How to weed out poor hiring for good...

• Interview people who already work for youPick your best employees and talk to them.
Make a list of their common qualities then write profiles for the perfect employee. Now you can look for candidates who match those "perfect" profiles.

• Do your best not to hire anyoneJust because you lose a worker, don’t immediately assume you have to hire a replacement.
Can you reassign work without overburdening people? Can you eliminate unnecessary work? Many managers who hire as a first reaction realise later that they didn’t need to fill that open position and then they're faced with letting go of someone.

• The first place to look for “new” employees:
Your own companyHiring and promoting from within not only increases morale, it also gives you candidates withtrack records you already know - or can easily reference with other managers in your company.

• Write this down on every interview form: “I will not lower my standards.”
Many managers get desperate after the 20th interview and convince themselves that a particularcandidate is “good enough.” Promise yourself you won't compromise your standards. If you slack on this, you'll regret it later.• Don’t focus on job descriptions - anyone can write those. Focus on specific projects candidates completed and the resultsHave them talk at length about the process. Hire people with a proven production record - not fancy résumés.

• Send candidates to lunch with a trusted employee after the interview.
Candidates are on their best behaviour during interviews, often giving rehearsed answers tocanned questions. At lunch, they let their guard down - especially when the interviewer isn’t present. Have your trusted team member brief you on the lunch.