Need an Extra Set of Hands? Read This First.

It could be a holiday you had to spend working, or it could be a frustrated customer calling for the third time because you haven’t had the time to get back to them. Whatever the reason, recognising you need to hire someone is a big step forward for your business. 

And while the specific moment of realisation comes differently to everyone, the cause is the same: You (or your team) have got more work than you can realistically handle. 

But since any hire is a big time and financial investment, you’ll want to make sure you’re making the right call.

In a recent episode of the FieldRocket Podcast we spoke to Sarah Kidby, a recruitment expert from Strategic Coach. This article is a guide to help you find and make the right hire for your heating & plumbing business.

Make two lists: your needs and your wants

The best way to look at hiring is a way for you to find someone to take on the work you’re least efficient with. 

“The first place we start is a list of activities that you would like to hand over to the individual you’re hiring,” explains Sarah. “What is it that we need, and what is it that we want?”

It’s best to split these out into two separate lists, making sure they’re all tasks you don’t enjoy doing. 

These two lists are crucial for your hiring process. Your ‘needs list’ is the most important and should drive your hiring decisions. If somebody fits some of your wants as well – that’s great. But it’s important to not place too much emphasis on these. 

Why? Because “it becomes like looking for a needle in a haystack – or a unicorn,” Sarah jokes.

Balancing needs and wants

If you’re constantly looking for someone who’s capable of doing everything, one of a few things will happen:

• You’ll struggle to find someone because the role is too wide and varied
• People with all those skills will expect higher-than-average salaries
• You’ll find someone who can do everything… just not very well

5 tips for the hiring process

#1: Look for motivated people

When you’re making a hire, it’s easy to get caught up in experience, skills, and qualifications. They’re definitely important, but aren’t everything.

“Capability is something that we can teach and something that we can continue to develop. However, if they don’t have the motivation to do it today, chances are they won’t have it tomorrow or at any point in the future.”

But testing how motivated and driven someone is can be hard. “It’s really difficult because it’s not something you can easily measure. It’s a feeling as well,” Sarah explains. She went on to recommend looking for small details like their tone of voice and body language in the way they communicate to you.

#2: Make sure they are a cultural fit

Another thing Sarah shared was the importance of finding “right-fit people”. In essence, this means people that you’ll enjoy working with. “Making sure they’re aligned to your values, and that they can really blend into the culture that you’ve created,” she explains.

“If you’ve got someone that’s not aligned to your values, then they’re not going to stay with you for very long.”

But values can be difficult to put into words. And, if you’ve been running a business by yourself, they’re probably not anything you’ve had to think about. Instead, ask yourself what you want your clients to think of your business.

Your values can be as simple as 3-5 words. Candidates with similar values are much more likely to be a good fit.

#3: Balance immediate and future needs

Smaller companies tend to hire for more immediate needs and, generally, this is the best way to do things.

But with that being said, looking to the future is almost always going to be a benefit – as long as you have the budget for it. For example, heating companies have very seasonal work, and plenty of trades companies secure large contracts that take place over a longer period of time. In these situations, try to hire in advance so you have time to train the new hire and settle them in.

#4: Don’t interview alone

Interviewing is a difficult process, and everyone sees something different in people. Sarah’s advice is simple: “Don’t do it alone. Especially if you get to the point of being desperate, you tend to have tunnel vision and miss some major red flags.”

Instead, look to see if you can get support from someone – even if they’re not directly involved in your business.

You’ll know more of the technical details, but they can help you catch some of the red flags and make a more balanced decision on who’s the right person to hire.

#5: Ask interesting questions

An interviewer is only as good as the questions they ask.

Firstly, try to avoid asking anything you could learn from their CV.

Questions that help you understand their goals and unique traits are important. But for Sarah, a more unique approach is a great way to break the ice: “The first thing I would always say is “tell me the best day you’ve ever had in the last 5 years.””

“Everyone has that memory, and everyone has a memory of their worst day. That’s a really good indicator of what’s really important to them…. But also what did they take away from that experience?”

Helping your new hire settle in

When all is said and done, hiring turns to onboarding. Especially for heating & plumbing businesses, a big part of this process comes down to settling into day-to-day work.

Gas Engineer Software is a fully-integrated job management solution that can handle everything from quoting to paperless certificates, invoices, schedules, and lots more. These days, more and more engineers and admin staff are becoming accustomed to working digitally.

Adding a new team member to your subscription is quick and easy. Not only will this enable you to get the most out of your new hire, but it will also help them get up to speed as soon as possible and free of stress.