Ask Andi: I rushed and hired the wrong new employee. It turned into a real headache. We clashed about nearly everything. From how to do the work, to who was responsible for what. It cost me time, energy, and lost opportunity. I don’t want to do that again. What can we do differently?
Thoughts of the Day: Don’t rush to get a new employee on board. Pre-hire assessment is crucial, yet difficult. Understand the company’s culture. Build a hiring system. Train new employees on culture. Build bench strength and skills. Deal with mistakes quickly.
Don’t rush to get a new employee on board
Most interviewers focus on interviewing for job skills. Statistics indicate that hiring managers are doing a good job of figuring out which candidates have the skills needed to do the job, and which don’t. Only 1 in 10 hires fails for skill.
As a result, spend more time learning how to perfect the attitude/behavior interviews. Recognize that every company is unique. Specific skills are needed to perform tasks specific to the company. There are also attitudes and codes of behavior unique to each company.
Meanwhile, entrepreneurial companies have questionable cultures. Some throw people into the deep end of the pool. Others ask people to solve problems with imperfect information. Further, encourage people who continue to learn. Reward employees who take initiative well beyond the defined scope of their job. On the other hand, that’s fine as long as you hire for those attributes. Watch out if that’s your culture. And you hire someone who values a well-laid outset of procedures. Who waits for the boss to give direction, avoids risk, values routine, repetitive activities. Right person, wrong company.
Win the hearts and minds of new employees
Make a list of attributes that do and don’t work in your company. Look at the strongest and weakest performers in your company today. But put skills aside, list successful and unsuccessful behaviors and attitudes.
Create questions that help you find out where candidates are. Relative to your company’s success behaviors. Find out what candidates prefer. Have them describe their best and worst bosses. Relate the attributes and behaviors of those bosses to what does and doesn’t work.
Use the same questions on every interview and keep notes on candidate answers on file. Track successful and unsuccessful hires and compare them to interview answers. For example, look for patterns.
Likewise, while you don’t want a company of robots, it is important to recognize that culture and values can be the glue that binds employees together. Put new employees through an orientation program to help them understand the company’s stated and implied rules of behavior. Assign a mentor to each new employee. Encourage diversity of backgrounds, while developing a uniform code of behavior.
Mistakes to avoid
As much as possible, hire from the bottom, train, and promote. Have every person in the company be responsible for identifying and training their replacement. Four things will result. One, new hires who don’t make it will be at the entry-level, lowest risk, easiest to fill positions. Two, employees in line for promotions will have already proven themselves on culture fit. Three, employees will know they fit and have a future within your company. Four, it will be much easier to fill open positions, focusing on skill training rather than culture and behavior.
In conclusion, you’ll make hiring mistakes. Even with a system to hire, an onboarding process, and a program to grow talent internally. It’s impossible to be perfect all the time. When there is a problem address it quickly. Implement skill and behavior training. Look for immediate results. Assess the facts of the situation. Avoid living in the land of hope. If things don’t turn around quickly, admit there’s a mistake. Encourage the employee to move on.
Looking for a good book?
Hiring for Attitude; A Revolutionary Approach to Recruiting Star Performers with Both Tremendous Skill and Superb Attitude, by Mike Murphy.
