Recruiting and hiring are often done in haste, leaving company to repent in long run. Today, there’s a reason to be concerned about negligent hiring. Negligent hiring means you and your company can be sued if one of your hires injures other employees, especially if you could have foreseen a problem but did not do a thorough check of new employee before hiring.

The following list of five essential hiring practices establishes minimum you should follow:

1. Require outside testing. Allow a competent, impartial professional interviewer to administer both paper and pencil and verbal tests. Professional testing firms can administer valid psychological tests for intelligence, stability, even determinations of addictive or dishonest personalities, as well as skills tests of important technical abilities in your workforce. I find testing often validates a suspicion I already had but wasn’t yet ready to come to terms with.

Talk to as many consultants as you can before hiring one. Even if you have one person or firm in mind, interview at least a few others as a sort of due diligence. You'll probably find that each interview helps you focus on issues you're hiring a consult to help resolve.

1. Most consultants focus on two areas: cutting costs and raising revenues. What do you see as relationship between two functions? Which do you do better?

Cost cutting is consultant's usual expertise. It's what most companies need. Most of these hired outside consultants to take an objective look at organizational charts, value-adding processes and competitive environments. "We spend a lot of time talking to a company's customers, so we understand what they like and don't like," one consultant says. "What does customer value? Is it time? Is it quality? We define that." What this means is that a company can cut jobs and still not touch on one non-value-added activity or add value to customer.

2. What was your professional experience before you became a consultant?

Ultimately, you should want any consultant you use to have a strong bottom-line sensibility. You want this person-or team-to focus on things that will add greatest amount of value to your company in shortest amount of time. This kind of thinking doesn't come naturally to many people. It usually demands two kinds of experience: as a chief executive officer or as a corporate turnaround specialist. A consultant who has this kind of experience has dealt with strict cost controls, high-pressure scrutiny and need for quick results. These are same traits you should look for in anyone giving you expert advice.

3. How many professionals work with you or at your firm?

Business consultants fall essentially into two categories: Solo-practitioners and team players. The differences between two usually involve type of work they take. Most of time, soloists deal with less-specific, strategic or vision-related issues; teams get into more tightly focused number crunching. Less-specific functions tend to take less time (sometimes as little as one day); more specific take more. One of these functions isn't better or worse than other. The trap to beware: The marketing soloist who claims he or she can also review all of your accounting.

4. Will you sign a letter of confidentiality? Will you refrain from working for our competitors?

Ask all consultants to sign a letter of confidentiality. Some owners and managers assume that short-term strategic consultants pose less of a threat to proprietary interests than number crunchers. Don't make that assumption. You and your staff should feel free to discuss any business subject with your consultant and trust his or her discretion. If you feel uncomfortable, you won't discuss things candidly. Your risk in these cases isn't usually that consultant will knowingly steal proprietary in formation or material. Most are professional enough-and work in small enough markets-that reputations matter. More often, risk involves a consultant unwittingly mentioning something. If he or she has signed a confidentiality letter, he or she will be more likely to think twice.

5. Who are some of your other clients? Who are some people and companies with whom you've worked before? Can I call them to ask about your work?

Don't be wowed by big-shot former clients. At big companies, consultants are hired in teams to tackle extremely specific projects. Just because person in expensive suit claims Microsoft as a former client doesn't mean he knows Bill Gates on a first-name basis. In fact, it's better if consultant has worked with companies closer to your size and shape. They'll more likely understand your needs.

6. With how many clients do you work at one time? Do you have enough time to devote to our company to accomplish our goals? Will you return phone calls or emails same day?