Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Are You Hiring Talent or Just Filling Seats?

When I talk with leaders and HR professionals a question frequently comes up on how to balance the need for filling positions versus hiring someone who is ideally suited to the position.  I often hear comments about how there are no qualified candidates out there or that good people are so hard to find.

There are some basic things that leaders and organizations can do to ensure that they are getting the best people possible rather than just filling seats.

What is The Focus of Your Hiring?

Determine what you need in your organization.  Do you just want to fill seats or do you want highly motivated and driven people who love doing what you do.  Try focusing on hiring people who really like to do the work you are hiring them to do.

Focus the Job Description

Instead of working in generalities get down to the exact qualities you need someone to possess.  Get into great detail so that you can weed out those who don’t fit the bill.  Make sure your candidate loves doing the things that are in the job description.

Hire Based on People’s Passions

Just because someone can do something doesn’t mean they love what they do.  It’s far more effective to hire someone because they genuinely enjoy the job that you’re hiring them for.  Make sure you understand the candidate’s interest and passions before you consider her for a position.

Ask Open-Ended Questions

These are deeper questions that invite sharing and help you understand who people are.  Ask questions that inspire critical thinking, encourage the candidate demonstrate her expertise, and don’t lead to a yes or no answer.

Limit Fantasizing

Sure it’s nice to think that this person is the one for this job.  We love for people to succeed and for this persistant opening to go away but try not to place people in positions just because you hope it will work out.  Make sure the position is one they’ll love doing.

Be Up Front

Tell people what the position is.  Don’t embellish; include the things that aren’t so great about the position and ask for the candidate’s impressions based on those elements.  This will help you determine whether someone really enjoys the work required in the position you’re trying to fill.

Try these practical ideas to move your organization in a direction where it is hiring people who truly love the position they’ve accepted.  When your new hires find themselves in a job that reflects who they are and what they enjoy doing, they will be far more likely to do a great job and stay with the company. What will you do to successfully hire talent?

1 comment:

  1. Sir,
    This is Laxita Handa from crazyterminal team, i believe you have seen the Career guiding interview of Mr. Pathak on our website.
    We would like to know if you would be interested in doing a similar type of interview with us?

    We are waiting for your reply... Please contact me at lhbenevolent@gmail.com

    Thanku

    ReplyDelete