Knowing how to select the right people for your external hires and internal moves is the key to positive onboarding and long term success.
How do you make a selection decision? Do you have a tickbox of data-based criteria – one strike against a candidate and they’re out regardless of their potential? Do you look into their eyes and see an earlier version of yourself? Or do you have a nailed-on benchmark based on the collaborative efforts of the role’s stakeholders?
We hope it’s the latter approach. Sadly however, the two former methods often creep in, especially if there is less talent available and the pressure is on to hire quickly.
Even if you hire just once or twice each year, all organisations should have a regularly reviewed recruitment and selection process that allows hiring managers to efficiently select the right people, even when under pressure. This minimises the risk of a bad hire, informs the subsequent onboarding process and allows your new hire to make a strong start.
Hire for the future, not from the past
Carefully consider the traits and skills that the role requires for success in the future. This is where you can mine your existing talent pool for their perspective on the role. Benchmarking allows you to do this safely, constructively and methodically. Our benchmarking tools invite stakeholders to the role to input their thoughts without it becoming a free-for-all meeting which fails to reach a workable conclusion. These tools also prevent the ‘loudest voice’ in the room overwhelming others whose less vocal contribution is equally valuable.
Your financial investment in a new hire is significant. It’s important to invest your own time efficiently to get the fundamentals right.
Assessment provides the basis for selection
A fundamental basic is to benchmark the role and then assess candidates for the core traits and trainable skills that it requires. Assessment gives hiring managers the insights to determine whether the candidate has the right mindset for the role. Do they need to be detail oriented? Highly sociable? Follow strict rules or work in a more fluid manner?
Psychometric assessment gives the answers to these and other behaviour/personality trait questions, based on the needs of the role.
Select to develop talent for the long term
Selecting the right people should be done with an eye on their ongoing development. Professional development and well-being at work consistently ranks among the top draws on candidates’ wish list. Be clear in your selection process that it is also a significant part of your employee retention and succession planning strategy.
Psychometrics can also uncover what motivates your candidates. Cold hard cash is often regarded as the strongest motivator, but this is something of a misnomer. A sense of purpose and the shared values of your workplace culture can have a greater motivating effect than a few extra pounds.
Understanding more about your candidates‘ trainable emotional intelligence, resilience and motivation skills gives greater depth from which you can decide whether it’s worth investing to develop their potential. It’s rare to have a ‘finished product’ sitting in front of you in an interview. And, even if you did, is that really what you want? Every workplace culture is unique. You need someone who has the ability to fit in, rather than expect the culture to fit around them.
Transform your workplace culture with Holst
Selection need not be a scary leap into the unknown. Talk to us to find out how we help recruiters and hiring managers to be well prepped, confident and consistently capable of making excellent hiring decisions that work towards a healthy workplace culture.
