You ever hired someone and realise maybe this person isn’t such a good fit? You start to regret it and wonder how you got it wrong. Well, you most likely got it wrong during the hiring stage. There were red flags you didn’t pick up on and you ended up with a candidate that will never be the employee of the month even if he or she was the only employee. So how do you make sure you don’t end up making the same mistake again? Easy! You follow James' guide to hiring.

Quite recently, James decided to start a cab service business and the first step was to hire personnel to drive the cab and bring a target amount at the end of each day. To make sure the driver was a good fit, he did the following, and here’s where you take note. Each step is intricate.

First the drill

Here he asked hard-hitting questions in a bid to know the driver. Questions ranged from his qualifications to further background checks. This almost feels like the third degree, but trust James, it is worth it. It is important to know if this person can do what he/she claims to be able to do, how well he/she can, and how long they’ve been doing it.

On the job assessment

Next, James had him check the car he was about to drive to make sure he could handle it. This is a very important tip. You just don’t hand over the work equipment without assessing if the person you are assigning it to knows how to handle it. Work equipment costs money. The last thing you want is an incompetent staff that causes damage to the equipment

Subtle threats

This is unorthodox and we do not endorse it, but this is James’ guide so it is what it is. So one thing James never plays with is his money. You better have his money! According to Papa Benjy, James can ‘act a fool’ if he doesn’t get it. Explains why he told the driver he was about to hire that there will be consequences if he doesn’t deliver. That alone was enough to put fear in him.

Referee Check

Have a third party present. The rate at which hired hands abscond with work equipment is getting quite alarming. If you paid attention to the news, you'd probably have heard of a driver that stole the boss's car or a delivery guy that ran off with the dispatch bike. Cases like this make it necessary for hired hands to have a third party vouch for them. The third party serves as a witness or a referee. In this case, Papa Benjy was around to play that part.

Now, would be the best time to put it out there that following this guide isn't a sure guarantee that everything will go smoothly with the hired hand. Things can still go south. Just ask James who nearly blew a gasket when the new driver he was meticulous in hiring came back with a wig instead of cash on the first day on the job. Don't believe us? Watch it here.

This guide might not guarantee you getting an exemplary staff, but it will help weed out the wrong ones. We all know James could have hired worse. Hopefully, things get better between him and his driver and the whole drama was just due to first-day jitters. It would suck if we had to scrap this entire guide.

Watch My Siblings and I on AM Urban every weeknight at 20:30 WAT on AM Urban and see what becomes of James and his driver.