5 Steps to Hiring Well with COO MeLisa Dill

Posted in Podcast

Hiring. Is. Risky.

There’s just no way around it, it’s scary!

The second you start thinking about it you’re attacked with all kinds of fears…

Am I going to be able to do this well?

Will this person be effective?

Am I going to be able to afford to hire someone?

Is this going to work?

In today’s episode, we are *literally* going to give you the blueprint, a step-by-step guide on how to hire well.

We’re chatting with MeLisa Dill, the COO of the Virtual Savvy and HelloSavvy. She’s my right-hand woman, my Integrator, I call her my “work husband” because she is basically the other half of my brain and without her, I could not function!

MeLisa lays out the 5 steps to hiring well that we swear by and have used to add AMAZING people to our team.

So if you want to attack your fears and follow the map to hiring absolute gems for your business, then press play on today’s episode!

In today’s episode, we talk about:

Building a team with longevity.
Our step-by-step process for hiring.
How to overcome your hiring fears.

Some of the highlights of this episode include:

Hiring For Longevity

One of the first things we have to acknowledge is that “success” isn’t the typical path it used to be. MeLisa is proof of that! She went into the military instead of college and later found herself working the corporate 9-5 job many of us find ourselves in.

After realizing that she felt like she was missing out on her children’s journeys she discovered a path to Virtual Assisting and found a way to be with her family and earn income.

As she grew as a VA, MeLisa discovered her strengths as an OBM (online business manager) which eventually led her to work with The Virtual Savvy – with her help TVS grew quickly and needed her skills as an OBM, but especially her superpower, her ability to hire well!

MeLisa implemented systems and strategies in the hiring process and what a difference it made! Through her process of hiring, we gained members on our team that have been with us for years!

Something powerful happens when you build a team with longevity. You build a team of individuals who are bought into your company culture and they want to stick around!

5 Steps To Hiring Well

Step 1 – Be Prepared

You need to have your mission, vision, and values written down! Having these ready to share, upfront and center, with anyone who would be potentially interested in working with you will save you so much time and effort in the long run!

Your mission, vision, and values are the guideposts that will be with you for every decision you make in your business, of course, you need them to help you hire as well!

Having these prepared and presented to potential candidates will communicate where you see your company going and how they might fit into that future.

How can they follow if they don’t know the journey?

Also, having a detailed job description is essential. By setting the role and expectation within that role, you’re communicating very clearly what you’re looking for.

Tip: Map out your organization chart or your company’s swim lanes as a helpful visual. Not only will it help you decide your next step, but will help any team member SEE where they fit in.

Step 2 – Integrate Company Culture into the Application Process

This is where you can go all out on displaying and declaring your company culture! That’s why at TVS it is no secret that we hire for culture and skills!

We have learned that when we put our culture out there, upfront and center, we get so much more interest in the roles from people who share the same values and often they mention it in their application.

People want to be excited about the vision for who they work for, so provide this for them early on and you’ll see quickly if they fit in with your business.

Tip: Create separate sales or landing pages for the role you’re hiring. Start with your company culture information first then get into the details about the role you’re hiring for.

You’ll be surprised to see what this can produce in the quality of candidates!

Step 3 – Lead the Conversation

This is your opportunity to get answers to the questions you need to ask. You are trying to get to the heart of this person. Go beyond likes and dislikes, those are great to connect over but dive deeper.

It’s one thing to say “here is the value I have”, but it’s another for a potential employee to see that value the same way. Someone can bring something to the table because of their unique perspectives.

We are planted in a virtual experience so we have to be able to communicate. Evaluate the communication flow very carefully.

Tip: Use a scorecard to help you measure the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate. Have your important questions and how you will score them so you can access each candidate fairly.

Tip: MeLisa’s go-to question, “What do you know about our company?” She wants to see that people have done their homework and want to work for the company because of the culture, not just because it’s remote.

Step 4 – Have a Test Project

This step can make a HUGE difference! Take advantage of the opportunity to test the skillset as well as test to see if this person would be a good fit for the actual company in a real-life way.

At this point in the process, you should have your candidates narrowed down to 2-3 people.

Guiding principles for test projects:

Make sure it’s relevant to the job description.
Keep it short.
Set them up for success.
Pay them for their work.
Make sure you follow up!

Step 5 – Onboarding Your New Team Member

Your process is not complete until you’ve onboarded them. Having your training plan ready to go is essential to onboarding. Introduce them to your team and celebrate them joining you! It’s exciting!

Use this time to set clear expectations but remember it will take almost 3 months for someone to get fully acclimated to your business.

Remember you’re investing in this person, so take the time to set them up for success.

Allow time for encouragement and feedback. Take care of any corrections quickly and free them up to ask questions. People want feedback!

But most importantly, make sure you have open communication so people know they’re winning at their job. That should be the goal of onboarding!

Overcoming Your Hiring Fears

With your plan in place, you can attack those fears head-on!

Am I going to be able to do this well? – GET YOUR PLAN IN PLACE!

Will this person be effective? – HIRE FOR CULTURE FIT & SKILLS!

Am I going to be able to afford to hire someone? – LOOK AT YOUR PAST FINANCES!

Is this going to work? – LOOK TO THOSE AROUND YOU!

Just So You Know….

We have used this exact process and hired amazing people who are with us years later. We have also used this exact process and had people not work out on the team.

Whether you make that decision, or they do, turnover in any company is expected. But when you hire well, as we have, your turnover can be well below the industry standard.

Every time someone hasn’t worked out we learn something valuable.

Hiring is a risk, but if you follow the steps it can be so much easier!