Building the Right Team

According to a Career Builder survey, 74% of employers believe that they have hired the wrong person for a specific position, after just a few months of work. This is an astounding statistic! Have you ever found yourself in the same position? Regretting a new hire? Wondering if you didn't pick the right candidate? Wishing you would have interviewed just a few more people?

In a world filled with AI Generators and ChatGPT, everyone has the "perfect resume". Anyone can use the right trigger words and skills matching for the job they are seeking. This makes finding the right fit for your team even harder. And the truth is that you don't really know a person and their work ethic, until after they have been working for you for at least a couple of months. Considering all of this, it makes a little more sense why 74% of employers think they have the wrong person for the job.

So, if I could offer you some colloquial wisdom on how to mitigate some of these "bad hires" or even how to deal with them after they are hired, I would like to make these suggestions:

1. CONSIDER PANEL INTERVIEWS.

Having a panel of 2-3 people interview a potential candidate for hire offers you several benefits. First, it gives you a multitude of impressions and observations about a candidate. Second, it causes the interviewee to be "on their toes" just a little more. Third, it removes the potential for personal bias or even discrimination of selecting a candidate. There is wisdom in the counsel of several.

2. LOOK FOR VALUE-FITS, INSTEAD OF POSITIONAL-FITS.

Anyone can learn the skills required for a job - well, most anyone. Even if a job requires a particular certification or job-specific training of skills, you must remember that anyone can learn skills. Not just anyone will match the values of your company. The greatest employees are those whose personal values align with the company's values. Check that your candidates have the necessary skills, but spend more time in the interview judging whether the candidate's values are aligned with the company's.

3. IMPLEMENT 90-DAY PROBATIONARY PERIODS.

California is an "At Will Employment" state, meaning that both the employee and employer can terminate employment at any time, without cause or notice, as they see fit. Now, this doesn't mean you can just let people go for no reason either. There are laws that protect employees - but that is another blog post. The point of this is that if you implement a 90-day probationary period, with a review at 30, 60, and 90 days it will give you the opportunity to really get to know your new hire. It also will provide the opportunity for corrections, coaching, and training. You'll know very quickly if this person will be a good fit, or not.

4. COACH FIRST, BOSS LATER.

There's an old proverb that says something like, "Give a boy a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a boy to fish, feed him for a lifetime." The idea is that if you invest the time into someone to teach them the skills you want them to have, you'll have a greater return on your investment than if you just do it for them. Too many managers, supervisors, and just "bosses" in general spend far too little time actually coaching and helping their employees learn the necessary skills to be successful. Yes, there are certain levels of aptitude that are expected, but before you "boss" people around, make sure they have the tools necessary to be successful. Invest in people, and people will invest themselves into your business. Treat people as dispensable assets, and they will become exactly that.

No matter what level of growth you're at, I challenge you to consider these principles of people management. You'd be surprised at how much people are willing to make the necessary adjustments to perform their best, when they believe that their employer is invested in their success! Building the right team is not always easy, but it is possible!

All the best,

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