The profile of a 'Complete' Manager
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The Complete Manager 9 of 14: Hiring
We're continuing our examination of the profile of a 'complete' manager - one who daily achieves Predictable Success® for herself, her team, and the organization she works for. Over the last few weeks we have been looking at the profile of a complete manager. We have seen that the foundation of a complete manager lies in their ability to be enhance their productivity. More specifically in the areas of; time management, priority management, crisis management and delegation. A few weeks ago we started to look at the second group of key skills; Developing Others. Since then we have seen that the Complete Manager provides consistent, on-going performance assessment and ensures their team receives appropriate mentoring and coaching. (If you want to follow along the connections between the 14 characteristics, you can download a copy of the Complete Manager Brain Map - a pdf version of the graphic at top right). You can track the series using this progress bar: "Time spent hiring is time well spent" - Robert Half
Over the last couple of weeks we have been looking at the importance of building a strong team. Whilst developing the existing team is important for the Complete Manager, it is equally important to hire people that will 'fit' with their team. At the end of the day there's no point in building a great team, only to have it diluted (or worse) by poor hiring.Think of any top sports team approaching the draft. Whether it's in the NFL, the NBA or the NHL, the coaching staff for the elite teams will not only be looking for the top athletes, they will also be looking for players who will 'fit' with the team they are building. When a draft pick is made by winning teams, you can bet that the coaching staff will have thought through exactly where the rookie will fit within the team, what role will he or she will play, and the how to effectively integrate him into the team culture. The great coaches know that a group of individual superstars don't win championships. It's the closely knit team, each person aware of both their own role and that of each of their team members that collect the trophies at the end of the season. The same holds true with your team. There is no point on one hand investing time, energy and money in developing your team if on the other hand you are diluting or damaging that development by introducing team members who don't 'fit' your team or your organization. I talk to many managers about this issue, and I often see eyes glazing over and people checking out. Many managers don't embrace hiring is part their job. Rather, they view it as an inconvenience - a disruption of the 'status quo' and a distraction from their 'real job' of managing their existing team. That's not in itself an insurmountable problem. Most managers 'get it' after just a few minutes spent explaining how hiring is here to stay in today's workplace, that it will never go away, and that hiring needs to be embraced as a core managerial skill set. The problem lies in execution - actually making the time and learning the skills to actually make good quality hires. Here are the three main excuses that managers give for shying away from the hiring function, along with some things you can do to counter these myths: 1. It takes a long time to do it effectively
The perception of many managers is that the hiring process (finding new candidates; interviewing them; selecting the final shortlist; choosing the successful candidate) must automatically become a long, drawn-out and painful exercise. It's true - this is often be the case where the hiring process is poorly managed. In particular a 'passive' hiring process (one where recruiting activities only commence when there is a vacancy), and/or where you have no clear, documented indicators of the 'must-have' of the skills you are looking for in a potential hire, then, sure, the process will likely drag on and will be frustrating for all involved (including the candidates). A well managed process, on the other hand, can provide you with a well qualified candidate, ready to assimilate into your team, within a matter of months, if not weeks. The key is in moving from a 'passive' to an 'active' hiring process. Although we don't have space in this article to go into great detail, the main components of an active hiring process are:
- Proactively looking for good candidates for key positions constantly - not just when a vacancy arises.
- Clearly listing the 'must-have' skills and attributes that each of those positions requires.
- Developing a list of behaviorally based interview questions that extract 'behavioral proof' of those must-have's.
- Access to a cross-functional interviewing panel.
Implementing these simple steps will speed up your hiring process exponentially. 2. There isn't a good pool of candidates
"A 'pool' of candidates? I haven't even got a puddle!" I wish I had a dollar for every time a manager has said that to me. The answer to this so-called 'talent drought' is contained in the first item in our list above:
- Proactively looking for good candidates for key positions constantly - not just when a vacancy arises.
When is the best time to begin to look for a new hire? When your team is rock steady and it seems that you won't be needing a new team member for quite some time, or when one of your team members tenders their resignation and there is an immediate vacancy? The best time to start looking for new hires is when you least expect that you'll need one. In doing so you will begin to build up a list of qualified candidates that you can turn to when you have a vacancy to fill. The reason so many managers claim that there is not a good pool of candidates is because they only begin to look when they need to fill a vacancy. At that point, you're only able to draw from the potential new hires who happen to be on the market at that time - a statistically very small number. Being proactive in your hiring efforts (rather than being reactive) provides constant, ongoing access to potentially qualified candidates, thus multiplying your 'talent pool' exponentially. Working with the HR function (if you have one), identify two or three key positions, and begin immediately to scan the job market looking for potential candidates - whether or not you need therm right now. There is no harm in contacting high quality candidates and holding an initial interview with them at an early stage. This will:
- Speed up the hiring process when you do have a vacancy;
- Ensure the candidate pool is of the highest quality, and
- Provide you with much more flexibility when dealing with underperforming team members.
3. We don't know how to interview wellThis is less an excuse for poor hiring than a statement of fact: most managers don't know how to interview well. Not just 'many' managers - most. But for some weird reason (probably to do with my earlier statement that most managers don't see hiring as one of their day-to-day job responsibilities), unlike say, a lack of knowledge about how to read financial statements or how to use Powerpoint or Excel, managers don't take time to learn the first principles of good interviewing. If you have a large, well-organized HR department then they should have the tools and resources that you need to improve your knowledge on interviewing - go ask. There may well be a structured interviewing process that you can follow. If your HR department is not that large, they will most likely still be able to point you in the right direction to find the resources you need to increase your knowledge. If you don't have an HR function, or if you aren't getting the help that you need within your organization, then invest a little time to identify external resources you can use. There are a number of excellent books and websites that will teach you the basics of a conducting a successful interview process. Concentrate on these key areas:
- How to create a list of 'must-have's' for each new hire,
- How to design and use behaviorally based interview questions, and
- How to conduct a panel interview.
Check out these two articles from this site:
The Eight Most Common Mistakes Managers Make: 7
Not embracing hiring as part of the job; and
How to find and keep top performers. Remember: Your team is only as good as your next hire. Bring in someone with the wrong attitudes or standards, and a lifetime's work can be ruined. Rather than seeing it as an inconvenience, or the responsibility of 'HR', the Complete Manager embraces high-quality hiring as an integral part of his job and ensures that it is given the time and attention it needs to ensure the quality of every hire is as high as possible. This doesn't mean that you should take control of the hiring function away from HR. Far from it. You should act as a partner with the HR function in your organization, tap into the resources they have and together make sure that you end up with a quality hire. The key is to take ownership of the hiring process for your team. How are you doing with respect to Hiring? We've put together these 7 questions for you to assess your hiring skills.
Members: click here to download a workbook containing these and other questions covering all 14 Complete Manager key skills
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If two or more answers are in the 'Never' or 'Sometimes' columns, consider getting help. If three or more answers are in the 'Never' or 'Sometimes' columns, don't consider not getting help!
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Do You Want to Be a Complete Manager?
Do You Want Your Team to Be Complete Managers?Then pre-register for our upcoming Complete Manager Program - a distance learning program based on all 14 'Complete Manager' characteristics. There's no obligation whatsoever in pre-registering, and the Program is open to members and non-members alike (although members will receive a discount on the Program registration fee (which we haven't set yet). Just complete this simple form and hit 'Submit':
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