4 Secrets to hiring great employees!
Hiring employees can be an expensive and time-consuming process. Hiring the right employee can make your life much easier and hiring the wrong employee can add to your problems. Most people look at previous employment history and skill sets to decide on candidate selection.
Although past history and skills can be decent indicators of future work, it is far wiser to look at this process through a different lens. Consider the four major areas before deciding whether a candidate can be considered a good fit, that is, for them to add value to your organization, be a good return on investment and for them to be successful.
The four areas to consider are:
1. The culture of the department and company Begin with the big picture and look at the culture of the department or organization a candidate will be coming into. The essential elements of culture are invisible, but learning about yours is paramount when making a decision to bring another person into this elusive mix. A brief and simplified description of culture is: It’s how things are done in your company, the rights and rituals, company climate, reward system, basic values and the shared assumptions that a group has made in learning how to successfully deal with external tasks and cope with internal relationships.
2. Behaviors the candidate will need to successfully complete job requirements Next in line are the behaviors required for this person to be successful. Behaviors are attributes of a person’s personality which will increase their probability for success or failure within a certain culture and job. Behaviors cannot be taught; typically, people are born with certain behavioral patterns, and as they age, they tend to adjust, but don’t typically change due to training. For instance, let’s say you want to hire a salesperson. The behaviors that might top your list are:
- Ability to communicate easily with others
- Is a self-starter, naturally competitive and goal oriented
- Is a good listener and recognizes opportunity when he or she hears it
- Copes easily with rejection, doesn’t take it personally and moves on to the next prospect
3. The skill set required to successfully complete the job duties Skills, on the other hand, are learned competencies which can be generally achieved regardless of one’s behavioral set. In other words, keyboard proficiency, understanding computer programs, and the ability to learn and explain sales features and benefits are all skills that can be learned through systematic acquisition of information and practice.
4. What does the organization or department need in terms of a team member to help them mature, evolve and be more successful? The last question, and in many ways the most critical and overlooked, is what does the department need from a human standpoint to improve and excel as a unified team? For instance, do you have a department that is mainly full of young get-it-done types who could benefit from a slightly older more methodical type who could add stability to the unit? Or perhaps there is a group of older people who tend to be set in their ways and need someone with enthusiasm who can jump start your department.
Obviously these are extreme examples, but you get the idea.Taking the extra time to make the best choice will save you from having increased rates of attrition, high training costs and personality conflicts, which may lead to costly litigation in the future. Ask yourself, “What is my team missing, and what type of personality do they need to grow?” Then think systemically and assess behaviors as much or more than skill sets.
Michael Han Senior Recruiter Judge Executive Search [email protected] 610-617-1442