I’m obsessed with hiring amazing people.

But when you go on your own – hiring becomes a whole other beast and challenge.

I often ask myself how I can take what I’ve done for OTHER people for many years…and apply it to my own business.

It’s taken me awhile to figure out how do this.

I’m just like you in that I’ve personally hired only a handful of people over time and most of them honestly were not the right fit.

I know what it’s like to hire for a launch and then feel deserted.

I know how frustrating it is to spend money before you make money – on people that are only stressing you out and not really alleviating the workload and isolation you feel when you’re first starting your online business.

I know that it’s heartbreaking to THINK you’ve found the right person and then eventually they disappear. It feels like a huge failure….

And I’ve acknowledged my part in the hiring struggle.  I’m all about taking the blame right away.  You are the boss, the one that makes the decisions and ultimately whether or not your team or people who you pay do a good job is on your shoulders.

But today I’ve got some creative ways you might want to try if you’re getting sick and tired of hiring the wrong person.

Because when you find people who can hang gracefully with these 3 innovative hiring processes – they can hang with ANYTHING…

Do Group Interviews

Whoa. This one sounds stressful and a little torturous.

But – you see right away who’s going to stand out and who doesn’t.

I know it’s crazy and sounds scary for the applicant, but this could be one of the most genius ideas Peter Chee of Thinkspace shared with me.

Put together a plan of what’s going to happen – a schedule of events for a specific period of time ranging from 2-3 hours – or maybe even the whole day.

Be prepared with a list of questions – have someone you trust and knows what you want watch, take notes, make comments on the applicants or record it if you are doing this online.

Make sure people understand what’s going to happen, how to respond to questions, and that you will be making your decision AFTER the conversation.

How this translates if you have a virtual business – ideally – you want to do this in person, but if you are building an online business – use Google Hangouts or Skype group video or even GoToMeeting.

Everyone Has A Say

Already have a few people working with you? 

Give them a voice – allow them to give their feedback on the candidate and make sure to facilitate at least one group or one on one call with your other team members.

Obviously – you get the final word – but it’s nice to know if your team is happy about the choice too…especially if they will be working with the person more than you will.

Down side to this is the team can feel pressured to say the right thing or hesitate to give honest feedback – so they can match what you want.  So – you have to make sure your team knows that their judgement is only an opinion helping you to make that final decision.

My husband told me that he gets to weigh in on any team hires at his company (which is a creative, non-corporate environment). He concurs that it’s a little bit stressful to say yay or nay on someone – especially if they end up working there and you said no.

If team culture is important to you (and it should be) – this is a great way to include your current team and make them feel part of a pretty major company decision.

Hired For A Day

This one happens in some industries and again can be a little nerve-wracking for the team and the person applying for the job – however – it is a great way to quickly see how someone works, operates under pressure and heck – you get some actual work done in the process!

You ask your top 3 candidates to spend one full day with the team – whether it’s virtual or in person.

The day is part interview with the essentials members of the team (or not) and also includes some specific tasks that must be done on that day.

Make sure the tasks you choose are ones that require your top skills for the position – research, communication, and ability to get the job done.

• Set a goal – this is what you need to accomplish.

• This is what we’ll be looking at.

• This is why we’re doing this.

• And then – this is what we’ll do to wrap up the day.

Of course – make this a paid day – don’t just put someone to work for free. That’s not cool.

One game company I know does these types of 1 day interviews with people even when they aren’t hiring.  Someone might go in – be asked to design a level, provide strategy for improving a department, and then walk away unpaid and not really considered for a position – because there was none in the first place.

One word – shady.

Make sure you pay the person for their time.  Be honest about your hiring needs.

Each of these above solutions has been used in REAL COMPANIES….

Your turn.

Are you hiring your first person? No problem –  you can still do these.

Skip hiring someone for 1 month or 3 months. Find out in 1 day or less.

Not sure you can do it alone? Find someone who has your best interests at heart and won’t be as attached to the outcome as you – make that person you are hiring wing man or woman.

Have a team or starting one – Make sure you know what you want from them when you are thinking about adding another person.

One more thing – if you’ve hired someone through a unique process and it worked – share it in the comments below!

And if you want to know what to look for a team to help you launch your next product, check out Fearless Launching.  We’re not always in session, but there’s always someone in the clubhouse willing to answer your questions!