Thread: gaaaaaah what is the secret to hiring good help?

In such a suck economy, with a suggested income of 10usd/hr to cut and paste shipping labels, iron clothing, and other menial tasks..why oh why oh why can i not find a reliable person?

does the job suck? It involves listening to music if you wish, working at a pretty house in Hawaii in quiet surroundings, taking your time, working the hours you want and the days you want., I'm very flexible.

can't even begin to tell you how many people 'WANT THE JOB' so badly and then turn into such flakes. It's easier to do things alone.

Am i missing something in the interview process ..I specifically ask for someone who is reliable and who can do the job

it's sooo time consuming to train new people. ,f::

you may be able to hire a foreign H2B worker thru a government visa program. they are usually great workers. you'll have to prove that it's a temporary thing tho and pay a fee. look into it at the Department of Labor Website.

Are you checking references?

Do you call references?

Maybe you need to give an ironing proficiency test, like the temp agencies give a typing test? :)

Originally Posted by jesennia

In such a suck economy, with a suggested income of 10usd/hr to cut and paste shipping labels, iron clothing, and other menial tasks..why oh why oh why can i not find a reliable person?

does the job suck? It involves listening to music if you wish, working at a pretty house in Hawaii in quiet surroundings, taking your time, working the hours you want and the days you want., I'm very flexible.

can't even begin to tell you how many people 'WANT THE JOB' so badly and then turn into such flakes. It's easier to do things alone.

Am i missing something in the interview process ..I specifically ask for someone who is reliable and who can do the job

it's sooo time consuming to train new people. ,f::

Hire someone who needs the money, but is not using it as their sole income: a young mother looking to supplement her income, a retired person looking for some extra spending cash, or someone like that. It sounds like you want someone who is part-time, but dependable. This can be hard because most young people go through part-time jobs on a transient basis while they are going on to find something full-time once they finish school or need to pay more bills. Always check references and once you hire someone, make a schedule for the person. You can still work around their schedule, but give them something to work with like, "you will work 15 hours between the hours of 10am and 7pm Monday-Friday" or "you will work M, W, F from 1-3pm and T, R from 11am-2pm."

If you are looking for a full-time person, look for someone who has a stable home and transportation. Check their references and ask them where they see themselves in 5 years.

Good luck finding the perfect helper! :)

I'm tempted to apply.

I wish I lived in Hawaii, I would totally apply! That's the exact kind of job I would love to have.

It's so hard for entrepreneurs to hire people. Mainly because we are very self-motivated and self-directed, and we want so badly for our employees to be just like us. We want them to function with minimal supervision (because that's what we prefer) and to just...get the job done!

But most people really need supervision. They need to be given specific expectations and be held accountable. The more you let things go, try to be understanding because they're new, etc. the worse their performance becomes. Eventually the business owner is doing (or redoing) most of the employee's work (often during their 'free time' from midnight to 4am), and is ready to fire the worker. But the poor worker has never really been told that their work isn't good enough, hasn't had the expectations made clear, and doesn't see the firing coming. The 'understanding' business owner has really done them a disservice.

I know in my head that to supervise people, you have to communicate clearly what you expect, and let them know when they're not meeting your expectations, even send them back to do work over if it's not good enough.

In reality, I suck at all that and it wears me down. Why should I have to treat adults like children?? It's why I went into a MUCH smaller business this time. After my last business experience, I don't even want to hire a kid to mow my lawn!!

It's been a long time since I hired anyone.
If it's still allowed (rules have changed), I'd ask:

How many jobs have you had in the last 5 years?

How long did you work for your last employer?
May I call your last employer?

Ask them about their Hobbies.

If they like things that take TIME and EFFORT to reap the rewards, i.e. sewing, crocheting, model making, learning a new instrument... than just playing or watching a baseball game etc.
They might be more committed.

If I lived near you, I'D APPLY!!! :-)

you ladies are so nice to offer to apply but i've learned not to employ dancers and friends :)

plus you'd have to live here ..

yeah I checked references..it's not brain surgery just ironing lol. i'm not running much on ebay anymore because of listing fees so that has alleviated a lot of the auction upkeep.

Originally Posted by jesennia

you ladies are so nice to offer to apply but i've learned not to employ dancers and friends :)

plus you'd have to live here ..

Darn!..cr.: I was packing my bags.

Originally Posted by AngelaDiCaprio

Darn!..cr.: I was packing my bags.

i wouldnt even know what address to give you..we have no idea if/when/where we will move to next hehehee

Originally Posted by AngelaDiCaprio

Darn!..cr.: I was packing my bags.

i wouldnt even know what address to give you..we have no idea if/when/where we will move to next hehehee

I found the BEST way... I do everything myself :P

David i believe you are right!

NO NO NO! You will go mad if you try to do everything yourself. Suggest you decide what productivity you expect, what error rates you can tolerate - then specify this to the employee (in detail with priorities if necessary). If it's not working, tell them up front what the consequences are. Plus, don't try to be to "nice" all the time, just be honest.

This probably won't be popular, but I think if you were to pay $15 per hour and hire adults or elders you would get more reliable help who would probably get more done per hour. Sometimes it pays to spend a little more.

Originally Posted by Surida

This probably won't be popular, but I think if you were to pay $15 per hour and hire adults or elders you would get more reliable help who would probably get more done per hour. Sometimes it pays to spend a little more.

That might be especially true in Hawaii where the cost of living is so much higher than here in the mainland states.

I have a degree in HR and will say that references really are kind of pointless. Past employers feel hesitant to give more than dates of employment. Only an idiot would give you the name of someone who would say bad things about them (and presumably you've already discovered they're an idiot through the interview process). Still, people check them because they need reassurance from other people that they're making the right choice.

Part time help can be tough. Is it possible people just view it as too casual and therefore not worth as much time/effort as other jobs? I think adding structure to the position might help you find people who are more serious. Work up a detailed job description, develop a list of rules that the employee needs to adhere by. Even if you already go through this with the person, it'll make it feel more official if it's recognized as an important job for your company. With such an important job the person won't feel like slacking off so much--after all, they're crucial to your success! Without you they'd fail! (Or let them think that if it ain't true)

ETA: I think bumping up the salary might be good too, if $10/hr isn't a good rate in your area. It might be difficult to find comp. jobs but look at hourly rates for jobs that require little to no training and skills. If you do this, i'd consider adding another task to their job description (maintaining inventory spreadsheets or something fairly easy).

Holy crap, Jes...I was looking to move back to the islands for a few months, worried I'd never find a job as awesome as the one I have (and am losing because I graduate this week)...

I work best on my own with tasks to do, etc. I don't *like* regimented work schedules (I want to be a professor for this and many other reasons). I am best with the 'here is a task to do, complete it, move to another task' kind of work environment, which is the one I am in now.

Then, you don't hire friends! Or dancers! hahahaha

I'm actually surprised, Hawai'i strikes me as a place that's full of those kinds of people.

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

I work best on my own with tasks to do, etc. I don't *like* regimented work schedules (I want to be a professor for this and many other reasons). I am best with the 'here is a task to do, complete it, move to another task' kind of work environment, which is the one I am in now.

Hey Brea - you may want to reconsider being a professor if you don't like schedules. Most universities require very strict schedules of office hours, committee time, student mentoring, and teaching. They get really grumpy if you don't follow the schedule you have set up for the whole semester.

Research though...I suggest contract-based research if you want to set your own schedule. That usually works out great! :)

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

Holy crap, Jes...I was looking to move back to the islands for a few months, worried I'd never find a job as awesome as the one I have (and am losing because I graduate this week)...

I work best on my own with tasks to do, etc. I don't *like* regimented work schedules (I want to be a professor for this and many other reasons). I am best with the 'here is a task to do, complete it, move to another task' kind of work environment, which is the one I am in now.

Then, you don't hire friends! Or dancers! hahahaha

I'm actually surprised, Hawai'i strikes me as a place that's full of those kinds of people.

you'd think huh? of all the posts for jobs and wanted things down at puna cash and carry, and aloha outpost (which is, sadly, closing) you'd think there would be scads of hippies to choose from

well..if our selling prints thing becomes a regular deal i'll be looking to hire someone for that..but yes you may be not qualified since you are a dancer and friend :)

so ya coming back?

Wow, Jes, I don't even know. You would be shocked at the unbelievable little roller coaster my life has become in the last few months.

Mahsati - please save me then! I don't know what else to do. :) I am graduating this week and haven't thought much about what I want to do aside from 'teach'. I like to teach.

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

Wow, Jes, I don't even know. You would be shocked at the unbelievable little roller coaster my life has become in the last few months.

Mahsati - please save me then! I don't know what else to do. :) I am graduating this week and haven't thought much about what I want to do aside from 'teach'. I like to teach.

Oh the teaching is the fun part! The *rest* is why I am not a professor now LOL Did you finish your PhD yet or was it your MA? You can teach as an adjunct or part-time faculty member if you don't need full-time money. The schedules are a lot less tedious for those folks. I went into research and spent a few years going contract to contract which gave me enormous freedom but lack of stability and then decided to settle down so I got a regular job doing research for an education company - worked out great for me. Feel free to email if you like :) Always happy to chat :) mahsati@mahsati-janan.com

I agree with the suggestions for a more regular schedule. It might be that the lack of regular schedule is what attracts flakier people to the job. They're looking for something with as little commitment as possible and then they don't commit to it. Even if it's an arbitrary schedule that you put in place, you would at least be giving people a point of reference for when they should be working and how much they should be doing while they're there.

Jesennia,
When YOU do these tasks you are looking to hire someone else to do...time yourself.
How many labels can you cut and paste in an hour?
How many items can you iron in an hour?
How long does it take you to mail X amount of items?

Take a little bit off your time it took you, (they'll be new to it), and TELL THEM THAT'S WHAT YOU EXPECT TO GET DONE!!!
i. e. I can copy and paste 30 labels an hour...I expect you to do 20 or better.

Ask them 'Do you work well alone?.
Never ask 'Are you reliable'.
Everyone's reliable (in their own way).
You need to find out if they are experienced working alone, and can motivate themselves, dont mind ironing, etc.
I would try to bring up ironing, in a conversational way...(i.e. Thank God this isn't a formal uniform, I'd hate to have to iron those two lines down the back like they have in Officers uniforms! How do they do THAT!)...see if their response is negative, postive, go from there.
Try to get them to TALK about their ironing, copy paste skills, working alone...see where it goes.

I mentioned hobbies like sewing, crocheting, etc. earlier...these are loner activities...this shows they can motiveate themselves.

(Please forgive my spelling errors, I'm so tired)