint which candidate they think will fit in the best – and your work becomes a bit less.

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Henry Brown is an online marketing executive. When he isn’t talking shop, he’s roaming the streets of London, uncovering the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.