How to Hire Top Talent & Tips to Improve Team Happiness

4-minute read (7-minute watch)

You’ll learn:

  • How to hire the best talents for your business
  • Important steps and techniques of the hiring process
  • Why you need to have team discussions
  • Ways to improve the communication in your team
  • How social networks can help your business

Max:  Hi. Today you’re going to learn some tips and tricks on how to find and hire awesome talents for your small business.

Alex:  We have 25 years of experience in helping people to export or import goods in and out of New Zealand. We are happy to share our insider views about the process of hiring people and getting new personnel on board. We are a team of 9 people. Some of us work here in Auckland while others help us to grow overseas.

#1. HIRING PROCESS  

Max:  To find motivated stuff during the hiring process , we ask some behavioural questions, and then look for their reactions. We try to find out how they behaved in the past in different situations. It’s very important to figure out if the person can handle challenging tasks – it will tell you if it’s a good fit or not.

Alex:  It’s also helpful for a candidate to check our website and research a thing or two about our company.

#2. HIRING TECHNIQUES  

Max:  We hired some of our stuff through word of mouth because it’s important to get recommendations from people you trust. At the same time, we are excited that there is a New Zealand-based modern software like TalentHub. Personally, I love cutting-edge technologies, staff and systems that simplify my life and save my time.

Alex:  We’ve tried it all. We’ve asked professionals to help us hire people, and they sat with us through every single interview. Then we’ve done this process ourselves and went through every single CV. But, as Max said, nothing worked better than software – it’s the 21st century.

#3. ASSESSING CANDIDATES

Alex:  We also pay attention to the candidates’ willingness to be open-minded, to try new tasks within our company. We’re still quite small; chances are the person will be trying a lot of different things. Ideally, we would like to see that the person is willing to do that.

#4. POSITIVE COMMUNICATION

Max:  We meet every week with our team members to discuss what has changed and what’s upcoming in the company. They can see that the company is growing, that they’ve got new team members coming and joining EasyFreight . That gives them a signal that their work is affecting the whole company and they feel valued.

Alex:  We also have a good package to offer. Most of our team members enjoy occasional work from home, flexible hours. They know that they always can talk to us about anything, and we’ll do everything we can to help them.

Max:  We ask them what’s working and what isn’t. As far as I can see, many companies just give instructions or orders; there is no feedback from team members. 

Being a small business, we have this unique opportunity to talk to every single person. We ask them if something was frustrating about the day, and we make sure it doesn’t happen again. Once again, they feel this connection with everyone.

How to Hire Top Talent & Tips to Improve Team Happiness

#5. KNOW & IMPROVE YOURSELF

Max:  First of all, you have to figure out what are your personal advantages and disadvantages. Then look for a partner that can complement you and make your company stronger. 

Be ready to have robust discussions because all people have different opinions, and you are bound to have different solutions to problems.

Alex:  Stay open. Listen to what other people are saying. Listen to them to the very end, but do not forget to challenge them. Keep the whole discussion positive.

Max:  It’s essential for your company to create transparent incentives so everyone can see how they are doing and how they can be rewarded for their hard work.

Alex:  I also like when we have robust discussions about ways to improve our company. Team members can come to us with their solution to a possible problem. We will listen to them and discuss it. Then, if it’s a good idea, we’ll implement it.

Max:  Collect feedback from your customers and then circulate it within your company because people want to know how they are doing. They will feel valued if they can see that their work matters.

Alex:  Leave some time during the day to talk to your employees, your team members. Listen to their needs and worries.

#6. BUILD A CONNECTION  

Max:  Last but not least: set regular weekly or monthly meetings with your team in your calendar and talk about something personal – everyone is happy to share about, for example, things they did over the weekend or their hobbies.

If you want to create a real connection in the company and form a professional friendship, you have to discuss something more than work. Thank you for listening to our business tips. Special thanks to TalentHub for this interview. I recommend you to try their service – it’s free.

Alex:  Don’t be afraid to use new tools – one day you will get success.

#7. GO SOCIAL   

Max:  One more thing. I think it will be useful for a business owner to create a group of light-minded people on different social networks, for example, LinkedIn, Facebook or MeetUp.

How to Hire Top Talent & Tips to Improve Team Happiness_1

You’re going to be surprised how many skilled people can join your community. You will discuss different challenges and find solutions you’ve never thought of.


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