It has been proved that what separates successful organizations from struggling ones are the attitude, beliefs and values of the people who do the work.
Hiring new people is often a major investment for an organization. In fact, it costs money and takes a lot of time.
For this reason leaders need to be able to hire the best people. People who fit best in the company culture and of course people with the right skills to fill all the needed roles.
Before moving on I would like to share with you the steps of a standard hiring process. So that we will be able to understand how and “when” great leaders make the difference in hiring the best people available.
A basic hiring process usually has six steps.
- The first step is to define the job requirements. Before starting the search, it’s critical to understand the education, skills, experience, and personal traits required for the new job.
- The second step is about finding the right candidates. The best way to find eligible candidates is to use professional connections and recruiting resources.
- The third step is the review of resumes. It is basically when companies analyze applications in order to choose the right applicants to move through the hiring process.
- The fourth step in the process is the interview of candidates. This is a critical step because it is the moment when companies can thoroughly evaluate a candidate’s experience, skills, potential, and cultural fit in order to make a decision.
- During the fifth step companies must conduct an objective evaluation of each candidate they have interviewed.
- The sixth and final step requires companies to conduct reference checks and make an offer to the best candidate. The person who can contribute the most to the organization’s success.
So now, we can focus on the most important step of the hiring process which is the fourth one.
In fact, it is during the interview of candidates that great leaders choose to focus on aspects that most managers and bosses ignore or consider not to be relevant to the final decision.
If you want to act as a great leader and hire the best people for your organization use the following strategies:
- First: the most important thing is to check if the candidate is willing to get up every day and do what it takes to get the job done.It’s important to find people who have a positive attitude. Remember, a great team needs players who can bring energy and motivation to the entire organization on a daily basis.
- Second: check if the candidate’s values align with the values of your organization. To do that, ask specific questions to understand whether or not the candidate supports your company’s mission, vision and cares about your goals. You need to find people who are looking to develop both themselves and your organization throughout the whole process.
- Third: check if the candidate’s track record is aligned with the standards you have set for your company. To see the candidate’s track record, ask probing questions during interviews about past accomplishments, problems and mistakes. This is an effective way to understand if the candidate is someone who accepts challenges and finds ways through them and most importantly can add value to your team.
- Fourth: check if the job candidate’s skills are the ones you are looking for. It is important to hire someone who has the skills and experience required for the new job. You should be looking for someone who also possesses the confidence and ability to challenge the team to improve.
This is how great leaders hire the best people that will grow their business and develop sustainable competitive advantages.
In general, we can say that great leaders know that the passion and energy of their people is more important than of their past accomplishments. So, prioritize candidates’ attitude and values without forgetting their skills and past results.
It is true that hiring the best people is important but it is even more important to find ways to keep precious employees from jumping ship. In fact, retaining talented employees is one the most basic issues facing leaders but we will talk about it in another post.
