Are you still hiring the same way and expecting different results?
Adam Robinson, CEO of Hireology, gives four ideas to consider about hiring.
- It's better to leave a position open than to make a bad hire.
- You should spend one day a week, or about 20% of your time, on hiring.
- The next person you hire who will turn out to be great, is likely to have no experience in your business or industry.
- There are always many job description criteria that you develop to assess candidates. He suggests dropping those and focusing on these four elements:
- Attitude
- Accountability
- Past related job success.
- Cultural fit.
Robinson says that one of the issues is that no one teaches managers how to hire and this leads to 75 percent reporting that they struggle in this area. They don't have strong hiring instincts. That hurts as getting the right person in the right seat on the bus is amongst the most important activities that a builder of teams has to do.
Often the hiring process is rushed, leading to the best person being on board even if there are alarm bells and s/he is the best of a weak group, but not great. A bad hire leads to larger problems down the road. Slow down and be willing to start the process over. That's where Robinson says that it is better to leave a position unfilled than to make a bad hire.
That leads to Robinson's next point which is to spend one day a week hiring. Many managers say that they cannot find that amount of time. Is it better to spend one day a week on hiring or five days a week dealing with poor hires? Be willing to increase your involvement in early screening interviews which is often delegated. Keep the lines of communication open with good people even when you do not have an opening or they are not planning a move. Develop the kind of relationship where one of you can call the other if circumstances change.
50 per cent of the factors predicting career success have nothing to do with experience in your industry. Therefore Robinson strongly suggests focusing on his four super elements of success.
Attitude
You want to hire people who have a positive attitude to work, not just your company or the position you are offering. That is an outlook that is unlikely to change over time. Ask the candidate what was frustrating in their previous position. People with the attitude you are looking for, will typically go out of their way to be positive in their response.
Accountability
You want people who feel that they have control over the outcome of their work and take responsibility for results. Ask about the last time they set a goal that was not achieved and see whether they see themselves as having been accountable.
Past Related Job Success
Discuss with the candidate whether they have met formal goals in prior positions that are similar to the goals for the job they are interviewing for. Remember many jobs have goals and measurables including salespeople, delivery people and baristas.
Although people who have not had such monitoring can still be successful, those who are used to such a work environment have a higher chance of success.
Cultural fit
Does the candidate share values and work style with your organization? To answer that question, you first need to understand the culture yourself to know what you are looking for.
You should also determine if the candidate truly wants the job or is more interested in using it until something better comes along.
In the same way that a sales process needs more calls that those that will result in actual sales, so you need to draw sufficient interest to be able to find your ideal candidate. Robinson, the author of The Best Team Wins suggests 130 resumes to review, leading to 27 phone interviews, which result in nine in-person interviews, to leave you with three finalists who you should re-interview in depth to find your perfect person.
Hiring is not easy. But it is vital for your business's success. Try including some of these ideas into your approach.
Happy hiring!