15 Apr
24 Jun
The hiring and retention of the finest employees is pivotal to the success and longevity of any organisation. This article provides you with the essential information to avoid the pitfalls and attract, select and retain the best people.
1. Role description over-specification
Over-specifying a job is commonplace so it is inevitable that people talk about a skills gap in the workforce. The reality is not a skills gap but a gap in understanding the real requirements of the job.
Don’t specify a superman! Identify precisely the skills you need and your expectations of the person in that role.
People are unlikely to have more than five skills and abilities to any degree of competency to justify their inclusion. Variation around a theme of core competencies is understandable … a wide variation is unrealistic.
Most types of work require up to three significant skills that create the value necessary for the role. Additional skills may be useful but they can be learned to the required level to augment the other competencies.
Elite sportspeople excel at few sporting events. Great swimmers are rarely great track and field exponents. A top athlete may not be proficient in similar disciplines. Understanding this helps you better specify the position and look in the right places for the right individual.
Over-specifying the job and under-offering the salary and benefits also seem to go hand in hand. They often signal a scant grasp of the role or of market conditions.
Do not insult the appropriately skilled candidate with the offer of a low salary … such an offer is a deal breaker, not the start of the negotiation.
Ensure the actual position matches the skills for which they were chosen. Otherwise this will impact negatively upon the company and the mismatched individual. This correlates to high stress and anxiety about their performance. Highly skilled individuals who are not allocated roles for which they were hired could interpret this as a lack of trust resulting in disengagement and a parting of the ways.
2. Fluffy and futile
Few job advertisements clearly define the details of the work required of the successful applicant. Position descriptions are often limited to good communication skills, interpersonal skills, knowledge of software systems or an ability to lead a team.
Most people claim good communication skills; however, few put up their hand for monthly presentations to the board or staff, to handle Q&As or manage highly independent work teams negotiating conflicting goals. Verbal and non-verbal communication skills may be required for a specified role. Alternatively, some roles might require only written communication skills for report writing or preparing articles supporting technology, marketing or sales. The type of communication skills required for the role should be clearly spelled out.
Presenting well-defined role requirements to candidates reduces the likelihood that unsuitable candidates will apply for the position. This will expedite the hiring process for both the company and the potential candidates.
Before hiring, use measurable criteria to plan what you want in terms of the position. Avoid general and fluffy statements and ensure you are clear about the return on investment this position entails.
3. Search process too narrow
Placing ads is often the first choice of HR departments seeking new employees, yet this may be the least likely way to find the right candidate. Current ABS statistics indicate that less than 16% of available jobs are advertised, and while approximately 25% of people are considering a new position, only 15% are actively looking.
To attract the best candidates, look to other recruiting methods. LinkedIn promotes itself as a recruiting tool and many companies now use Facebook, Twitter and other social media avenues to attract suitable employees.
There are many ways to find the right staff and companies should explore these depending on the job requirements. Some of the obvious areas to look are:
• a company’s own staff networks
• competitors
• suppliers
• industry bodies
• conferences
• special interest groups
• universities.
At last count, we had twenty-four different areas to search for people. And to save time and effort, it helps to know what you want because this will lead you to the right places, narrowing your search.
4. Hiring on likeability
Without an objective and structured selection process we are likely to choose people that reflect us as individuals: this has little to do with ability to do the job well and to ensure the right candidate is chosen.
In selecting the right person for the job there is a tendency to overvalue resumes and over-rely on the interview process. Research indicates that resumes are more often than not inaccurate or embellished. Research on the effectiveness of interviews has shown them to be flawed and unreliable in terms of successful selection results despite most organisations relying on these two key selection tools.
Companies in the high tech industry use different tools and criteria because they need creative people who think differently and see solutions to problems before they arise. Look to these new approaches because the future will require creative thinking in order to build a cohesive organisation that attracts and retains the best talent.
5. Skimming the surface
Checking references is important but it must be done effectively. Referees are generally well disposed to the individual and less likely to say anything negative.
However, if the referees are provided with well-structured questions, their answers will reveal gaps that will require clarification in order to assess suitability for the role.
Speaking with those with whom the candidate works is especially revealing: ex-colleagues, colleagues and subordinates can all contribute to a profile of the individual and whether that individual may be a positive and valuable addition to your organisation.
It is worthwhile remembering that although no one is perfect, and you can expect to find a mix of views, the values you are looking for, such as integrity and respect, should remain consistent.
Be a little wary of glowing reports that are consistent across all referees. Have you delved deeply enough around the facts and outcomes or relied too much on the likeability of the person?
6. Missing the mark
We all have identities and brands and are driven by different motivations. More often than not in the hiring process both the company and the individual fail to discover each other’s drivers.
Companies often fail to identify what would motivate a potential candidate to work for them – and it may not be about money. Consequently, the company misses the opportunity to sell itself well enough to attract the right individual.
The opportunity for both parties to grow and be rewarded can be lost unnecessarily.
Companies need to be transparent about their requirements, the challenges they take on, and their expectations. Respect the intelligence of the individual so they know what they need to do and can embrace the challenges ahead of them. The challenges may be the very thing motivating the individual to take the job.
If the company finds out what is important to the individual, it may be possible to structure a flexible work package that meets everyone’s need and results in a high level of engagement right from the start.
7. Opportunities lost
Few realise that people make up their mind to stay with an organisation within the first week of joining, meaning that the onboarding process is critical to help forge a long-lasting and rewarding relationship. If the onboarding process is memorable and provides mechanisms for effective induction, the long-term relationship and outcome will be favourable to all.
It generally takes four months or so for the ‘honeymoon period’ to end and to avert buyer regret about moving companies. Be there to support new recruits and reinforce their decision to join and to stay.
Companies must deliver on their initial promises. To do less will cost the company in terms of lost time, money and organisational dislocation – it could also cost their reputation and valuable future employees.
This is one of the most critical stages of the hiring process and often the least understood. The real work starts when people join; true success is measured by an organisation’s culture to attract and retain their best people.