C2. Form-A-Team

Think and Plan for your best team

Which you can fulfill afford

Which you can manage

But prepare for the worst-when there is no one with you

If you are running an office, then to get staff might be pretty simple- for normal duties 9-5 – 5/6 days a week job.

But when you hire- don’t get confused with pretty resumes or sweet talks.

A lot of reason stated for leaving the job might be wrong

A lot of stated things which resume says they have been doing may turn out to be false

So try to test their simple skills

E.g said typing of 50wpm may turn out to be 15 in real

Give them a newspaper and ask them to read and interpret it. You may amuse to see their interpretation.

Ask them to write a simple reply for business enquiry and you can see interesting results.

Ask them to tabulate something to see how proficient they are in excel.

If hiring cook-do their food tasting

If hiring technician- ask them to repair something.

CAUTION:  resumes and interviews can be very illusive.

I read somewhere:

You will get what you inspect and not what you expect.

Once you have decided about a person to hire, Sign a proper contract about job explaining the desirable things to avoid confusion later on.

Expectations changes very fast when no job and when they on job.

The most difficult thing I found whole these years-to judge a person and our judgment being turn out to be wrong most of times.

Thinking myself not very successful in it- I hired some consultants and professional–if they can do better- result was rather worse.

I even hired a renowned personal coach in Singapore and paid good money to find out-how to improve it but still no benefit.

Continuing from the Case study of same business where you have taken a license to operate a food outlet:

Next thing you may do is: to find staff to run it

You will naturally advertise in paper or web or ask for reference

Being food business-it will have bit longer hours or morning or afternoon shifts so most of people may not be very keen on such jobs.

And resume you will get plenty but most of them will be foreigners either from Philippines or Myanmar or some other countries.

You will think to hire them

Naturally you have no choice than to hire them

But when you apply to MOM to get their work pass

Likelihood is –it will be rejected

Why?

-either they don’t have graduate degree

-Or you don’t have quota- you need 4 CPF paying locals for last 3 month (actually it is 5 month effectively) to get 1 S pass.

Chicken or egg

How to get locals?

How to hire foreigners?

If both not there, how to run business

Will you cook for your customers or will you serve them

This is one of biggest dilemma in service industry for small business.

The reason to state all this is not to discourage you but to make you aware that life of business is not that comfortable and you shall be really prepared to take them on.

So you are well equipped to face the situation when it arises.