If you have experienced the joy of building a team, you’ll know there’s nothing more exciting than welcoming a new team member! It’s the reward after investing all the time and effort to find the right person.
How do I know if the new hire will be successful?
It all starts with you making the decision to bring someone into the team and starting a new hiring cycle. However, the success of that new addition would depend on how well defined the role is, and how well-aligned the candidate’s expectations are to yours.
OUR TIP FOR YOU.
There are many factors that impact retention, and a big one comes down to your hiring and selection process.
There are three key parts during your screening and selection process where you can easily communicate to the candidate about how the job will be, the challenges, rewards, and more importantly; your expectations.
1. Your job ad.
A good job advertisement will be your first filter for attracting productive and outflow-motivated candidates. Hiring the Performers we talk about requires well-written ads, and our Performia style ads have a track record of attracting productive candidates motivated for the right purpose. You may get fewer applicants but the ones who apply are typically very high quality.
2. Your first communication with the candidate!
At Performia, we called it a “Scary Letter”, more commonly known as our Candidate Brief Letter! This is an email that clearly communicates the thought truth about the role and is meant to be sent after their application. It screens out those who applied with the wrong expectation.
3. Interview.
Having a production check interview is crucial when hiring. It allows you to understand critical insights about the candidate’s potential to add value by cutting through the “social mask”. You’ll get to see who is “behind the mask” very quickly followed by further communication in such a way that sets the role expectations and answering any questions. This is not a negotiation step. However, it is the beginning of a potential relationship.
Once you have done the above steps, and you are happy with your choice and completed the reference checks, it is time to put it in writing.
Your offer of employment or contract certainly should be as clear as possible. Don’t be afraid to add too much information, to prevent future misunderstandings and start fresh on the same page. At Performia we have specific items that we recommend to our clients to include in this document which is actually the first step for your onboarding.
The result could be nothing but aligned expectations and the beginning of a healthy and long professional relationship.
Remember, expectations directly affect motivation and performance, It could impact those around you and be contagious. Your job as Owner/Manager is to be a professional when it comes to handling expectations and finding a balance between your business and your team.
We hope you find this helpful.
All the best from the Performia Team.
P.S. For more advice tips and support, join our Facebook Group Building High Performance Teams.