The hiring process is fraught with potential disaster since a bad hire can set you back months or, at a minimum, cost you tens of thousands in wages and lost opportunity. Do not enter this process without some thought and planning. If hiring is just one of your many urgent priorities, execute these top 3 hiring tips and you will significantly increase your probability of a successful hire.
- DEFINE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Get clear on what you need this person to accomplish (write it out and gain consensus with stakeholders). Consider what the timeline is and the resources they will need. Most important, what amount of training and direction can you or someone on the team provide? Defining these items will help you identify the key skills, the degree of experience, and the attributes this person will need to be successful.
Also, be realistic about the capacity that you or the team have to work with a new person. The more capacity you have to train and manage, the more opportunity you have to grow talent which, of course, costs less in wages but more in time.
2. CREATE the VALUE PROPOSITION
Talented people with good resumes have choices. Make sure you can articulate and sell the vision and purpose of your organization. Paint a picture of the culture, outline the company and team values, and share about your leadership style.
Also, ask questions to better understand a candidates’ motivations and needs. Armed with this information, you can best articulate the value proposition for your potential candidate.
3. AVOID PUPPY LOVE
Your eagerness, or possible desperation, to find a good person, combined with the phenomena of first impression bias,are a likely recipe for a bad hire.
Your natural brain process to simplify the world can and will work against you unless you plan ahead. My advice, don’t jump into hiring commitments until you have thoroughly evaluated a person’s fit to your needs and theirs. This does not mean draw out the process, as you may lose them with delays, but take extra steps to ensure that fit and expectations are lined up. Plan your questions (email me if you would like my 20-minute prep for any interview guide) to ensure you dig deep into key areas of importance to a person’s success in this role. At least for higher levels, have two interviews (change the setting such as adding a lunch), have another team member interview, and do some indirect and direct reference checks.
I recommend that both parties go in with their eyes wide open (not just hope it will work out). Get to know this person’s strengths and challenges, how he/she manages stress and tight timelines, how your leadership styles are different or similar, and how can you best support and motivate them. Our New Hire Accelerator helps our clients be successful in this area.
Planning and preparing for the hiring process may seem of obvious importance but, with so many priorities on your plate, it is easy to run out of time and rush to a solution. Put priority on these top 3 activities and you will significantly improve your hiring success.
About the author: Leanne is the President & CEO of Premierehire, an executive search and leadership development company that helps clients attract, recruit, and retain top talent in a variety of professions. We customize a strategic recruiting process for your success now and in the future and integrate in-depth psychometric assessments to help ensure strong team synergy and cultural fit.
Please call us to see if we can solve your hiring and leadership development challenges or email leanne@premierehire.com.
