Introduction:
Before hiring new talent (or promoting people to new roles) it is highly productive to know---really know----what you want the person to do. This sounds self-evident. However, it is not how many companies practice.
This tool consists of the following guidelines for making good hiring decisions that are based on sound grounds, as well as orienting new people to their new roles.
Key elements of the job in question:
Few companies, when hiring people, use the people who will be co-workers and internal customers of the new people to help define what the ideal candidate should look like, and what the minimum requirements should be. There are three elements of a candidate’s capabilities that should be assessed:
- Skills
- Education and/or knowledge
- Character
It is on the third item that many companies are weak. Oh, they look for honesty, and dependability in terms of sick days and on time records, etc. But they should look at much more than that. Simply put, one’s personality is the vehicle through which s/he delivers his or her work.
What personal characteristics would contribute to the new person’s success in the role? Cooperativeness, curiosity, carefulness, goal focus, thoughtfulness, the ability to admit a mistake, to use feedback, to continue to learn are a few of the personal characteristic that might contribute to how a person uses their skills and knowledge to get the job done.
Developing An Action Profile For The Role:
- Identify critical competencies that would make for outstanding performance in the role in question---not just what needs to be done, but how it should be done to achieve exceptional results.
- Gather this information from the people who will depend on the new hire for the results of the position--- the manager, coworkers, internal customers, etc.
- Identify the traits that make/made others in that role perform significantly above average.
- Use these characteristics as the basis of the hiring interview (see a guide to behavioral interviewing for a detailed framework for conducting the hiring interview itself).
The people who depend on new workers, or who have to work well alongside of them, are in an ideal position to articulate the specific personal characteristics required for success. If these people are drawn into the process of setting hiring criteria, they are also clarifying their understanding of the roles they share with the new people, and the criteria for success. This is also a good time to develop a solid understanding of how to help, coach and assist the new person to “hit the ground running,” and to make strong contributions from the beginning.
Managers should also be listening to these conversations to discover issues that the current workforce may not fully understand or appreciate, so that they can be clarified. This process can create a sense of ownership on the part of all concerned in the success of the new hire when s/he comes aboard.
Select coworkers who will be responsible for developing a plan for ensuring the success of the new hire from the beginning of employment. (This responsibility can be rotated over time among people, so that everyone gets a chance to contribute in a significant way, as well as have an opportunity to learn new skills themselves.)
- How does the person come to understand “how we do things here?” (This goes beyond the formal policy and procedures that are commonly distributed to new hires.)
- What does the person need to know about how people are expected to interact to fit into the rhythm of their role in the company?
- Are there expectations about the usual flow of communication? (How do people doing the work together, within and across functions, communicate their needs for information?)
- Is it accepted/encouraged for the new person to offer ideas about changes or improvements---right away, or later?
- What have other people found helpful for allowing them to fit into the flow of the company? How could that information be applied in this case?
Orienting the new hire:
When the new hire starts, these same colleagues can begin a dialog that informs the person about the company’s criteria for good performance and explains why those elements are important.
Having been through the planning process for the new person’s role, the experienced people are in an informed position that allows them to communicate clearly that the “how” is as important as the “what.”
These conversations also begin the process of talking about the work---establishing that the company values two-way dialogs---among work mates and with one’s internal customers.
Assigning someone to buddy up with the new person to answer questions and help the new person appreciate the values of the company also enhances a smooth transition into your company.
An effective orientation:
- Begins a shared identity
- Fosters working relationships
- Clarifies priorities
- Models collaboration
- Establishes communication
Leaving the orientation of a new person up to the new boss, or manager, seldom establishes a dialog. It is very important for new people to gain a clear understanding of what others---teammates as well as internal customers---require from them for things to work smoothly.
The manager or boss should have similar conversations about expectations with the new person as well. This ensures that the new hire gains a clear understanding of the business ideas and goals from a range of perspectives, as well as the expectations for how the new person fits in, and how their role supports the business.
The worst possible scenario for orienting a new person, which unfortunately, happens in too many companies, involves simply handing the new person a packet of information to read; this seldom explains the context of the business idea and doesn’t help the new person to be integrated onto the team.