Hiring Starts with Hiring…
You know this - hiring matters. Whether it's hiring a marketing agency, an executive assistant, a business coach or an office manager…it matters who you hire. So, why do so many people hire strictly based on ‘vibes’? That's modern lingo for ‘how do I feel when I talk to this potential candidate?’. If I feel good, it's probably a good hire. If I feel bad, it's probably not a good hire. Please note: you may be more susceptible to feeling good about a candidate if you're feeling the pressure of being understaffed. Carry on. Maybe multiple people on your team judge the vibes when considering an offer. If you think “THIS IS NOT ME. I know how to hire…." or “I know how to hire, it's just the person was being semi-deceptive and just can't perform…that's the problem”. I just want to ask you two things.
How long is your hiring process?
What is your established and outlined process for hiring someone?
If it's just a few conversations and an offer is on the table, I'm going to challenge you on the whole “I DON'T HIRE OFF OF VIBES” stance. With extensive time, tools, resources and perspectives - how could you possibly not hire off of mostly feelings and intuitions? Just because someone could do the job doesn't mean you're going to want them to do the job.
If you don't have a clear, repeatable process that you've developed specifically around your company's mission, vision and values …oh…oh….you're livin' on a [hiring] prayer. I won't discount that sometimes you just get lucky. You find someone in-spite of, not because of, your hiring process. Your gut just checks out. Your intuition and gut will play into your hire, of course! They just can't be the only thing you go off of. And what happens if you no longer want to be responsible for the hiring and growth? Will that person share the same intuition as you? Guts aren't scalable.
Perhaps you hire or have hired quickly in the past because of a big need. Every day you go without someone in place costs you something. You feel the pressure of being understaffed. You have needs that are being unmet as you wait. Time is ticking. There is pressure and strain. The burden of hiring may also keep you from getting rid of staff who don't meet expectations (more on that later) - ugh.
If you want to hire great people, don't hire quickly.
FIND. THE. BEST. TALENT.
Don't you dare settle.
I'll be honest, this is a much larger conversation than a Monday morning email. Establishing a successful hiring process takes time. It takes customization and it takes extra effort. But, if you really do want a great company then you need great hires. You can't afford to not have tremendous staff who exemplify the mission, vision and values of the company. Which means you can't afford to not master your hiring process.
I would encourage you to start by creating a written process for hiring. It doesn't have to be perfect to start being used. You will want to edit and modify it along the way. Consider some, if not all, of the following elements in your hiring process:
Resume and cover letter submission
Written recommendations
Opening ‘assignment’ or paper submission of a time the candidate exemplified the XYZ skills that you will be requiring of them
Opening Interview with 1-2 key leaders
Survey around the individuals personal goals and timelines (get to know what's important to them)
Strengths Assessment (hello, Coach Lindsay is the girl for this AND she specializes in hiring best practices and interviews!) & assessment of how the candidates strengths may show up amongst the already existing team
Second round of interviews with 2-3 leaders
Shadowing half-day, allow the candidate to shadow and show off some of their skills in real time
Team introductions - allow your teammates to be apart of the process and see how this new potential candidate fits in
Final interview and offer …. if everything aligns!
Please don't look at this list and think “there's no way I'm doing even half of that!”. If you slow down and hire the right people, you won't be hiring so much. You may even find that your company is a desirable place for people to work - they're waiting on your next opening. Your team will speak highly of what you do, who you hire and they'll feel more valued themself.
Great companies hire great staff.
If you're still feeling stuck or like this project isn't one you want to tackle - please reply. Lindsay and I would love to be a sounding board for you and your team during this time. If this is a project you want to offload to someone else entirely we can look at those options, too.
Hiring great starts will hiring slow.