How to develop hiring strategies that work for best fit. Some tips and suggestions from a Human Resources Management Consultant in Sydney.
Hiring strategies for best fit is about taking a few important things into account. Hiring for the current role requirements is not just about the skills and experience required. It needs to include fit to existing team, culture, environment, operations and future direction. Consider applicants for the contribution they can make.
Hiring for cultural fit
Cultural fit is imperative in hiring for your business. However, the person must also have the right skills and experience. Especially if you don’t have the ability to train.
It is important to get this balance right. Skills and experience are as important as cultural fit. Do not hire one over the other. It is likely to cause problems.
If there is limited ability to train and supervise you need to hire based on their existing skills and experience to do the job. This cannot be at the lack of cultural fit though. If you are having issues finding the right mix, try a different approach.
If you can find someone with the right cultural fit, but limited knowledge, could they be a quick learner?
The damage caused by hiring based solely on cultural fit can be just as bad as hiring a bad cultural fit
Hiring a person based on cultural fit, but little experience to do the job and no one to train them can equally produce a bad result. The person can end up feeling like a failure, especially if they left another job to join this company. The business also suffers as do existing team members.
What to consider before beginning the hiring process:
Is there ability to train?
Regardless of experience there will be nuances such as how things are done in this organisation. If you have got the ability to train and mentor, it can pay huge rewards.
Of course, there is a risk with putting in time on training and mentoring. The person may leave for a higher paying job. It is a risk, worth taking. There is also a very real possibility they will stay on and add greater value to the business.
Poaching a superstar
Trying to hire someone who is already a star in a similar role to yours working at another company, has some issues to consider. For example, the differences between your company and the one they currently work for.
Employing a very high performing sales person who is blitzing their key performance indicators (KPI’s) in their current company does not mean they will do the same in a new company. Not if the cultural fit is wrong.
Don’t forget the numbers are only part of the picture. How the person behaved to achieve the numbers is equally important.
Consider both soft and hard KPI’s
They may show behaviours that were acceptable in the old company, that are not in yours. They may not interact well with your team. That makes them a far less attractive hire.
A person hired based on their performance elsewhere has the potential to fail. Especially if it is only based on previous performance and not on cultural fit.
Hire base on overall fit now and in the future
Employing people in business needs to be a considered effort. Consider all factors and weigh them up before making an offer.
There is an excellent article in Forbes on the issues of hiring without considering cultural fit. This is particularly important in considering approaching a competitor’s superstar.
Here is a bit of a Interview Check List to consider:
- Are their skills and experience right for the role?
- Do they have the right motivations?
- Did they interview well and come prepared?
- If they did not need money, what would they be doing?
- In their work experience what do they most and least enjoy and why?
- Do they seem to be a good fit the existing team?
- What are their values?
- Where do they want to go in the future in their career?
- What do they want people to say about them when their time is up?
- Do they know and understand and more importantly, share your company values?
- What value will they bring to the business?
- Are they manageable?
- Can they add value?
- Will they bring ideas and fresh approaches?
Conclusion
These are just a few of the ways to create a robust hiring strategy. The most important thing is to check in with yourself. Has your business got the ability to take this person on? Will they work well within your existing team? Will they be manageable?0
There are no 100% guaranteed perfect hiring strategies. Do not believe the hype. These tips will help though as well as being well prepared. Consider the interview process as an important project. Create a set of questions and ideal answers. Put a weighting on the answers. Score each candidate based on how close they are to the ideal answer. At the end of the interviews you will have a more objective view of the candidates.
To learn more about checking in with yourself read our article on emotional intelligence.
Other article you might like:
√ Do Not Dismiss and
√ Interview questions tips and suggestions
Written by Sonia King a HR Adviser and small business consultant in Sydney.
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