R = Relational
A recent survey of thousands of hiring managers (conducted by a national professional staffing organization) revealed the number one quality that hiring managers are looking for in a potential employee:
The ability to work well with others!
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More and more organizations today are relying on employees and work groups to function collaboratively rather than competitively. And… as organizations grow… there is an increasing demand for cooperation and collaboration BETWEEN teams across departmental lines. This calls for mature attitudes, a willingness to accept responsibility, the need to keep egos out of the process, and the ability to set aside personal agendas for the purpose of serving the customer. It also requires effective “people skills.”
How do you determine if a candidate has the ability to connect and interact with others effectively…especially with the ones you have already hired—YOUR CURRENT TEAM!?
Take a candidate to lunch.
One expert recommends that hiring managers bring final candidates into informal settings where they can get a read on the potential employee’s social skills. One CEO I know always takes executive candidates to lunch. Her primary purpose is to see how they interact with the wait staff. The reason? As the leader of her company, she consistently sends the message to employees that every person in the organization is important to the success of the company. So she wants to know that her executive team places the same value on every employee, no matter how “humble” their role!
Another value of an informal setting like lunch—it gives you a chance to see how the candidate behaves when the pressure is off, especially in an unstructured setting where there is no formal agenda. The idea here is to see what the candidate is REALLY like, when they’re no longer “on stage.” It’s also an opportunity to assess their basic social and conversational skills.
Up Close and Personal
The local branch of a large commercial real estate property management firm needed to add a new property manager to their team. The company’s local VP and the current Branch Manager fell in love immediately with a well-prepared candidate who wowed them in the interview. After the meeting, the potential employee was hanging out at the front desk, and the receptionist got a VERY DIFFERENT view of the employee’s behavior and personality. The receptionist shared her observations with the bosses—and her concerns about the candidate. The VP and BM dismissed the feedback and made the hire anyway. SIX MONTHS LATER, THEY TERMINATED THE NEW EMPLOYEE!
Let them meet your team!
I know a highly successful manager who has a unique way of assessing a potential employee’s collaborative “fit” with his team and his organization. He always gives his final candidate an opportunity to interact privately with his current team members. (When I say privately, I mean he stays out of the room for this meeting!) This gives the candidate an opportunity to ask candid questions of the team—and vice-versa. This also allows the manager to get a sense of how well the candidate fits with the team’s chemistry… by talking with his team afterwards and getting their feedback.
Of course, we are all aware that some people are more naturally “sociable” than others. But even a quiet, introverted person needs to have the ability to interact positively with other people.
Listen to your “gut.”
Author and consultant Brian Tracy recommends an instinctive “gut check” with potential hires. He urges hiring managers to ask themselves questions like these:
- Would I feel comfortable having this person over to dinner in my home, interacting with my family?
- Would I feel comfortable having my children work WITH or FOR this person?
- Would I feel comfortable working with this person for another 20 years?
The point of these questions is to trigger instinctive, gut feelings about hiring the candidate. And the key is to always follow your instincts in this regard:
If your gut tells you “don’t hire this person,” then don’t hire them, even if they are qualified!
Will this guarantee a perfect hire every time? No. But it may give you just the edge you need to hire the right person at a time when you can’t afford NOT to.
If you or your leaders need help with their hiring skills, let us know—we can help! We can provide lively, interactive training seminars that will equip your people with what they need to recruit and hire the RIGHT PEOPLE for their teams!
And for more great hiring tips—stay tuned to this blog—I’ve got plenty more good stuff to share with you!
Until next time… Yours for better leaders and better organizations,
Dr. Jim Dyke – “The Boss Doctor” ™ helping you to BE a better boss and to HAVE a better boss!
