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“All Aboard!” Don’t you just wish that
hiring new employees was that easy? Unfortunately, it’s such
a challenge today that in a recent national survey, over 30
percent of CEOs said up to half of their employees are a
poor fit for the job. What’s more, putting the wrong person
in the wrong position just to fill the vacancy can have dire
consequences to your organization in terms of poor employee
morale, low productivity and lost opportunities.
The good
news is that companies can drastically improve their
workforce quality by adopting a proactive mindset and
consistently using the right hiring procedures. Of course
every company is always looking for good people, but the
employees who are considered “A” players are usually working
elsewhere—and happily—so they’re less likely to be seeking
greener pastures. So if your company’s recruiting strategy
isn’t well developed, you’re basically hiring other
companies’ “B” and “C” players. True, an occasional “A”
player will walk through your door, but you’re more likely
to find that elusive diamond through the establishment of
solid, consistent recruitment processes.
A multi-layered,
robust, recruiting process must be rooted in proactive
versus reactive recruiting. In today’s world, many companies
have the risky tendency of waiting until a job opening
occurs to initiate an emergency job search—reactive
recruiting at its worst! In a rush to fill the open position
and lacking constant, solid recruiting procedures, the
company is more likely to take a less qualified candidate
or, in some cases, whoever shows up first.
Plan Ahead With
Good Job Descriptions
Avoid such dire measures by
establishing a very structured and systemized selection
process well ahead of when your company actually needs it.
This begins with writing a job description before the actual
recruiting process.
A good job description includes: the
job’s purpose, a detailed breakdown of responsibilities, to
whom the new person will report, ways to measure the
person’s effectiveness, the job’s vital factors, how the
person will spend their time, their authority within the
company, and the required competencies, background and
experience. The job description also drives your
interviewing process and questions, as well as the
employee’s training plan. What’s more, writing a job
description before recruiting forces you to think through
the position, the competencies of the person you need and
becomes the blueprint for the success of the job and that
person.
Determine the Interview Game Plan
Once you’ve
attracted the top candidates, you need an interview game
plan.
Considering what’s required and wanted in the new
hire, what are you truly looking for in an ideal employee,
and how do these attributes relate to what’s needed for the
position? If given the opportunity, what competencies would
your customers look for from your employee to serve their
needs? Whatever these competencies are, the candidate you
choose must have them.
Your interview plan must also include
a robust selection process. This enables you to evaluate the
potential hire in different ways. For example, you may need
to conduct several interviews, and will want to do
background check(s) at the very least.
Focus on Professional
Development
After successfully hiring an employee, the next
step in the recruitment process is to develop this person
via ongoing coaching, training and planning that will enable
his or her professional growth. Unfortunately, most
companies have no structured on-boarding plan for new
personnel. By solely focusing on bringing someone aboard,
they forget to follow through with important ongoing
training and development.
The first 90 days of employment
are critical to the long-term success of the new employee.
Therefore you should develop and implement a 90-day training
plan to secure the employee’s place within the organization
and facilitate his or her improvement. You can vary this
training based upon the new employee’s level of experience
with your existing systems. But it’s important to train this
new hire on business practices, how your company functions
and how these fit into the organization, too.
Key to the
success of this 90-day training plan is using a mentoring
team consisting of a peer, manager and support person. The
mentoring team should meet at least monthly to give feedback
to the new hire, ensure he or she has someone they can go to
with questions, and enable their success at adhering to the
90-day training plan.
Establish Expectations Now
Also during
this time, it’s critical to set clear, result-oriented
goals. Why? Because setting these requirements will
communicate company expectations and accountability for
results, ensure that the new employee understands the
company’s priorities, and, most importantly, measure whether
he or she is the right person for the job. Once the employee
successfully completes the first 90 days, you’ll need a
six-months-to-one-year, personal development plan to
facilitate his or her advancement and growth.
Incorporate
the Current Business Plan
Finally, do you have a
well-developed, current business plan? From day one, such a
plan helps new employees understand the company’s direction
and the role they play in it. Based upon the business plan,
your recent hire should also grasp the company’s vital
factors—the unique set of critical elements that can either
hold a company back or propel it to success. Each employee
should be assigned personal vital factors that support the
company vital factors—an exercise that creates that crucial
strategic alignment within your organization.
Following
these fundamental strategies is a sure way to onboard those
“A” players and, more importantly, keep them aboard the
company bus. With the right team in place, you’ll find it’s
easier to retain those good workers, maintain strong company
morale and meet your business’ goals.
Lee Froschheiser, president and CEO of Map
Consulting (MAP) and the co-author of “Vital Factors, The
Secret to Transforming Your Business–And Your Life.” For
more information visit www.MapConsulting.com or call
1-888-834-3040. |
