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How to Make the Right Hiring Decisions for Your Creative Team

01 May 17:00 By Vicki-Anne Craigen

Make Hiring Decisions Creative Vicki-Anne Craigen
Don't have time to read this article? No problem! See our video below to learn more about making the right hiring decisions.

 

If you’ve ever found yourself lying there at night wondering how the heck you thought hiring a particular person was ever a good idea, you may have forgotten one very simple rule – ask the right questions! This can be really difficult when you instantly like the person, when you like their design work and their creative thinking process. How could it not be a match made in heaven when you’re having an instant connection with this person in the interview setting?! When it comes to hiring, there's more than just mutual like to consider.

Following are some tips on the types of areas that need to be explored, despite the fact that you feel you’re sitting in front of your next creative superstar: 

 

  • Does the Potential New Hire Share My Values? 

Ever wondered why somebody constantly rubs you up the wrong way? Often, when you look closely at the reasons, it’s a misalignment of your core value systems. For example, if your nature is to always greet everyone with a happy greeting as a sign of good manners, and your new hire always greets everyone with a grunt appearing like they couldn't care less, this will ultimately grate on you long term. Explore a number of the values that you hold dear to your business by asking them to share theirs.  

 

  • Is This Person a Team Player or a Solo Act?  

If you’re looking to build a culture of collaboration within your business, examining whether this person prefers to work on her own, or as a part of a team, is vital. Ask them to describe one of the best projects they’ve ever worked on and listen for the ‘we’ words rather than the ‘I’ words. Listen for team based actions rather than self-based actions. Listen for examples of teamwork and giving support to others rather than sentences describing control.

 

  • Does This Person Like to Drive Creativity and Push Ideas? 

If you’ve got your own business, it goes without saying that you are wanting to bring in people to help you drive and push creative ideas for your clients. Imagine though, if you bring in someone just because you like them, only to discover they’re good at the execution but don’t yet have the skills to add value in the way you’d expect. Questions such as ‘can you give me an example of a project where you successfully delivered over and above the brief you were given?’ will help, particularly if they happen to have trouble recalling a time. 

 

  • What Does This Next Possible Superstar of Yours Consider Their Long-Term Goals to be? 

This is such a critical question. Imagine if you get them on board and then six months in they’re grumpy because they’re not being considered for promotion yet. Understanding your next hires career objectives is very important because, if you’re unable to accommodate them, your new talent will walk out the door sooner than you think.

 

  • What Type of Office Environment Best Suits Them? 

As a recruiter, I walk into studios several times a week and the differences are quite staggering. Some of them are so quiet you could hear a pin drop, some have people talking to each other from opposite sides of the office, some have table tennis tables set up in the middle, some have loud music blaring, some have no natural light; I could go on and on. Don’t assume that the designer has worked in a studio environment like the one within your business. Explore it and make sure they’ll enjoy the type of workspace you offer.

 

  • What Perks Does Your Possible New Hire Expect? 

Yep, like it or not, perks are important to a lot of people; especially if they’ve received them before. Salespeople, in particular, will be interested in making sure that any perks they’ve received before will be matched again. More often than not there is an expectation, so they may not even bring it up. In order to avoid a rocky start, make sure you do. 

 

  • What Type of Manager Do You Need to be to Ensure This Person Thrives Working for You? 

If you know you’re not an overly nurturing manager then you’re probably in the wrong job. Of course, if you’re the business owner then your new hire needs to accept this about you. The biggest mistake you can make right now is to bring someone into the business who needs a whole lot of positive reinforcement to get them through the day, when you know you may not be the one to give it to them. If this is the case, reference check their previous managers and really grill them on the type of support the person needs to thrive. If you know you’re not going to be able to give them what they need, do everyone a favour and keep looking. 

Hiring the right people for your business is critical to your success. Getting it wrong isn’t an option, so ask for help forming the questions to ask if you’re unsure. At Creative Recruiters we gauge our success on the retention of staff we place, so we’re guns at asking the right questions…even if I do say so myself! We can help you formulate the right questions to ask to minimise the risk of bringing the wrong people into your team, so be sure to get in touch if you need a hand with the hiring process.

In the meantime, managing the issue at hand may require you accepting a portion of the blame and then working with the person to iron out the issues so you can put all of this behind you, one way or another. If this isn’t your thing we can help out here too. 

Have a great week everyone,

 

Vicki-Anne

Director – Creative Recruiters

m: +61 413 453 563

e:   va@creativerecruiters.com.au

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