Hiring is hard. Sometimes it feels impossible to find the right person when it’s all online profiles or stacks of resumes. Other times, you think you got the ideal candidate only to feel like it was a ‘bait and switch’ once they start. Rarely, if ever, does the perfect person just show up. So, we chalk it up to ‘part of doing business’, go through the motions, or farm out the hiring process entirely.
And still, you know it’s important as a leader because you know you’re only as good as the team around you.
No matter how brilliant you are, or how inspiring your vision is, your ambitions remain distant dreams without the right people around you.
Your team members – your people – are your organization’s greatest asset. Don’t leave building a great team to chance (and random internet searches).
If you’re tired of how hiring has been going in your organization, it’s time to make a change. It will also be hard, but hiring well is worth it!
According to the Undercover Recruiter, a bad hire can drain up to $240,000 from your resources, covering expenses from recruitment to retention. Whoa! That’s a lot of money.
So, how can you make sure you’re finding, hiring, and keeping the right people?
Focus on these 3 components to hire great employees:
- Who We Hire
- How We Hire
- How We Onboard
Hire Ideal Team Members, Not Just Good Enough Ones
Before diving into how to hire great employees, it’s important to get clear on who we’re trying to hire in the first place. Who is more important than how.
You can train someone “how”, much easier than a “who” can be changed.
Hire mission-driven, service-oriented, and enjoyable people. Said another way by Patrick Lencioni in his book The Ideal Team Player, hire people who are humble, hungry, and smart.
Humble, hungry, and smart people:
- Prioritize team accomplishments and do more than required
- Take ownership of tasks and responsibilities, even menial ones, and do them with excellence and for the greater good
- Readily contribute beyond their regular hours of work and area of responsibility
- Graciously accept praise, admit mistakes, apologize, and give feedback
- Have a bias toward learning and growth, and help others grow and achieve their goals
- Are attentive to how others are feeling and aware of how their attitude, thoughts, and actions impact others
- Adjust their behavior and style to respond effectively to the situation they are in
- Are dedicated to advancing the mission of the organization and creating an environment where people thrive
Here are three questions to ask yourself about every candidate based on Patrick Lencioni’s The Ideal Team Player.
🙏 Are they humble?: Humble people prioritize team accomplishments and are gracious about praise and mistakes.
🍽 Are they hungry?: Hungry people are driven to do great work and deliver results
🤝 Are they smart?: Smart people will listen, take an interest in others, show empathy, and adjust their behavior to fit the situation.
Once you’ve gotten clear on the character you desire in team members, it’s vital to clarify the specific role and competence you’re looking for too.
Too often, because we’re completely overwhelmed with extra duties when we’re hiring, we forget (or skip) taking the time to even build a proper job description.
We use what we’ve used before or snag an AI-generated, generic, good-enough template for any old marketing manager job. And, we often reap what we sow instead of getting the person – with the skills – we need to grow.
Take the time to create the job description and job posting for the position you’re looking to hire.
Not only will this help you find the best candidate (and the best candidate find you), it will help you think through the specific responsibilities of and results desired from the position, as well as the potential experience, skills, and/or education requirements needed to succeed in this role.
Be sure to share your organization’s mission, values, and company culture, in addition to weaving them into the actual description and posting.
Candidates are attracted to workplaces that:
- Are clear on the mission, vision, and values of the organization
- Are upfront about the role, job responsibilities, and desired results
- Outline future opportunities and growth potential
- Communicate clearly the expected compensation and benefits of the position
When you’re clear on Who We Should Hire – the character and the competence needed – you equip your team to recruit other great people, recruiters to find uniquely qualified people for your organization, and potential candidates the ability to opt in (or out).
A note – We all desire to hire people with the character and competence needed. Because of the short-term overwhelm and desire to just be done with the process, we are often tempted to settle for competence and justify a potential shortcoming in character or cultural fit. This decision cost much more than the $240,000 of a bad hire. It costs trust, unity, and the potential opportunities of the team and organization because of the repair needed. Character counts more than competence. If you get both, great, that is of course the goal. If you only get one, choose character over competence, every time.
Key Elements of an Effective Hiring Process
It’s important to make sure you walk the talk as it relates to the mission, culture, and values you communicate to potential candidates. Your organization’s story and its people are its best resource to attract top talent. If what you say and what you do, don’t line up – it’s also the biggest detractor of great talent.
Get Referrals
It’s hard to get matched online. It’s way more effective when friends connect friends, colleagues recommend colleagues, and your best team members invite the best people they know. Reach out to your network. Incentivize your current team to bring in the best people they know. In the end, referrals are the best (and often the most inexpensive way) to recruit great talent.
Review Resumes and Call References
Resumes and references aren’t the end all be all, but they are a great place to start. Once you’ve narrowed the potential candidates from their resume, call the references before doing interviews. You may narrow the field even more before the more time-consuming interview process. And, while most people call the references as the last stage of the process – when they are just looking to validate their decision – you’ll use the reference to help you make a better decision early on in the process.
Follow the 3:1 Ratio
The 3:1 ratio applies to steps, or ‘touches’ with a candidate in the interview process. Here’s how it works. However many steps it takes to fire someone at your organization, triple that for your hiring process.
For example, if you have a 3-step firing process – warning, coaching, termination – then you should have a 9-step interview process.
I know what you’re thinking. “NINE STEPS?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? WHO HAS TIME FOR THAT? PLUS, THE CANDIDATES WON’T TOLERATE THAT LONG OF A PROCESS. WE’LL LOSE ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE” I know it seems like a lot… but so is the cost of turnover and bad hires.
This could look like a reference check, phone call or Zoom interview, casual meetings, tours, personality assessment(s), introductions, paid project-based work, and formal interviews. Get creative on the types of interaction you need to fully vet potential candidates, then get a true flavor of what the people and workplace are like.
For example, to do all 9-steps in 2 weeks you might:
- Check references (Day 1)
- Conduct an initial 30-minute interview (Day 3)
- Send promising candidates the DiSC, Working Genius, or other assessment (Day 4)
(Plan an on-site day with multiple interviews, interviewers, and scenarios)
- Interview with their direct leader (Day 8)
- Interview with peer team members (Day 8)
- Go to lunch off-site with other organizational ideal team members. (Day 8)
- Sit in on a team or project meeting and debrief with key stakeholders (Day 8)
- Interview with HR and direct leader (Day 8)
- Top candidate(s) Interview with CEO, Executives, Department Head(s), or other leaders in the organization (Day 9)
Build a more engaged, productive team in just 90 minutes with a Working Genius webinar.
At the end of this process, not only will you know someone, but they will know you – individually and organizationally increasing the likelihood of being a great hire and staying longer.
Involve Multiple Interviewers
When you face really expensive and important situations – like medical diagnosis or building a house – you get multiple opinions. Hiring someone is really important and expensive, so in the same manner, you should have multiple people involved and seek their honest opinions.
Beyond their input on the candidate’s character and competence, others help us prioritize hiring diverse individuals who complement the skills and people already on the team. Having various people with different backgrounds, cultures, experiences, educational levels, and perspectives leads to more creative innovation, robust problem-solving, and more well-thought-out decisions.
Complementary people aren’t just polite – although they may be – they actually help with productivity, efficiency, and workplace culture because each team member can use their strengths, rely on others to use theirs, and work to trust each other through the process.
Ask Motivation-Based Questions
For example, during an interview, ask candidates to share instances where they’ve demonstrated resilience in challenging situations. This reveals their problem-solving skills and provides insights into their character and attitude toward overcoming adversity and why they do what they do.
Discuss What Others Just Assume
We all have a different understanding of what exactly excellence, integrity, hybrid work, flexible work schedules, casual dress, a full workload, and occasional travel means. Be sure to discuss what they mean to your organization to leave no doubt in either party’s mind about what’s expected and what it’s like to work there.
Discuss Compensation
People want to be clear on their compensation. Even though it isn’t the most important thing for mission-driven people, it is important. In the interview process, in that second or third interview, outline the anticipated compensation, benefits, growth opportunities, and how they – as a hungry team member – work to positively impact their future compensation.
Make the Offer or Communicate You’re Moving On
Consider a scenario where a prospective employee is deciding between your organization and another. If you know, don’t go another day without making the offer. And, if you know, don’t go another day keeping them dangling thinking they have a chance. If any of us were in their shoes, we’d want someone to let us know – either way.
Now, you’ve made the offer. You secured your ideal candidate. Now, let’s get them started and say things like – “You’ve got this. Good luck. That’s why I hired you” …. Right!? Wrong. Most of us neglect the last, and critical step, in hiring a great employee. Onboarding.
The Forgotten (and Critical) Last Step in Hiring: Onboarding
We’ve all started a new job where we didn’t have a computer, didn’t know the start time and sat around for 2 hours. Or where we were thrust into the throws of business with little more than an email address and a “good luck”.
For effective hiring, optimizing your onboarding process must be a priority. A robust onboarding process increases the likelihood of retaining employees for three or more years by 70%.
Your onboarding process should be comprehensive. Focus on having clear communication, a structured first week, introductions to key team members and priorities, and ongoing support over the first 12 months.
Imagine a scenario where a new employee shows up on their first day eager and ready to dive into their tasks, only to realize there’s been a miscommunication about the start time (might have happened…). I showed up to my new job at 8 AM only to sit there for 2 hours when my boss showed up at 10 AM. Talk about a rough start to the job…
By proactively addressing potential barriers like this through thorough onboarding, you set your team up for success from day 1.
During their initial weeks, provide high levels of structure and support. Pre-schedule training sessions, facilitate connections to the team, clarify roles and expectations, and offer ample 1-on-1 time to build rapport.
Provide them with the necessary tools, resources, and support to acclimate to their role, learn the culture, and integrate into the team. Onboarding buddies – your culture champions – are a great onboard tool to help guide and assist new team members as they navigate their new environment.
Don’t forget the paperwork I-9s, W-2s, W-4s, background checks, payroll/direct deposit, and all the system access are important and necessary steps to actually onboarding someone to your organization.
And last, but definitely not least, think about how to share, welcome, and invite them into the culture of your workplace – not as a spectator, but a contributor.
Whether it’s a half-day with the founder, a weekly/monthly lunch with new hires with the CEO or C-suite, or a team of culture champions that do lunch with new hires. Think about how can you welcome them into the culture, the mission, vision, values, beliefs, and behaviors, so they feel like they belong.
Building a strong team is an ongoing process—one that requires dedication, insight, and a commitment to nurturing both individual growth and collective success.
So, go slow in the hiring process. Focus on complementary strengths. Recognize and celebrate employees’ contributions and achievements regularly. Delegate to those you trust.
By creating a work environment like this, you’ll not only attract top talent but also build a loyal and engaged team.
If you’re ready to train your managers to build healthy, high performing teams, let’s schedule a time to talk here.
