Getting the right people on board is important for the success of your business, which is why Company owners should have a formal hiring process in place.

By putting in time and effort to find the right people, you will have a better chance of hiring the best ones and avoiding mistakes that will cost you money and hurt you.

Many business owners have a good sense of whether or not someone is right for the job. But you shouldn’t just go with your gut. The decision about who to hire should be based on solid, objective criteria.

Here are 7 ways to make sure you don’t hire the wrong person

1) Figure out what kind of company you have

To find the best people for your company, you need to know what it needs. What does it want to do? What does it stand for? What kinds of people fit in? What kind of mind do you want?

Look at possible candidates in the context of this bigger picture and see how they rank.

2) Create detailed job descriptions

If you don’t know what your employees are supposed to do, it will be hard to find the right person to hire. Make job descriptions for each position in the company that list the responsibilities, level of skills and experience needed, and how long the job will last.

During interviews, make sure to explain the job requirements clearly.

3) Plan interviews in a way that makes sense

Make a scorecard that can be used to grade and compare how well candidates did on a set of criteria.

When it’s time to interview, it’s a good idea to talk to serious candidates more than once and include other people, like an HR person and the manager the new employee will report to.

Use methods of interviewing based on how someone acts. These involve asking candidates to talk about how they dealt with certain problems in previous jobs. One of the best ways to predict the future is to look at the past. You can also give them a scenario with a hard situation and ask them how they would deal with it.

4) Test

Another important part of the hiring process should be making candidates do a task that uses the skills for which they are being hired. Why not ask the candidate to drive a truck if that’s part of the job, or to give a sales presentation if that’s part of the job?

5) Don’t just look at the CV

Even if someone looks good on paper, that doesn’t mean they’re the best person for the job. Ask the candidates about their goals, interests, and top priorities. If their dream is to work for a big company with a big salary, it might be hard for them to work for a small company.

6) Ask for references

Taking the time to check references is always a good idea. Even though fewer businesses give references for former employees, checking references is still one of the best ways to learn about candidates. Also, you might want to do a little research on your own by talking to people who know the candidate or have worked with them in the past.

7) Let them on the boat

Once you’ve found the best people, you need them to be fully on board. Research shows that a good orientation program can increase the number of new employees who stay on the job by up to 40%. In addition to patient training, you might want to pair the new employee with a more experienced worker who can guide and help the person during his or her first few days on the job.

Lastly, remember two simple rules: make sure it’s about the job and be consistent. Make sure you write down every step of the process and have good, solid, objective reasons for hiring or not hiring someone.

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