Almost every time we visit a client, the first problem that we discuss is how they need more and better talent to add to their team. This mindset and the unemployment situation has made employers lower their standards of who is allowed on their team, and this has created a vacuum of limited performance that they continue to try and fix with more people. What they have missed on is making sure that the members of their team fit due to the fear that replacing the limited performance of a bad team fit is harder than just dealing with them.
However, teams that are thriving are following a few specific steps that have allowed them to transcend the lack of available talent. Those steps are as follows:
Step 1 – Know Your Team
To know your team is to know the role and culture alignment of everyone. To do that, you must first have role & culture clarity, otherwise you have no baseline of comparison. You then must analyze their performance against what is expected of them, and the most effective way to do this is to integrate it into your performance management process.
By integrating culture and performance into one process, it becomes more efficient for the business, and more effective for the employee to focus on what’s truly important. It creates a clear path to improvement of the individual and the company develops as gaps are more easily identified.
Learn more about knowing your team
Step 2 – Know Who and What You Need to Add
Adding to your team does not exclusively mean hiring. You can add skills, training, planning, communication and many other things to overcome the gaps within your organization.
Hiring can sometimes fill the needs of your organization, but posting jobs and hoping for a miracle worker to come into your organization and heal all wounds is not the answer.
Utilizing your gap analysis, work with your leadership team to determine the best course of action to fill the gaps, and execute the plan.
Step 3 – Be selective
If you and your team decide that hiring is the right answer, avoid the tendency to fill a role with the first qualified candidate. Often, hiring decisions are made to fast which leads to details being missed, and the team fit not being right. This creates unnecessary and expensive turnover, and can be avoided more often with the practice of patience.
When interviewing, examine their work history, potential cultural fit, communication ability and natural behavioral tendencies. If you’re unsure, do another interview.
Think they’re the right fit? Interview another candidate. Always be sure to do your due diligence when adding to your team.
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If you are having a hard time with these or any issues in your talent strategy, send me an email with your question.
Make today a great day!
