Mark Zuckerberg’s one rule for hiring the best employees

We all know how successful Facebook has been over the past few years and this has a lot to do with the quality of the staff who work there. We have a saying “Companies don’t succeed, the people do.” This would be very apt for Facebook, who now have close to 6500 employees worldwide.

So what’s Zuckerberg’s one rule? “I would only hire someone to work directly for me if I would work for that person.” Interesting approach to recruitment, however as he goes onto say it has worked pretty well for him over the years. I can certainly see how this rule would work in a big organisation, but how does it apply to smaller businesses? Well Sue-Ellen Watts, managing director of wattsnext HR, tells her clients to make sure you hire people you like to work with.

I do like this approach because after all we do spend a fair amount of time with our employees, so we need to at least be able to get along with them. We don’t have to become their best friends as this can sometimes lead to other bigger issues, but they must fit into your current team culture otherwise you could face a mutiny.

Zuckerberg also advises that while companies could choose to compromise on quality today and get a little more work done over the next six months, it won’t pay off in the long run. By this he means we could hire in a hurry because we need someone to do a job, but this usually backfires in the long term. On this I totally agree, I see too many retailers who rush the recruitment process and end up with the wrong person, then they spend the next few months having to performance manage the new employee.

Recruiting staff does take time and you have to follow a plan, otherwise you are relying too much on luck. Here’s our 7 key points on how to hire the best employee:

• Do a strengths and weaknesses analysis of your current team – you can therefore recruit to combat your weaknesses
• Spend time identifying the ideal person – write down exactly the perfect person for the role, what skills and personality will they possess.
• Be creative in where you look for these people – don’t keep doing what you’ve always done unless it’s really working for you.
• Screen all the way through the process – every phone call, or face to face is a chance to evaluate them
• Have a rigorous interview process – define your questions, have a structure and stick to it and also please ask the same questions of every applicant
• Check referees – this is a must, the only way to verify what they have done and how well.

Spending time on each of these steps will ensure you get a better result.

Having run a number of 1 day courses, teaching managers how to recruit the best people, we often have participants experiencing ah – ha moments when they realise some of the mistakes they have been making. Learning how to recruit is an area that a lot of managers have little training in, with the outcome being – wrong people, who are challenging to manage and struggle to perform.

If you need some help in this vital area, please let us know.

Roger Simpson – CEO, The Retail Solution and Author of “The Retail Solution” With over 35 years’ industry experience, Roger Simpson is recognized as Australia’s #1 Authority on customer ROI in the retail industry and as a global expert on staff coaching, customer service and selling skills.