How to Hire a Trustworthy Employee

Are you a good judge of character? Do you know whether or not someone will turn out to be trustworthy after a single meeting? (Or after only a few conversations?) Or are you one who sees the best in people, even when you shouldn’t? While in general, the latter is considered a positive trait, when there’s business involved, it’s one that can hurt your company more than it helps you as an individual. When assuming the best, you can unknowingly put too much responsibility in the wrong person, which could cause you to lose money… just from trying to be a good person.

Besides, there’s nothing wrong with being a little more skeptical about who you let get involved with your business. In fact, it’s actually route you should take. 

Employees are an important part of making your business run; you can become extremely reliant on their efforts – sometimes wholly reliant. However, that’s also why you need to be able to trust your hires. You want to know employees are doing a good job. You want to know they are promoting your business in a positive light … even when you aren’t there to see it happen.

That also means you need to look for those who will represent you in a good light, and take care of daily tasks in a way that helps the brand, helps the business, and everyone involved.

Before you even bring in employees to interview for a job – even before you open your doors – think about the type of people you want working for your brand. Write down traits you would like your workers to possess. Maybe you’d prefer them to be friendly, skilled at technical aspects, a good communicator, etc. – whatever those qualities might be, make a list.

Later, when you write up an ad, you can include these very attributes to offer a better description and list what type of employees you require. Ideally, applicants will do a thorough job at assessing how many noted descriptions they actually hold. Whether or not they are able to do so, however, you can keep those same traits in mind when asking questions, and perhaps more importantly, listening to their answers.

When you do interview, pay close attention to an applicant’s professional past, how respectable they look and act, as well as how they describe themselves and their appearance. All of these things combined can give you an accurate representation of who they are, and how they will fare as an employee. Keep your same traits in mind during this process to help keep yourself focused.

After talking with a potential worker, take some time to mull everything over. How did each applicant come off? Did you initially trust that person? How did you feel after talking with them? Remember that they’ll be representing you – so consider how well that person would fare under your brand. Next, call an applicant’s references. Ask real questions about their personality as well as their work experience. Find out what they’re all about, and if their references’ answers match up with the overall vibe you took in. Determine how long the reference has known them, which will offer a better understanding of how well they can assess. Check social media and see what potential employees have on their profiles. Do background checks and Google searches to find out about their past and what they choose to share publically.

Combined, these steps will take time, but they will also give you the best overall picture of who each applicant is, and whether or not you’ll be able to trust them. You can also be more confident in your final decision after having checked so many avenues.

Then, it’s time to give your new employees a chance. Start training and handing over tasks so that a worker can prove their worth … (and so you can prove to yourself that you found a good hire).

There is no foolproof method for searching for an ideal employee, and it’s likely that you’ll find a method that works best for you and your industry. However, following these generalized steps can help you through that very process. And it can help uncover the best workers who are there to help you grow, not just to gain a job.