Building a company is both an art and a science. The process of identifying and clarifying the organizational need, engaging and attracting the best market talent, getting offers accepted, and retaining the high performers, is an immense effort that takes leadership and team involvement for optimal success. Today I will share a few top actionable considerations as you work to build your high performance team through an optimal search process.
- Identify key stakeholders and ensure alignment on the problem we are looking to solve with the hire. The key stakeholders are those feeling the most "pain" from this organizational gap. These stakeholders should offer input on the preferred skills and experiences, priorities and potential tradeoffs. An optimal search strategy starts with a clear vision of the target. If the target gets distorted through the search process, as it often does, it is time to recalibrate with stakeholders to ensure clarity.
- With clear vision, create search plan. Where is our target individual today? What company? Geography? Area of clinical focus? Do I have preferred targets, as well as a secondary plan to avoid losing momentum in search? How will I reach out to each of these individuals? What will I say?
- Create the message that will engage your particular target individual. Understanding why your message will be of interest to your target is critical. In our world of constant white noise and battle for attention, the message that will engage the individual in conversation is gold.
- Be prepared to share what value your opportunity will provide the individual. People go to work for leadership they respect, a product they feel they can get behind, a market they believe will grow, and a mission that resonates.
- Keep a streamlined, efficient interview process. From initial outreach to offer conversation, each touchpoint with the individual you on your team is evaluating their experience with you. Ensure stakeholder calendars are primed in advance and each knows their role in the interview process.
- Stay close through onboarding and beyond. Building a high performance team is a dynamic, not static, process. Recruiting and hiring are only half of it, ensuring optimal performance involves a culture of career nourishment.
A company's number one asset is its people. Building a high performance team starts with a best in class search process, a process that can be your greatest marketing tool. There is only one hire for each position, yet there are often many others who do not land the job. Each will walk away with an impression about your business. Ensure it is positive.
