I Can't Find Good People

 

I keep hearing the same thing out there these days. From business owners and managers, it's all over the media. You might even be asking it yourself. It's really simple. I keep hearing it. It is “I just can't get good people." And you know what? You're probably right.

The US Department of Labor reports that two out of three new hires proved to be a mistake within the first year, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars for each departing employee. Hiring mistakes negatively impact your productivity and erode your company's profits. If you can't find good people, what I'm going to suggest is let's change the question. “How can I get THEM to find ME?”

Jim Collins, landmark study and book “Good to Great” states three things. He says: Good to Great Leaders Understood Three Simple Truths.
(1) If you begin with WHO rather than WHAT, you can more easily adapt to this changing world.
(2) If you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage them largely goes away.
(3) If you have the wrong people, it doesn't matter whether you discovered the right direction, you still will not have a great company.

So what would your business look like if your hiring system delivered the right person 75% of the time? Here are some tips that could help you really stack the odds in your favor.

First, we need to start with creating good job descriptions that focus much on the heart as much as their skill side. Most business owners use job descriptions to ensure that the candidate understands the positional duties and responsibilities.

But here's where many fall short. A good job description should also include the attitudes in addition to the skills and competencies required to perform the tasks and duties expected. 

Other information should also include is how we measure the success that the key performance indicators (KPIs) or “key predictive indicators” that you're going to use to evaluate the performance from this position and then also, maybe any work environment or any special physical requirements, such as, “Hey, you got to lift fifty pounds or you gotta be on your feet eight hours a day.”

With well-written job descriptions, otherwise known as “positional agreements”, for all team members will keep you focused on what you want and your expected results for that position, which is going to really help facilitate quick hiring when the need arises. Communicate your expectations to candidates and your current employees.

The second thing that we need to do is the need to market for our employees and our team just like our customers. Recruiting is marketing, and it's most effective when it's targeted, planned, and executed. Most importantly, consistently.

Start with the basic question. “Is what makes your company a great choice for potential employees?” Why would the best in your industry want to come and work for you?

Having a written culture statement that's alive and well in your organization will help you to really answer this question. And then cross-checking your cultural statement with your employee's experience should really be a regular practice. In fact, now is a good time to start with your current team. They are going to tell you exactly where you're at.

Next, identify the best ways to reach team members for the position you are hiring. Develop the advertisement by attracting them to focus on maybe what they get from working with you. Be creative. And remember, it's not always about the money. The rules of good advertising have to apply here. Start with a great headline and good content and then a call to action. 

Remember, the purpose of the headline is to get them to read the rest of your ad, your content, and that call to action. It's your hook. It's gotta pique their interest.

Include the aspects of your company that will make it a really great place for the type of person that you wish to attract as well as the spirit of that person that you desire to attract. 

Additionally, always be on the lookout for good people who bring value to your organization. Making recruiting something that's ongoing and not crisis driven.

And then also, we need to sit down. We need to make our hiring a deselection process. Your time is valuable. Don't waste it interviewing potential employees who don't possess the character qualities that you need or don't even fit into your culture or you're sitting there waiting for them because they don't even show up. You can improve your results and save time by incorporating a deselection process using a phone screen, and a pre-group interview assessment to test their integrity, work ethic, and passion, if you will.

If you design the group pre-interview assessment properly, those that really, sort of, have the fire in their oven will stand out and those that don't will leave. They're going to deselect themselves saving you time and hiring mistakes as well. Your written vision, mission, and culture statements are valuable tools at this point to assist you in this deselection process.

During this group pre-interview meeting, use these tools with the position's KPIs to communicate the high standards of behavior and performance expected by all within your company. If you effectively communicate these criteria, those who don't want, or that you don't want on your team will depart. They're going to leave you with just the cream of the crop.

So what are you looking for at this stage? Passion, confidence, and a desire to grow. These attributes are much more important than knowledge or experience which can be taught. So stay disciplined and only interview candidates who make it through these phone and group interview steps.

Once you decide to schedule someone for an interview, email them their job descriptions so expectations are clear before they arrive. Have the candidates meet with multiple people within your organization when possible. Employee behavioral interview techniques test to prove their skills, their competencies, those that are really the most crucial ones. But being willing to turn down candidates or not a right fit, don't settle for the less than the best, right? Believe me, you can and you will. Sounds simple, but it's often that we sort of defeat ourselves before we start telling ourselves “I just can't find or I can't get good people. This won't work”. And it sort of becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Instead, start telling yourself, “I have a great team committed to achieving our goals because I have a lot to offer them.” Even if it's not true yet, you can make it so. Remember, the objective when hiring is to be able to say three years down the road is knowing what I know now, I'd hire this person again in a heartbeat.

If you're interested in learning more about how you can develop a recruitment strategy that will attract the best talent to work for you, schedule a free strategy session with me and unlock your work potential.

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