The writer of the book Good to Great, Jim Collins, teaches us that WHO is on the bus is far more important that what the bus looks like, where it’s going or even how it is going to get there! Great leaders should pay attention to the quality of individuals on their team more than how much they pay them, where they work or anything else! In today’s age with employment challenges being what they are, it is difficult to find employees and team members.
I would venture to guess it’s because potential employees don’t like the conditions of their employment and it circles back to state of mind, or really a state of stress that most employers are willing to toss employees’ way! Team members don’t want to work in high stress environments or do things they don’t enjoy! You may say that’s the nature of the business beast, but is it really? Does it have to be? I think not.
I assume, whether you are aware or not, your company or business has a culture. Just like your family or your home your company has a “feel,” a set of values, even possibly a mission statement that shares with your team and the world what is important to you as an entity. It is extremely important to hire potential employees that honor and value the same things you do. Just like you wouldn’t date or marry someone with different morals as you, I’d advise against adding team members that just don’t jive with the company culture.
I’m not just talking about culture. Find the right fit for the position and tasks you expect the team member to be responsible for. For instance, a very active person that can’t sit still (which is completely understandable, as this is one of my challenges) may not be a good fit for the front desk or a cubicle. They will invariably get restless and need to get up and wander around; which is fine in normal circumstances but at the front desk you should be answering the phone and greeting people. Same with asking a person that doesn’t like numbers to be responsible for massive amounts of numbers data. We have a saying in the hospitality industry: “heads in beds” . Some companies call employees “butts in seats.” Do not take this mentality. I know you need help, but you want the RIGHT butt in the RIGHT seat, otherwise you’re wasting your time training and retraining!
Personality profiling can tell you how people process information, how they communicate and how they like to be rewarded. This will help you to:
We are looking for long-term (or as close to) team members as we can. Some people LOVE high stress and high competition environments, or crunching numbers all day or even talking to customers all day. Use personality profiling to help you put the right person in the right position.
Prepare good interview questions. Make them relative to the tasks they will be performing, and geared towards understanding their future goals. People rarely want a dead-end job, they want to know they are going somewhere, working towards something. If you know their personality, engage them in areas you know are important to them.
Every position within your company should have an onboarding checklist and a plan! It is so important for the new hire to have a path to follow whether it’s a training plan or simply getting up to speed on the customers/clients/vendors/products or services. No one likes to be let loose by trial by fire. Can you pair them with a seasoned mentor? Do they have a series of training videos or classes to attend? This should go for every level, even upper managers. There is nothing worse for a team than to get a new manager only to realize they have to train him… who’s the boss in that scenario? Finally, be very clear about your expectations, matrix, KPIs and the company goals. The new member is so new they don’t know whether they are supposed to be tracking sales or customer retention. Check in with them regularly and set them up to be successful!
To summarize, it really doesn’t take much for someone to feel appreciated, like they add value and are an integral part of the big picture. The key is to hire your team members with intention, forethought, and treat them like you hand picked them for the success of your company. Allow them to share their voice and ideas. When you do that, you may strike gold by getting insight you don’t have as a visionary.
A company is called an entity for a reason because it is a thing with a distinct and independent existence, with its own moving parts and ideas. Treat your members as the organs and parts of that entity moving in harmony towards a goal! Put the right people in the right places and you’re going to be more successful.
Visit my website or send me a message. I’d love to chat with you about building the best team for your business, or how to be the best candidate for the job you want.
