Leading on from one of my previous blog posts where I spoke about having a great vision for your business that is communicated clearly to all people associated with it.
This post talks about hiring the right people to obtain optimal results.
Finding and retaining great employees is probably one of the hardest disciplines of a business owner. A business that needs employees has to make sure that these employees understand in full what the business is all about and what it aims to achieve in the long term. Many business owners struggle to get this message across to employees. It is vitally important that all employees adhere to the values of the business for a smoother running operation. A business culture is created when everyone in the business including management adheres to the values, accepts the mission, and aims to fulfil the vision of a business. Talented people, in general, will choose a great business culture over a high paying job where they are continuously micromanaged and not held to ethical standards.
It is during the hiring process that the qualities of an individual can be assessed to see whether he or she will fit within the values and the culture that the business is trying to create. In addition to their skills an employee must be able to fit in with the culture of the business. If this fit does not happen, the business will, in time, experience challenges with that individual. This will result in productivity being cut and an unhappy workforce.
It is very important, therefore, that the hiring process is robust in all aspects of finding the right individual for the business. Being robust does not entail a full detailed analysis of the skills of the person being interviewed. When a candidate presents a CV it can in most cases be presumed that the information is correct. The time should be spent on assessing whether the person fits within the organisation and that their capabilities will be good enough to fulfil the role that they are interviewing for.
Many employees leave because they feel that they are no longer growing in themselves and that business. As part of your employee retention program it is therefore important that you have training opportunities available for them. An employee that has been in a specific role for some time and has had no formal training to take on other more challenging roles will eventually leave an organisation because they will be frustrated at the fact that that have no opportunity to rise to the next level. For business owners is important to realise that a training program must be set up so that employees have an opportunity to expand their knowledge in the business. Another thought for business owners could be that roles could be rotated so that key people can learn about all aspects of a business.
Business owners should realise that the hiring process is not just at the moment that somebody is needed in an organisation. If you know of key people that you may want in your business then you have to start the process of talking to them right now. These discussions, initially, are generally just casual lunches or dinners in trying to find out whether such a key person would fit within the culture of that business. This process may take months or even years before such an individual may be ready to join the business. Key talent will be one of the most important aspects of making your business a better place for everyone that is connected with it.
What are you doing in your hiring processes? Are you hiring just for the moment or have you got a plan where you will know when to hire people to boost business growth.