How Can Employers Find a Good Employee? Answers from Leading Latvian Recruiters

From time to time, we hear complaints from relatives, friends, or colleagues about the lack of a “normal job.” However, all it takes is a conversation with managers—and you will hear a completely different complaint: “There are no decent employees.” Either our country is living in a state of “scissors,” with people never managing to meet one another, or they simply do not know how to communicate and reach agreement.

Leading recruitment specialists in Latvia—Adros Baltija—help clarify this issue and offer employers some advice on the subject: “How to find a good employee.” Advice and the most common mistakes made by employers from Aleksejs Saveļjevs, the company’s director.

Few employers are able to formulate precisely what they actually want from an employee

Sometimes an employer says that they need a “communicative employee.” Let us clarify what communicativeness is and whether it is needed in the way that you, dear employers, expect.

During training sessions for HR managers and directors, I often amuse myself by asking whether I am communicative or not. People usually divide into two “camps.” Some say, “He is communicative!” Others say, “No, he is not communicative; he is only pretending.”

It turns out that I may be communicative simply because my job requires it. And this is not the main criterion by which I should be evaluated. Now let us talk about salespeople. If a salesperson is not communicative but has good sales figures, does that count or not? Or, conversely, they may spend nine hours a day talking to clients, but achieve very little.

This is the first mistake employers make most often. The actual requirements for an employee are too abstract, at the level of “the ability to work in a team, communicativeness, responsibility,” and so on.

Sometimes candidates themselves are also too subjective about their communicativeness—or, for example, their sense of responsibility. All it takes is to ask a simple question: “Tell me about an example that demonstrates your sense of responsibility.” The candidate then tells a story that has nothing to do with responsibility. For example: “For the past three years, I have got up at six every morning and exercised.” But that is not responsibility; it is discipline!

Thus, when compiling a list of requirements for a candidate, everything essentially comes down to an accurate “functional” description: what the particular person will do, to what extent, and how often.

When looking for an employee, clear and measurable criteria for completed work may not be available

This is an important point: how do you evaluate and verify an employee’s work?

Here it should be said that every activity has a precisely measurable result: for a salesperson—the number of calls or meetings per unit of time, per day or week; for a marketer—advertising campaigns with specific results; for an accountant—the time taken to prepare a balance sheet, and without errors!

No one needs to take anyone “at their word” or keep talking endlessly! Simply give the candidate a task. It will show what the candidate can—or, in reality, cannot—do!

Sometimes employers do not know how to look for employees in good time or how to maintain a candidate database

A typical situation: a good salesperson is suddenly needed urgently. A job advertisement is posted on a recruitment portal, two or three CVs are received over the course of a month, none of the salespeople is suitable, and we spend all the remaining time sitting and waiting.

Dear employers! As they say, “It is too late to drink Borjomi when the liver has failed.” Or, more accurately: what is happening now is the consequence of what you were doing earlier!

It is no secret that there are well-organised websites where you can post a job advertisement and receive CVs from candidates. In the past, one job advertisement could generate 300 or 400 CVs. However, the situation has changed radically. There are now fewer actively working people in Latvia. Anyone looking for a good candidate should definitely use both “direct search” methods and valuable relationship-building.

Every day, HR specialists should enter a specific number of contacts into the candidate database and work directly with people, so that they can call and invite them to work at any time.

Of course, this refers to maintaining contact with top professionals: good programmers, good salespeople, good marketers, finance specialists... Do not forget that good professionals are not sitting around without work or a livelihood! You have to think strategically. With a view to the future.

Many employers do not know how to present the position they are offering and their business to candidates

Forget the idea that people work only for money. A candidate is interested not only in a decent salary and a good office. Especially when candidates are being welcomed with open arms by many offices in Latvia. Good candidates are looking for a business concept, an idea, a mission.

For example, for some programmers it is very important to know how we influence the world and make it better. A more innovative and convenient interface.

Be sure to find out which aspects of the job on offer personally attract the candidate and correspond to their values. It does not matter at all what your business does—ideology remains relevant. Whether you save dolphins from extinction or make the city cleaner and more beautiful. If this earns the employee’s respect, they will gladly come to the interview and want to stay with you.

Do not simply question the candidate; also focus on presenting your arguments. Prove to the potential employee that they should work specifically for you!

We are convinced that these recommendations and tips will increase the rate of successful candidate hires by at least 20%. But if any questions arise, do not hesitate to seek advice from Adros Baltija!

 Information prepared by the communications agency “Advanced Learning & Communications” together with “Adros Baltija”.  www.adros.lv