Hire People with a Natural Capacity for Excellence

Gallup has been researching and writing about talent for decades. Here’s what it has concluded about the key characteristic that should drive a company’s recruiting efforts:

“The human capital decisions your organization makes every day directly affect productivity and profitability. Many organizations spend most of the talent acquisition process vetting candidates' education, skills, knowledge and experience. While these variables should, of course, factor into hiring decisions and are necessary requirements for certain jobs, organizations are missing the opportunity to evaluate a critical component of a person's success -- their natural talent.

“People have strong behavioral tendencies that can be measured, evaluated and compared to role expectations. Using a scientifically validated measurement of candidates' talents increases the likelihood of hiring high-potential candidates, which reduces the variance your organization will see in performance.” (“Identify Top Talent & Hire for Potential,”Gallup Workplace)

Gallup has identified five dimensions of talent potential organizations should look for in the people they hire: motivation, initiation, workstyle, collaboration, and thought process.

3 Keys

To make sure Gallup’s criteria for assessing potential is central to your talent strategy, apply the following three keys:

1. Use the Right Assessment Tools

There is no scarcity of resources available to help you assess candidates you’re considering hiring. Some measure strengths and aptitudes while others determine sources of motivation. At VisionLink, we have developed our own evaluation survey that we use in conjunction with the Kolbe Index Assessment. Kolbe measures the instinctive way people take action when they are striving to accomplish or achieve something requiring a serious effort. To find the right tools for your organization, you must first be clear about the kind of talent you want to attract and the value you expect those people to create.

2. Have a Compelling Purpose, Mission, and Vision

To be successful, your talent strategy must have an organic foundation. This means your employer brand is a magnet for the kind of talent that “belongs” in your organization. It naturally attracts the kind and quality of people you want. This can only happen if those who work for you become your advocates. You must make it easy for employees to brag about their employer because their experience working for you is so fulfilling. Great employer brands even develop advocates in individuals and entities unaffiliated with their companies. You want your business to become “top of mind” to friends, family members, recruiting firms, and anyone else making recommendations to job seekers. You want to be the place top talent seeks out because of the reputation you have earned.

3. Have a Distinctive Value Proposition

Once you’ve determined you have the right person to hire, you must make it easy for that individual to join your organization. Among other things, this means your employee value proposition must align with the expectations of top talent, because those people will have choices for where to work; they will have multiple job offers. Consequently, your value offer must paint a compelling picture of the distinct nature of your employee experience. Because in today’s environment, your value offer must stand out. The offers will have the following ingredients:

A View of the Future

Top talent wants to be shown where it fits in the organization, not just today, but tomorrow and beyond. High performers must be able to envision how their role will impact the growth trajectory of the company and why they are the best person to fulfill that role.

Capitalization of Unique Ability

Great people have a sense of their potential. They want to know whether the company hiring them has properly assessed that potential and plans to leverage the distinct talents and capabilities they offer.

Opportunities for Personal and Professional Development

Those who have a clear understanding of their unique abilities seek work that not just fulfills but expands them. They want to devote their energies to an organization that empowers them to improve personally and professionally through the resources, people, demands, and opportunities to which they will be exposed. ?

Financial Rewards

High performers expect to experience a correlation between their contributions and their earnings. In general, this means they expect to participate in the value they help create, both short and long-term. This doesn’t mean they need to receive equity in the business. It does mean there should be value-sharing plans that reward both short and long-term performance.

In Gallup’s estimation, a person’s potential is the most important factor when it comes hiring and developing talent. Of course a candidate’s education, experience, and skills are important. But if you want to build a high-performance culture, you must know what lies beyond the things listed on a resume. You must be able to assess a person’s potential. And once you’ve identified it, that person will need a compelling reason to join your organization.

To learn more about what a successful value offer includes, read: What is an Effective Employee Value Proposition?