It may sound bizarre for someone in the recruitment and staffing sector to want help in hiring their own employees, but that’s exactly what it is—when you work in the industry, your shortsightedness is frequently a hurdle in finding the proper support. It’s almost as if you’re too close to the problem to take a step back and think about how best to acquire the support that your staffing firm requires.
A receptionist can be many different things. The finest receptionists wear several hats and do them effectively. They may relieve you of many of your day-to-day administrative and communication responsibilities, allowing you to focus on your business. Receptionists, like everything else, come in a variety of styles and sizes. You can outsource, engage a contract receptionist, or even take someone on as a full-time (or part-time) employee.
Here are crucial things you need to keep in mind when you’re hiring a receptionist:
Personality Matches
This is crucial. You don’t want to hire someone that’s going to put off potential leads and candidates with their personality. Maybe they’re not a people person, maybe they’re just mean, maybe they’re just a bit overly enthusiastic—whatever it is, you don’t want to deal with an unhappy customer. A happy customer is a repeat customer.
The Focus Is on the Task
Do you need your receptionist to be a jack-of-all-trades? Or do they just need to focus on answering phones and routing calls? No matter what you need, you need to be upfront about it. You don’t want to have to train someone from scratch and then have them quit because you’re asking them to do something they’re not capable of.
Experience and training
Many job postings will list that they’re looking for a receptionist with X amount of education and X amount of experience. How much is enough? The only way to know is to ask questions in the interview, and the only way to do that is to actually interview them. They could have been a receptionist for just a few months and have plenty of experience, but maybe their resume doesn’t reflect it. Or maybe they’ve been a receptionist for five years and don’t have a degree. The point is, don’t take a receptionist’s education and training for granted. You need to see for yourself what kind of receptionists they are.
The Right Attitude
You want a receptionist that’s looking for a long-term position and is excited to get to know your company inside and out. You want them to know what you do and who you do it for. You want a receptionist that’s going to be proud to wear your badge and help you succeed.
Whether you do it in-house or outsource the task, hiring a receptionist is a delicate process that requires so much more than just filling out an application and securing a signature. There’s a lot of personalities to consider and a lot of questions to ask. You need to be honest about what you’re looking for and what you’re willing to do to get it.
Conclusion
Receptionists are a critical part of any business, whether it’s big or small. They have to juggle so many tasks on a daily basis and do it all without any mistakes. There is a lot of pressure that comes with the job, but if you hire the right people for the job (and take the time to train them properly), you’ll find that you’ll have a smooth and streamlined business.
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