Perfect Hire Blueprint
Page 5
Every interaction should “sell” a little. Even emails to candidates should include an “about us” at the end as to why the company is a great place to work. Use employee testimonials, point them to your LinkedIn company page or reference Glassdoor.com if the reviews are good. 3rd party sources are viewed as more credible because they are hard to manipulate.
Interviews need to be part selling and part information gathering. An interview is a two-way street: you are interviewing her, and she is interviewing you.
The amount of selling depends on how difficult it is to get good candidates to apply. In a down market, you may have hundreds of applicants, and selling is less important. In a booming market, there may be fewer A-players applying for the job. In that case, about 30-40% of the time you should be discussing the benefits of the company, and the opportunities for learning and career growth.
Have your A-players on the interview team. They will attract other A-players by showing their aptitude, responsibilities and commitment.
The manager/leader the candidate works for is an important part of the candidate’s decision. It’s important for that personal connection to be formed.
At the end of the second interview, the hiring manager should ask this question: “If we offered you the job today, would you say yes today?” If the answer is not yes, then ask, “What would go into your decision making?”
This helps you gauge whether the person would take an offer, or whether you need to address any concerns before making the offer.
In all but very small companies, the offer needs to be approved by at least one superior. Sweetening the deal after an offer is made will require another round of signoff. Don’t go back to ask for more – uncover what will be needed before the offer is approved.
When making the offer, sell the position, the company, and the difference the person will make for the company and for their career.
If you think the candidate is ready to take the offer, it’s time to talk about compensation. This will set up the candidate to be less focused on the money and more on the big picture. If the body language isn’t open and friendly, you are likely setting yourself up for a post-offer negotiation.
After the offer is made, the power shifts to the candidate. The company has shown their cards, but the candidate has not yet shown her cards. To make a poker analogy: if you feel you have the best hand, you try to make the pot as large as possible before you show your cards.
After the offer is made, some candidates feel it is now time to ask for what they really want (because the power has shifted). If you uncover any issues with an offer or special considerations before the offer is made, then the process is positive for everyone.
One person I hired needed to be relocated a good distance. His hobby was woodworking. His relocation allowance had to be significantly increased to move his workshop consisting of table saw, lathe, band saw, planer, etc.
The person making the offer needs to have a contingency budget when making the offer. It is best to close the negotiation at that time, rather than allow it to drag on.
The offer should be able to be reconfigured and stay within the contingency budget.
If the candidate is allowed to leave without a deal, he may ask others, “They want me! What else should I ask for?”
You have interviewed many people by this time. You are offering the job to the best candidate you have met. If the candidate does not accept, it will take more time and money to find another candidate (refer to Chapter 1: Preparing to Hire, What are the Costs of Hiring?).
Now let’s dive deep into the process.
Section 1: Setup & Pre-hire
Chapter 4: Profile/Benchmark
As I’ve stated before, a significant key to hiring success is the online Assessment portion of the process.
Personal preferences and biases show up first in the job description. We picture someone who succeeded in the role and strive for the same type, or we remember someone who failed and try to get the opposite. This does not create a predictive process for hiring success. If the job description is not right, then how does someone who perfectly matches the description succeed in the job?
The Benchmark Assessment or Job Profile (see PerfectHireBlueprint.com/Resources for examples) must be the starting point for all hiring. While it’s possible to hire well without it, the chance of success is much lower. If you’ve hired a Mis-fit, you know the pain and expense involved to shed that person – not even accounting for the expense and time required in the hiring process, and the opportunity cost of not having the right person.
The Job Profile is the standard by which a candidate should be measured, and the Job Benchmark Assessment is the key to the perfect hire.
But wait a minute. You’ve said that all I need is A-players and I’ll be fine. Why don’t you just tell me how to get an A-player? Why do I need a Job Profile or Benchmark?
While A-players do share some traits, every job still needs a minimum skill set. An A-player salesperson would not have the same top 10 skills as an A-player accountant or actuary. The Profile will identify the key skills needed for the particular role.
The difference between a Profile and a Benchmark is that the Benchmark uses an extensive online Multi-Respondent Job questionnaire, while the Profile is less rigorous (and more prone to mistakes). These two pieces work together to create a much more detailed and effective job description.
The Job Profile is likely a Word document, which is the result of a facilitated process, and the Job Report (or Benchmark) is a PDF generated by the online Assessment system that should be referenced when creating the Job Profile.
The Benchmark Assessment will determine the ideal candidate for the job. Stakeholders (who may include company owners, managers, and selected employees) will complete a Benchmark job Assessment to determine the qualities necessary or desired in candidates.
3-6 people are involved in the Benchmark. These are the stakeholders - those that are currently in or are in close contact with position
Vital Responsibilities are created that are specific to the job as identified by the stakeholders
Stakeholders help create the Multi-Respondent Job Report (online Assessment)
Interview questions are created by Benchmark (Job Report)
Full Benchmark binder is created (recommended, but not required)
A Job Benchmark will help determine whether a candidate has the desired qualities necessary to be successful in the position.
With an accurate Benchmark, the job description will be more than just a list of duties. The Benchmark forms the job description and the ad that will be seen by prospective employees. It is the starting point that helps ensure that the right candidate is hired.
To create this Benchmark we need to know why this job is different from other positions in the company:
Why is this job needed?
What are the responsibilities that are unique to this position?
Once these questions are answered, the Benchmark gives an outline of the ideal candidate.
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No matter your hiring process, the Benchmark and the Personal Assessment will improve your hiring success rate dramatically. We have found that in over 90% of the cases using this process, new hires stay at least a year.
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Step 1: Perfect Hire Profile (Avatar)
Avatar is more than a popular movie. The definition that I’m using from Webster’s dictionary is: “someone who represents a type of person, an idea, or a quality.” An avatar, in marketing, is used to determine the traits of the ideal customer:
Where does he live?
How does he dress?
What kind of car does he drive?
What is his age?
What is the family’s income?
For hiring, this definition is good as we are looking for a specific “type” of person. It is much easier to find the perfect hire if you first know what behaviors, values and skills you are looking for.
I
know some companies say that they want candidates with a high IQ, high energy, and a great conversationalist, and they tailor their interview questions to uncover those traits. I don’t believe that you can say that these traits are important for every employee in a company.
For instance, some employees may be behind the scenes. Looking for a good cultural fit could span all positions, but individual behavioral traits are not one-size-fits-all.
The ideal first step is to create a perfect hire profile for the position. As mentioned earlier, this involves 3-6 stakeholders in a room together answering two questions:
Why this job is different than any of the other jobs?
Why is this position needed?
There needs to be a good explanation why no other position is right for doing this work. The right people to contribute and answer these questions might be:
the manager of the position,
the most successful person doing the job (definition of success is up to the manager), and
the people who will interact with this position most.
By asking why the job is unique and needed, it takes the mind off who we think the ideal person would be (we’d have someone in mind), and focus on what is really required. What we are looking for is not the typical job description.
Profile of a Perfect Hire
The perfect hire will have some combination of the following Behaviors, Motivators and Soft Skills. The desired amount of each is determined through the Benchmarking process, and the Job Report will identify which of the following are most important. Here are the alphabetically ordered lists of what we might look for:
Behaviors (DISC)
Your observable behavior and related emotions contribute to your success on the job. When matched to the job, they play a large role in enhancing your performance.
Analysis of Data - Information is maintained accurately for repeated examination as required.
Competitiveness - Tenacity, boldness, assertiveness and a "will to win" in all situations.
Consistency - The ability to do the job the same way.
Customer Relations - A desire to convey your sincere interest in them.
Frequent Change - Moving easily from task to task or being asked to leave several tasks unfinished and easily move on to the new task with little or no notice.
Frequent Interaction with Others - Dealing with multiple interruptions on a continual basis, always maintaining a friendly interface with others.
Following Policy - Complying with the policy or if no policy, complying with the way it has been done.
Follow Up and Follow Through - A need to be thorough.
Organized Workplace - Systems and procedures followed for success.
People Oriented - Spending a high percentage of time successfully working with a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds to achieve "win-win" outcomes.
Urgency - Decisiveness, quick response and fast action.
Versatility - Bringing together a multitude of talents and a willingness to adapt the talents to changing assignments as required.
Driving Forces (Motivators)
To create engagement and superior job performance it is important to align the individual's driving forces with the rewards of the job. Each pair is at different ends of the same scale. If someone is high in the first, they tend to be low in the second and vice versa.
Theoretical
Intellectual - People who are driven by opportunities to learn, acquire knowledge and the discovery of truth.
Instinctive - People who are driven by utilizing past experiences, intuition and seeking specific knowledge when necessary.
Utilitarian
Resourceful - People who are driven by practical results, maximizing both efficiency and returns for their investments of time, talent, energy and resources.
Selfless - People who are driven by completing tasks for the greater good, with little expectation of personal return.
Aesthetic
Harmonious - People who are driven by the experience, subjective viewpoints and balance in their surroundings.
Objective - People who are driven by the functionality and objectivity of their surroundings.
Social
Altruistic - People who are driven by the benefits they provide others.
Intentional - People who are driven to assist others for a specific purpose, not just for the sake of being helpful or supportive.
Individualistic
Commanding - People who are driven by status, recognition and control over personal freedom.
Collaborative - People who are driven by being in a supporting role and contributing with little need for individual recognition.
Traditional
Structured - People who are driven by traditional approaches, proven methods and a defined system for living.
Receptive - People who are driven by new ideas, methods and opportunities that fall outside a defined system for living.
Soft Skills (Competencies)
While some of these may look similar to the behavioral (DISC) traits above, they are assessed differently and can identify someone who has adapted to a natural behavioral weakness.
There are 25 Competencies that help determine if the candidate is a good fit:
Appreciating Others - Identifying with and caring about others.
Conceptual Thinking - The ability to analyze hypothetical situations or abstract concepts to compile insight.
Conflict Management - Addressing and resolving conflict constructively.
Continuous Learning - Taking initiative in learning and implementing new concepts, technologies and/or methods.
Creativity and Innovation - Creating new approaches, designs, processes, technologies and/or systems to achieve the desired result.
Customer Focus - Anticipating, meeting and/or exceeding customer needs, wants and expectations.
Diplomacy - The ability to treat others fairly, regardless of personal biases or beliefs.
Decision Making - Utilizing effective processes to make decisions.
Employee Development/Coaching - Facilitating and supporting the professional growth of others.
Flexibility - Agility in adapting to change.
Futuristic Thinking - Imagining, envisioning, projecting and/or predicting what has not yet been realized.
Goal Orientation - Setting, pursuing and attaining goals, regardless of obstacles or circumstances.
Influencing Others - Personally affecting others’ actions, decisions, opinions or thinking.
Interpersonal Skills - Effectively communicating, building rapport and relating well to all kinds of people.
Leadership - Achieving extraordinary business results through people.
Negotiation - Facilitating agreements between two or more parties.
Personal Accountability - A measure of the capacity to be answerable for personal actions.
Planning and Organizing - Utilizing logical, systematic and orderly procedures to meet objectives.
Problem Solving - Defining, analyzing and diagnosing key components of a problem to formulate a solution.
Project Management - Identifying and overseeing all resources, tasks, systems and people to obtain results
Resiliency - The ability to quickly recover from adversity.
Self-Starting - Demonstrating initiative and willingness to begin working.
Teamwork - Working effectively and productively with others.
Time and Priority Management - Demonstrating self-control and an ability to manage time and priorities.
Understanding Others - Understanding the uniqueness and contributions of others.
This is where an additional Assessment, Acumen, comes in. High scores here help solidify the opinion that you have identified an A-player.
The Acumen Assessment uncovers whether a candidate can assess situations and performance, and make good decisions on external factors. It also does the same internally to determine if he can understand, decide and c
ontrol his actions. Broadly, it measures: