score's top human resources tips

SCORE's Top Human Resources

Tips

Are you the best boss you can be? Create a happy workforce with these tips.

SCORE: Counselors to America's Small Business

Presented By Raja Wajahat

SCORE's Top Human Resources Tips

5 Tips on Hiring Smart

5 Tips on Building a Senior Management Team

5 Tips on Employee Performance Reviews

5 Tips on Helping Employees Take Pride in Their Work

5 Tips on Promoting From Within


1. Hire slowly. Be willing to invest time and energy in your hiring decisions.

2. Be clear in your own mind what the job requires and measure candidates'

qualifications against the requirements of the job.

3. Consider how well a candidate will fit in with your corporate culture. Are her

attitudes compatible? Is he cooperative?


4. Narrow the pool to serious candidates. Ways of weeding out non-contenders

include announcing that drug testing is required of all new employees or asking

applicants to write a brief essay on why they want the job.

5. Do brief phone interviews with 8 or 10 top candidates to reduce the pool further.

Then do longer in-person interviews with two or three finalists.

5 Tips on Building a Senior

Management Team


1. Start with part-timers. You may not be able to afford a full-time chief financial

officer at first, but chances are you can find one who will gladly work part time.

2. Look for volunteers. The SCORE Association is one place to start and may help

you establish a volunteer advisory board. Also check with your local business

schools.


3. Consider outsourcing your management team. Check the Yellow Pages under

Employment Agencies, Employee Leasing, Executive Search Consultants and

Management Consultants.

4. Check references and backgrounds, just as you would for a full-time employee.

Look for a good fit.


5. Treat part-time and volunteer executives just as you would full-time, paid senior

managers. Make them a part of your team.

5 Tips on Employee

Performance Reviews


1. Concentrate on what you and the employee can achieve together in the

future. Don't use performance reviews just as a means of telling workers

everything they're doing wrong.

2. Strive for consistency and fairness. Apply performance criteria to all employees,

not just a few.


3. Encourage employees to evaluate themselves and to discuss their own

strengths. Your view of an employee and the employee's view of himself should

match fairly well. Otherwise, it's a warning signal.

4. Be honest about poor performance, but not brutal. Document your observations

in writing.

5. If you're small enough that constant communication and feedback are taking

place, you may be able to avoid performance reviews. But don't send the

message that performance isn't critical.

5 Tips on Helping Employees

Take Pride in Their Work


1. Employees are your most important assets, so hire the best, provide training and

growth opportunities, and recognize good performance.

2. Have a meaningful, concise and realistic job description for each employee.

Make sure you review it with the employee and that it's understood.

3. Be sure employees know what is expected of them. Establish high standards of

performance ethics.


4. Offer specialized training or skills enhancement to your current employees.

Promoting from within encourages and motivates your greatest assets--your

current workforce.

5. Create a New Employee Referral Bonus Program. Describe your needs in title and

duties and offer a reward for your "most wanted."


1. Understand your advantage. In a small company, you're in a better position to

know what people's abilities and interests are than in a large company.

2. Develop a nose for hidden talent. Find out what skills people use when they're

not at work and determine if those skills can be put to use in your company--in a

higher position.

3. Create career paths for employees. Your people need opportunities to grow.


4. Consider the work you outsource. Can that work be brought inside, creating an

advancement opportunity for one of your employees?

5. If an employee needs outside training for a higher-level job, pay for it. That'll be

cheaper than recruiting a new employee.

score's top human resources tips

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