Part 3 in the series of Right From the Start
Let’s be unconventional! Let’s say that hiring a team member follows a difference course of events, such as:
- Defining the company vision, core values and business plan
- Take stock in the current team vs. required talent to achieve goals
- Document the flow of information, the tasks involved and expectations of that process flow
- Evaluate the system and address the weak link in that flow
- Define the team member needed and the skillset required to enhance that flow
- Create the job description.
Hiring because you are overwhelmed with work and your business is ramping up with a new product or service is common, but not always efficient. Time to explore the unconventional and get the results that you are looking for!
Here are three scenarios of different types of companies in my industry:
- The home/virtual office entrepreneur
- The consulting company with staff that exceeds ten
- The firm that employs over 25
One would argue that with the smaller company, you can barely handle managing a few consultants as you wear the hat of owner, social media director and consultant. And such a small group cannot have as much impact on the business world as the larger firm. But if they are the right people doing the work with the company’s vision in mind, then the reach can be as far as the eye can see. If the owner has established where they want to go/grow with their company and what type of person can fit the role needed for that quest, then the company will flourish, even have a global presence. The key is searching for the right “breed” of people that work well within the defined environment, have a phenomenal personal skillset and an attitude to win one for the team.
You noticed that I did not say that new hires had to be experts in the field. I have found that persons with a wicked wonderful personality, an innate sense of detail and a positive and determined attitude can far outweigh any hire than is great at their craft. The nature of the person can be independent as a worker, but always a team player. Our company used a method called “The Predictive Index” to define the type of company we were and the type of person we wanted to incorporate into our structure. Be specific on what you are looking for, you’ll be more apt to know when you found them.
Before onboarding, do your homework. Prepare the workplace before the new hire is brought on. Make sure to carve out time for training, evaluating, shadowing and mentoring. This is not a snatch and go process so don’t give them the impression that you are a knee-jerk company. I have seen companies with dreadfully long interview timeliness; misplace information, key people off on vacation and the like. What a tragedy it would be to have found the right person only to lose them in the chaos of hiring. Great onboarding development will help you know the process of bringing on a new hire and making them feel confident in your policies and procedures.
Once you have them, how do you “lead” them in the right direction? Right off the bat, the question is whether they understand what it means to live up to the company core values. Does the company respect their initial agreement with the employee? Often, the company hires a “part-time” person but imposes full-time work or the company promised an autonomous work place but controls the employee’s every move. A healthy and introspective evaluation of THE COMPANY is just as important as the employee. Weekly meetings to get the pulse of how the employee is doing, personally and professionally helps to establish a healthy company relationship. Establish goals with the employees and help them find success in their work as it improves the overall value of the company. Acknowledge that success publically and stay involved in what goals they are trying to achieve. And finally, LISTEN to what they have to say. Leaders cant lead unless they know what direction they are headed and are aware of everyone else’s direction as well.
Finally, and this is a most unpleasant conversation, WEED out the mistakes you’ve made when hiring. This may have occurred because not enough information was shared up front, you as a company may not have successfully lead the employee in the right direction and they have become independent of your vision. Lastly, the employee themselves did not find what they were looking for. Hopefully, they have grown through the process, appreciate your leadership and want more than you can offer. These are the harder ones to let go. It is easier to let go a disgruntled employee, or worse yet, someone who is stealing from your company. But if an employee is not the right fit, there will be more grunts than you bargained for and they will be stealing your resources as you babysit their needs. It’s best to cut them loose and grow stronger. With all of that said, I truly believe that the right hiring process will lead to less weeding and more growth. Not that employees may find a need to leave, that happens, but a company incorporate acquiring top talent and keep that on the forefront of their horizon in order to be sustainable.
