2 Counterintuitive Hiring Tips to Create Breakthrough Data Teams

There are 2 types of team members: accelerators and speed bumps.

Accelerators know what they're doing.??

They don't take up your time and they work very well with the entire team.?

On the other hand, speed bumps are the ones who impede progress and take up so much of your energy.?

So how do you hire the right people??

This often comes up when I meet CDOs, either in conferences or casual conversations.

Here is a counterintuitive insight from my experience growing multiple data teams over the last 15 years: candidates who are great in interviews are not always the best hires.?

Interviewing is a skill.?

Being a great team member is also a skill.

It’s important to understand they are two different skills.?

Type 1: Candidates who are great interviewees.?

During the interview - present them with a real-world data challenge that is outside their comfort zone.

This takes away the reliance on their past experience and allows you to discover,

Are they critical thinkers?

Have they considered all the aspects that can go into solutions?

Are they flexible thinkers or do they have a rigid approach?

If the solution doesn't fit, how do they adapt?

How much do they think about teamwork as a way to solve the problem?

These questions should give insight into how they operate, and if a great interview will translate into a powerful team member.

Type 2: Candidates who aren’t great interviewees but could be great team members.

Let’s say, you are interviewing a candidate who is very well recommended.

Great on paper and all the right qualities but they are just not hitting the right notes in the interview.

How do you find out whether they are a bad interviewee or a bad hire?

Here is one question I ask:

Tell me a project where you felt you really brought value and enjoyed yourself?

That always opens them up and gives you an insight into what makes them tick.

This one question helps identify candidates who don’t interview well, but would be great at doing the job that’s the right fit for them.

They will make for a great accelerator in your team, expanding your? capacity instead of eating it up.

To conclude, as the CDO, the sum you create has to be greater than the parts and that comes from hiring the right people.

Add these 2 questions to your arsenal, they will help you cultivate the right team spirit and culture.?

Click here and subscribe to the Leading with Data newsletter.

Every Friday morning, I'll email you 1 actionable tip to accelerate the business potential of your data & make it an organizational priority.