Hiring an employee is one of the most strategic and important decisions you will make as an employer and manager. The cost of hiring the wrong person can be huge to a company, not only in terms of the cost of replacing the individual, but the impact of a bad hire on the rest of the company can be far-reaching.

Here are 4 principles to help you recruit the best people:

1) Get to know the whole person: When you fill a job, you are not only bringing in someone who has the skills, you are bringing a person into the organisation with their own personality, life experience and values. Take time to get to know key potential hires – this will include interviews (ask questions like – what are you passionate about?/ what are your interests?), but you may want to bring them into the company and give them a tour,  bring them for lunch, invite them to company events. This will give you an insight into the individual in a more normal setting. There are some very good, online, evaluations that you can also use – but engage a qualified practitioner to do this.

2) Meet people now who you might want to hire later: With the difficulties in finding excellent candidates (particularly in technical/IT positions) – if you meet a really interesting person don’t forget about them! You may need to fill a position that would match them perfectly in the next 12 – 18 months, so you might be able to hire them at a later stage.

3) Great people want to work with great people: You need to create an environment that attracts great people for your sector/industy/company.  Use your great hires to attract other great hires, include them in the hiring process, and use a referral programme as much as you can.

4) Network all the time: Many jobs are never advertised because clever hiring companies will network and find their perfect hire. So ensure that you are networking to meet prospective candidates, whether by social media or in person.