Some managers do a great job of regularly giving praise for a job well done or giving constructive feedback when needed. And, while a system of regular and continual feedback should be the goal of every supervisor, the annual performance review is a significant managerial tool that should be used to augment this regular feedback.

We’ve all experienced situations such as these and have wondered what we can do to ensure that next time we hire that we’ve hired the right person – the first time. Let’s look at three key areas to consider as you recruit and hire a new employee.

In my role as a human resources advisor for a small local non-profit, I, along with the other advisor, sat down recently with the Executive Director to review a draft Employee Handbook from 2008. While basically a solid document that met most of the federal and State requirements for an organization of this size, a few red flags were raised with some wording and concepts. We were able to, in a meeting that lasted less than 2 hours; update this document so that it more accurately reflects the intent and goals of the organization, ensuring it conveys the new organizational culture. In addition, we ensured that the policies met current legal requirements and that we took into consideration technology changes that led to a policy statement on the use of social media in the workplace.