Many of us want to recruit the best possible candidates – the High Performers. As Steve Jobs said, “go after the cream of the cream. A small team of A-players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players.”

But you need the correct criteria and to ask the right questions to be able to identify high performers, the A-players Steve Jobs refers to.

Having worked within, led and trained many high-performing teams, here’s my outline to attract, select and retain high performers and interview questions to recruit high-performers.

Identifying high-performing people

Below are three key traits that I believe are the identifiers of a high performing person. Assessing these will enable you to readily determine a high performer.

Emotional Intelligence – Motivation and Desire

Emotional intelligence consists of the following:

• Motivation and the desire to improve
• Self-awareness
• Self-regulation
• Empathy
• Social Skills

People with high emotional intelligence will be in full control of their emotions, calm in a crisis, and will make decisions sensitively while reading the emotions of others. Their can-do attitude can bolster morale in other team members.

Grit

Grit can be measured by passion and perseverance. These may be the building blocks but grit is more than the sum of its parts. People with grit are goal-oriented, purpose-driven and will do whatever it takes to achieve.

This is where effort counts as much as talent as someone with grit refuses to quit.

Does a person stick to their long-term goals or are they distracted by new ideas and projects? If a person is too easily distracted, they won’t become a high performer.

Resilience

This consists of:

• Wellbeing- mental and physical
• Recovery
• Ability to Bounce Back

A resilient person will be one who when faced with a setback or negative outcome, will recognise it, learn from it and quickly move on.  They will recognise the importance of movement, nutrition and sleep and act accordingly to maintain their physical and mental health.

Using the above as a baseline we can compile a list of interview questions that will enable us to recognise these characteristics in a candidate.

9 Interview questions to recruit high-performers 

• What are your motivations and purpose in your job?
• What feedback has been given to you that has surprised you?
• What have you done when you’ve been given poor feedback?
• Give an example of when you have displayed empathy.
• How do you build rapport with your team members?
• What are you passionate about?
• Give an example when you have displayed perseverance?
• When did you bounce back from a negative situation and how long did this take you?
• What physical activity do you do and how much sleep would you get on average, each night?

By asking these nine interview questions to recruit high-performers, you’ll get a great understanding as to whether a candidate has the characteristics that you’re looking for. You can glean some valuable insights about a candidate’s attitude, work ethic, tenacity, and sense of teamwork – all of which are key drivers in high performance.

Ask for multiple examples in your interview, using the questions above. Many candidates can come up with one example to answer your question. High performers will come up with several. This will also eliminate candidates who may have practised or rehearsed their answers.

It’s also important to appreciate that salary is not the sole driver for top performers at work. During your interviews, connect with them to find out what their drivers are. This could include flexible work hours or working on innovative projects. Show them how your organisation can fuel their growth – they want to be challenged and motivated and will have a growth mindset – so this will be important to them. High performers are always in demand, so you need to sell them on your organisation in the interview.

Asking about these drivers will also deliver key information for the next stage – retention. Once you have successfully recruited a high performer, the next challenge is to then retain them. High performers will add value to your organisation, but it is important to know how to effectively manage them.

Next week I’ll share how best to manage and keep a high-performing team together.

About the author

Kirk Peterson is the founder and Managing Director of Performance Shift. He is a renowned thought leader with over 30 years’ experience in leadership, business strategy, and people management, along with a history of playing with, and coaching high-performance sporting teams. 

About Performance Shift 

Performance Shift specialises in creating High-Performing Individuals and High-Performing Teams. Using a combination of data and worldwide research-based insights, theoretical models, diagnostic tools and personal experience, Performance Shift can implement strategies resulting in a sustainable culture of high performance. 

www.performanceshift.com.au

contact: info@performanceshift.com.au

The post 9 interview questions to recruit high-performers appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

On 24 February 2020, Katherine Johnson, one of a group of black women mathematicians at NASA and its predecessor who were celebrated in the 2016 movie “Hidden Figures”, died at the age of 101. She was the mathematician who broke barriers at NASA. 

Bruce Anderson, writing for LinkedIn’ Talent blog states, “The sky was never the limit for Katherine Johnson. Instead, it was merely the starting point, the playground for a 33-year career as a brilliant mathematician for NASA, where she helped put astronauts into space, into orbit, and ultimately on the moon. Katherine, one of the cohort of African American women portrayed in the best-selling book and blockbuster 2016 movie “Hidden Figures,” died this week at 101. Actress Taraji Henson, who played Katherine in the movie, wrote on Instagram: “You ran so we could fly!!!”

“Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted on LinkedIn: ‘Katherine Johnson will be remembered as a skilled mathematician and pioneer in her industry, but to me and many others, she will be remembered not just for her contributions to the early years of the space program, but for how she helped NASA evolve into a more enlightened organization. Her legacy is a powerful example of how one individual can act as a catalyst for change and drive meaningful impact in their organization and in society broadly.’”

“As Black History Month nears its end in the United States and Canada, it’s worth considering Katherine’s remarkable journey. For HR leaders, her story underscores that the business case for diversity isn’t just about driving more revenue and profitability; it’s about accomplishing things that right now you’re only dreaming of. For recruiters, her story is a reminder of how critical a single hire can be and how a truly exceptional employee by necessity can’t be like everyone who already works for you.” 

Diversity is more than revenue and profit

Diversity drives revenue growth and profitability, as demonstrated by a growing body of research, including work from respected sources such as McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, and Bersin by Deloitte. 

“But not many organizations have crafted a vision statement that says, “Make more money.” Most companies want to have a larger impact — to create a transformative product, to deliver service that transcends customer expectations, to be known as the very best at what they do.

NASA’s goal wasn’t to make money; it was, instead, to fulfill U.S. President John Kennedy’s stated ambition of “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”

Studies demonstrate that organisations with a diverse workforce are more creative, more innovative, and more capable of problem-solving. Katherine’s work was critical to both parts of JFK’s vision, the getting an astronaut to the moon and the getting him back safely.

Katherine joined NASA in 1953 and was soon inducted into the agency’s elite Flight Research Division, where she stayed for the rest of her career. She quickly proved indispensable.

“She did groundbreaking work on orbital mechanics that was instrumental to the success of the early U.S. space program. When astronaut John Glenn was nearing the launch that would make him the first American to orbit the earth in 1962, he asked that his planned orbital trajectory — calculated on an early IBM computer — be cross-checked by Katherine. ‘If she says the numbers are good,” he said, “I’m ready to go.’” 

Your next hire could be a catalyst for change

Beyond Katherine’s stellar mathematical work, she also changed NASA’s workplace for both women and people of color.

“When Katherine arrived at Langley, the cafeteria had already been desegregated but the bathrooms had not. While the bathrooms for African American employees were all marked by signs, the bathrooms for white employees were not. Katherine — being well-grounded in geometry —used the bathroom nearest her desk. She initially had no idea that it was reserved for white women. By the time she realized her “error,” she was not inclined to change her ways.

More typically, she was clear-sighted about the changes she was helping to bring about. For example, Katherine was intensely curious about the technology that underlay NASA’s work and she asked her engineering colleagues why she wasn’t allowed to attend scientific briefings.

“Girls” weren’t allowed, she was told. “Is there a law against it?” she replied. It turned out there wasn’t and her quiet persistence won out. Katherine and other women gained access to the agency’s briefings.” 

Continue to seek potential over pedigree

“Katherine Johnson did not have a doctorate or a diploma from an elite school, yet she was NASA’s go-to mathematician for trajectory calculations. Even she, however, might have had a difficult time calculating or even imagining her own trajectory.

“Nearly a century after being born in a West Virginia town that only provided African Americans with education through the eighth grade, Katherine received the Presidential Medal of Honor (2015) from Barack Obama and was present when NASA dedicated the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia (2017).

She helped men reach the stars; now she inspires STEM-loving girls everywhere to reach for them. Her example can also remind talent acquisition professionals to value potential over pedigree and to seek out those candidates whose grit, confidence, curiosity, and humility (“I am as good as anyone else,” Katherine said, “but no better”) makes them think of the unforgettable woman, no longer hidden, who passed away on Monday.”

“They asked Katherine Johnson for the moon,” The New York Times noted, “and she gave it to them.”

Source

The Remarkable Life of ‘Hidden Figure’ Katherine Johnson — and Its Lessons for Talent Leaders

Bruce Anderson 

LinkedIn Talent Blog

The post The remarkable life of ‘Hidden Figure’ Katherine Johnson: Key lessons for talent leaders appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

In today’s talent-driven economy, the best candidates can afford to be choosy. Skilled candidates now browse for the job that suits them best; they’re not just going to accept any offer, or stay in a job that’s not the right fit.

To attract the right candidates, recruiters need to know who they are, and exactly what they want from their next role. This is where candidate personas come in handy.

What is a candidate persona?

You may have heard of the term ‘buyer persona’, which has been used by traditional marketers to help understand their ideal customers. These profiles are used to help craft strategies that best meet commercial objectives and create compelling advertising campaigns.

Candidate personas work in the same way for recruiters, in that they represent an ideal candidate for a specific role.

These ‘personas’ are formulated based on real data, primary research and interviews. They’re a fantastic way to identify the right candidates for your business and streamline the recruitment process.

Five steps to creating your own candidate persona

The main benefit of candidate personas is that they aren’t just created on ‘gut-feel’. A good candidate persona is put in a written description and represents a hypothetical person with the ideal traits and characteristics for the role.

To create an accurate persona and get the best results, you’re going to have to do some research. Here are the five steps to getting the information you need.

1. Identify trends in your top performers

What do your current superstar employees all have in common? Is it their education level, interests or past experience? If your HR system can provide this data, you can apply these insights into the profile of your ideal candidate.

2. Use your own hiring data to discover channel insights

Next, take a look at how your best applicants and current employees found your business. Was it through referrals, your company website or job sites like Indeed? Incorporate this into your ideal candidate profile, so you can focus recruitment efforts on the channels that drive the best hires.

3. Interview colleagues and hiring managers

Interview the people who understand the candidates your organisation needs. This includes hiring managers or talent acquisition leaders. Ask them about desired professional profiles and personality traits. And don’t forget to ask them about their own experiences of working with high quality candidates. You may uncover even more relevant insights to add to your persona.

4. Interview your talent base

Now it’s time to get the inside story from the talent itself, such as current and potential employees. This is your chance to find out what makes them tick, what makes them uneasy and why they were attracted to your business in the first place. Many organisations use surveys to assess engagement. If that’s the case in your business, mix it up with some interviews so you have both quantitative AND qualitative data. This is an important step in understanding what exactly makes your business attractive to highly-skilled talent.

5. Keep an eye on hiring trends in your industry

Secondary research such as labour market data can provide details on the nuances and behaviours of talent in particular jobs. For example, how often do they change jobs? What’s their average level of education? This information can then be used to further hone your candidate persona and ensure it’s realistic within the current job market.

Now pull it all together

You’ve done the hard part; now it’s time to create your candidate persona. There are various format options, but we suggest you include the following: their job title, experience level, what they care about and what attracts them.

How to use your candidate persona

Once you’ve completed the profile of your ideal candidate persona, you can use it to:

• Adjust your job description so it aligns with the voice of your company and the cultural fit you’re trying to attract;
• Evaluate your recruitment channels to ensure you’re investing in the ones that present the best opportunity to find the right people;
• Identify new sourcing opportunities based on the behaviours and career paths of your top performers; and
• Create targeted recruiting messages and employment branding ideas that incorporate your candidate recruitment funnel.

Creating hypothetical candidate personas can bring many benefits to your recruitment efforts. By having an in-depth understanding of the wants and needs of your ideal candidate, you’ll target your efforts more effectively, improve your candidate experience and boost your recruitment success rate.

With more than 15 years of experience in the recruitment industry, Jay Munro has worked in a variety of roles in agencies and job boards, from consulting and recruiting, through to leading the product development of new sourcing technologies. As an Employer Insights Strategist with the Indeed Employer Insights Team, Jay pairs platform data with industry trend analysis to share Indeed’s story and bring the value of the company’s programs and solutions to life.

The post Optimising your recruitment process by creating candidate personas appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

The team at Aquis Farm Operations has a strong focus on their people with a vision of being number one in the industry, not just from a financial perspective, but in the welfare and care for their people and animals. Chloe McLeish, HR Manager for Aquis Farm Operations, explains they prioritise good protocols and practices, people and animal safety, and taking care of their properties. Interestingly, McLeish came from a corporate-retail background without experience in the horse racing industry.

“I’ve watched Aquis grow and diversify during the time I lived in the [Canungra] area,” said McLeish, “They’ve developed their properties and horse programs and I’d heard people talking about their progress in town. It was an exciting opportunity to get in on the ground level to make a meaningful impact to help them grow.”

“Recruitment in the horse racing and breeding industry can be tricky. Attracting the right people that are willing to offer longevity has certainly been a challenge.  Having come from a retail background, determining the right recruitment initiatives for this industry has been a learning curve for me and I’m having fun finding new and creative ways to attract the right talent.”

Aquis’s vision is to be known for treating their people and animals with a quality cycle of care. In fact, Aquis owner and Buddhist, Tony Fung, has installed shrines to revered Chinese warrior Guan Yu on their properties in Murrurundi, New South Wales, and Canungra, Queensland to offer protection to properties, the animals and the people.

McLeish’s day begins with an open door for people to walk in with enquiries, issues and reports. Because Aquis Farm is growing rapidly, she is currently working to build HR platforms and frameworks.

“We’ve grown so quickly that sometimes the goal posts can shift. So depending on what arises, I need to change my focus on a new process, policy or support managers through our recruitment activities. I spend a lot of time talking to managers in the field, understanding their needs, issues, and how I can support them from an HR perspective. I travel frequently between our two properties.”

Industry-specific social networks

Instead of focusing on traditional reach methods such as advertising through Seek and the local paper, McLeish targets industry social-networking groups to find applicants with hearts in the right place, as well as the right skill set. Aquis has achieved a great deal of success connecting with equine groups on Facebook and recruiting through equine websites such as Racing Jobs.

“It can be challenging to find people who fit our culture. The pond is deep, but not that wide. The benefit of connecting with community groups is that people there are already looking for work in the industry and know the work can be taxing. But they have a passion for working with horses and we’ve been blessed because our profile is growing. People are seeing our growth in the industry and that’s attracting interest. We receive a lot of word-of-mouth referrals and many people approach us.”

Aquis recruits regularly for their stud hand crew who are involved in assisting vets and the upkeep and feeding of animals. The work is hard, physical and often against the elements, so these employees need physical fitness, in addition to having the passion for horses, being a good cultural fit and sharing the Aquis Farm’s philosophy of quality care for animals. Many maintenance workers are male, and the majority of stud hands are female.

“Stud workers are strong and work really hard. The girls are tough and it’s inspiring to see, especially for me coming from outside the industry. It’s challenging work, and I love seeing their passion and energy for the work that they do.”

Work-experience program

Aquis will be piloting an international work-experience program this year with The National Stud training program in the UK and Ireland to cultivate interest in the industry, and potentially coach and develop their next round of recruits. People who are studying to be horse professionals in the UK and Ireland can fly to one of Aquis Farm’s properties and gain valuable work experience and professional development.

“Their seasons are different to ours, so when they have a quiet season, our busy season is just kicking off. We’re looking to tap into their graduates to see how else we can incentivise the experience for them, for example, by paying for flights or offering them further education. So far, this has generated lots of interest. It’s going to be a great season this year with what I hope results in a diverse mix of experienced crew members!”

Referral network   

While Aquis Farm is still small, they are growing fast and McLeish has implemented a lot of systems since joining the team.

“Word of mouth still prevails and we have sourced some amazing talent through referrals and recommendations from our existing teams (always a good sign!). I believe this is due to the fact that we not only aim to offer a healthy work-life balance for our teams but also promote career development and that we genuinely care for our animals.”

Applicants submit their resumes, undergo telephone screening and recruitment interviews, and McLeish has supplied line managers with standard interview and reference-checking guides.

Screening questions and behavioural testing

McLeish also believes in the importance of hiring people who have a genuine love for the work they are doing. She determines if candidates will make a good cultural fit by asking questions such as, “When are you most satisfied in your work?”, “What is a good day like for you?”, and “What’s a bad day like for you?”

“It works best to ask applicants how they resolve issues in the workplace. At the end of the day, you’re never going to work with people you agree with a hundred per cent of the time; without good communication and decision-making skills, teams can fall apart quickly. I ask them behavioural questions and see how they might respond in those situations.”

There are some applicants who have grown up around horses and the environment is second nature. For others who want to work with horses without experience, sometimes they don’t understand the physical nature of the role (the dirt and sweat…oh and the poo!). It’s not just leading and brushing horses all day! Which is why behavioural questions work particularly well for McLeish.

Promoting benefits

Aquis Farm believes in supporting their people through work-life balance, career progression, and succession planning. They also take into account that crews live and work in remote areas thirty minutes away from the nearest town and supermarket.

“Many of our people are young and want to have some fun. We have created a roster that allows the team to have quality time to go away, take a break, or visit family. We know this work can be challenging. Our people work really hard, so the more quality time they have to do what they need to feel refreshed and rejuvenated, the happier they’ll be and the less chance they’ll have of burning out.”

Aquis Farm is also embracing their work experience program and building other programs for students from schools to visit them in order to generate interest in the industry. McLeish values cultivating relationships with the community and encouraging new recruits to come through.

“We want to make it educational and show them the opportunities available. There are hierarchies and separate teams they can work in and different avenues they can take, from stud hands to area managers, shifting between divisions to broaden experience and progression to senior management. For example, we’re just brought on board a Director of Veterinary Services. Part of her role will be to build an education and training program for vet nurses and assistants, so we can be someone people look to train with, finish their education, and potentially stay on to be part of the Aquis journey. Similar to the work experience program, we hope they’ll see this as a career for them and understand what they can make of it.”

“You have to be transparent, almost vulnerable to applicants. It’s about being honest about the nitty-gritty and managing expectations. As much as candidates are selling themselves to us, we’re selling ourselves to them too. There can be embellishment with that, but the truth is so valuable in bringing the right people on board. It’s so important for us at Aquis Farm Operations that people have a genuine love for what they do. This, combined with tight scrutiny of their values and beliefs, enables us to ensure the welfare, safety and quality care of our animals.”

Have you had experience recruiting for a fast-growing or niche organisation? Let us know about your challenges and experiences in the comments below.

The post Aquis Farm: Recruiting for a fast-growing, niche organisation appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

Quickening the pace of hiring remains a hot topic and rightly so. The time it takes to fill a job grows year after year.

Many ideas on faster hiring are focused on the employer. But what about jobseekers? Sustainable speed can only be achieved if both sides of the hiring equation are addressed.

Here are four things jobseekers can do (and you can suggest they do) that increase hiring speed and improve selection accuracy.

Eliminate misinformation

Recurring media reports from a variety of sources indicate that two-thirds or more of resumes contain misinformation. This frequent inaccuracy has elicited a knee-jerk response by organisations—it’s assumed that resumes have exaggerations or flat-out lies and that these lies continue during interviews. To combat this, organisations slow down the process and dive deep to find these erroneous details. Instead of hiring being built on trust, it’s a tedious process filled with suspicion and doubt.

Combat this misinformation head on. Inform jobseekers that you’re not seeking perfect people, but people who perfectly represent themselves on paper and in conversations. Share examples of how you’ve hired less than perfect people and helped them advance their careers. Make your organisation a place where potential hires can be safely transparent.

Avoid spraying and praying

Like a farmer spreading manure to fertilise plants, many job candidates are spraying their resumes far and wide, praying one will take root and land them an opportunity. Employers end up buried in a pile of resumes, many of which are a crappy fit (pun intended). Sorting through this takes time, and time kills making good hires. Especially when a talented person, who was at the bottom of the pile, is snapped up by a faster competitor.

Encourage jobseekers to take a more targeted approach to their search. Start by setting and communicating boundaries early. For example, in the content on your job opportunities landing page make it clear that you’ll only consider and respond to candidates who match the required qualifications. Repeatedly reinforce and recommunicate this boundary. Popular places for doing so are on the page where candidates enter work history and just above the final “Submit” button for their application.

Offer proof instead of promises

Talk is cheap, especially when answering questions during interviews. Answering an interviewer’s questions may create a feel-good moment, but these answers offer nothing in the way of proof of fit. That’s why so many good interviews turn into bad hires. Candidates talk themselves into the role, one that wasn’t a fit after all.

Have each candidate offer proof in place of promises that he or she will fit in. Instead of letting a candidate tell you how they’d solve a problem, have them show you in a role play. Rather than asking about their top skills, have them demonstrate those skills by performing sample work. Require the candidate to go beyond sharing stories of how they work well with others and let them show you how they’ll collaborate with your current team. Showing, instead of telling, provides proof for making an informed decision.

Make better choices

Searching for a job is an emotional experience. Too often feelings trump facts, prompting the jobseeker to accept a role because if feels right versus doing so because it is truly the right fit.

Teach jobseekers how to make decisions rooted in facts instead of feelings. One approach is to ask the candidate to make a list of dealmakers (must-haves) and dealbreakers (must-not haves) and send it to you for discussion during a phone interview. Compare the list to the job and your company. Let people know where things match up and where they don’t. With eyes wide open, you both get to make an informed choice of whether to move forward or not.

Helping jobseekers should be a top priority for everyone involved in hiring. Putting people to work is one way. Guiding them in how they seek work is another. Seize every opportunity you can to inform and educate jobseekers about their role in increasing speed and improving accuracy during the hiring experience. Your role in hiring gives you a unique opportunity to exert your influence beyond just filling the next job. Use that influence to make jobseekers better at their part of the hiring process. You’ll be giving them a gift that serves them the remainder of their careers.

Scott Wintrip is the author of High Velocity Hiring: How to Hire Top Talent in an Instant, named a must-read book by SHRM’s HR Magazine. Over the past 19 years, Scott has led the Wintrip Consulting Group, a global consultancy that has helped more than 22,000 organisations build talent-rich companies that have eliminated their hiring delays forever. For five consecutive years, Staffing Industry Analysts, a Crain Communications company, awarded Scott a place on the “Staffing 100,” a list of the world’s 100 most influential leaders. He’s also a member of the Million Dollar Consultant Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Staffing 100 Hall of Fame.

The post Get jobseekers to help you speed up hiring appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

The people in your not-for-profit organisation are the ones who will help you achieve your goals, which is why it’s so important to attract and retain the best.

As Elizabeth Chung explains, “These are the people who will increase your organisation’s funds, build relationships with donors, and keep your operations running smoothly. While you have to look for people with the right skills and experience, there are a few overarching traits that can help you identify the right fit for your team. Here are five key characteristics to look for when making a nonprofit new hire.”

Passion for your cause

Do they care about your cause? Your candidates don’t necessarily need extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector. In fact, their passion and desire to make a difference can well and truly make up for this lack.

“It fuels the time and energy they invest in their tasks and on your mission. In many cases, passion inspires excellence. One way to gauge someone’s interest in your cause is to ask them about their future aspirations. What are their career goals for the next five years? Are they interested in future endeavours in the same or related field?”

To ensure they are worth the investment, look for candidates with the desire to grow in your organisation. Their passion may shape your culture for the better.

Strong communication skills

Excellent communications are generally a must in most roles, but in particular for customer-facing positions. These people are responsible for building relationships and selling your mission, both in person and in writing, so having the verbal and written communication skills to match is a must.

“Excellent communication skills are important even for roles that don’t directly deal with constituents. To start, every staffer is a representative for your brand, so each person should be able to articulate your mission effectively whether they’re speaking to a donor or their next-door neighbour. And if they’ll be working with your accounting or web design departments, they should be able to present and explain their points clearly to the rest of the organisation.

“Ask interviewees an open-ended question to see how they interacted with customers or donors in the past. Something like, “Can you tell me about how you engaged with customers in your last role?” can give you an idea of how they deal with constituents or provide customer service. You might even role-play a scenario where you are a potential donor, and they must give you an off-the-cuff elevator pitch about your mission.”

Humility

In your not-for-profit organisation, your people may need to step into different roles when required. So seek candidates with a positive attitude, who are willing to be flexible, and have the humility to take on all tasks, large and small.

“These are the people that end up rising to the top because they are a) indispensable and b) have the largest range of skills, which is invaluable at a nonprofit that doesn’t have the funds to hire another person.

“When interviewing your candidate, mention the different tasks that would be expected from the position, including the less glamorous ones. Check their response to gauge whether they would be open and willing to lend a hand wherever necessary.”

Motivation and resourcefulness

Look for candidates who are self-motivated to get things done. People who take initiative, go the extra mile, and have the creativity and resourcefulness to identify and put into action strategic solutions will drive your organisation’s success. You may even find candidates with the skills to make things happen through their own networks!

“Ask the candidate to share about how they handled projects and assignments in their last position. You can also ask, ‘Can you tell me about a time when an assignment was difficult for you, and how did you resolve the issue?’”

Flexibility

Things undeniably change in not-for-profit, whether it be: changes to legislation, funding cuts, focus changes, or other unexpected events. Your people may need to redirect their focus, pick up the slack, take on new responsibilities, launch new initiatives, or support other team members.

“How would your candidate deal with readjusting expectations? Is this something that would dishearten them and throw them off? If so, working at a social impact organisation might not be a good fit. The ability to adapt your plans and projects to unexpected situations is key to moving your mission forward.

“Employees should also be able to keep up with the new ways donors want to engage with organisations. Effective nonprofit professionals are open to rolling with the times and innovating new strategies to reach supporters.”

In addition to these soft skills, a general sense of optimism is an added bonus.

“There will be times when donors won’t give, a campaign ends just shy of its goal, or your organisation has to shift its strategy unexpectedly. A staffer who can keep their chin up and a sense of humour during these times can do wonders for team morale.”

Your staff is the engine behind your social impact organisation. A dedicated, all-star team will help drive your mission and success to new heights. When making your next hire, look to these traits to ensure your candidate is the right fit for your team.

Source

5 traits to look for in a nonprofit new hire

Elizabeth Chung

Classy

The post Recruiting for a not for profit? Here are 5 soft skills to look for appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

If you are going to run a Group Information and Interview Day (GIID) quality absolutely overrides quantity. The reason is, if you go for quantity simply to have a big room full of people, you’ll end up with a room full of 70% great candidates and 30% filler candidates. Those great candidates will sit in a room among filler candidates wondering, “is this my potential peer?”, “Is this how this organisation sees me?” and, “Are they categorising me the same way they are categorising that person?”

The quality of the candidates you invite into any group situation is telling for candidates, including your top potential talent, about what you think of your own organisation and what you think of them. So you never want filler candidates, and you never want quantity over quality. It’s far better to have a group of really high-calibre candidates, which demonstrates your talent pool, the level of interest in the position, and your ability to recruit the top talent in the best possible light. Ideally, you will have interviewed these candidates prior to meeting them face to face.

Another added bonus about opting for quality over quantity means that instead of buying a tray of average-quality sandwiches, you can buy a gourmet cheese platter instead!

Recruitment is all about sales and marketing. In sales and marketing, we know it’s important to widen the funnel. While it’s important that you’re starting with a broad reach of exposure for your opportunities, it’s equally important to have a funnel. You absolutely need to use your funnel to effectively screen and shortlist your talent pool.

At the top of your funnel, quantity is important, as you need a wide range and reach. From there, as your candidates move through your recruitment funnel, the more it will cost you to screen and shortlist. Therefore, you need to be efficient when screening and shortlisting.

Be 100% authentic in your attraction strategy. When marketing your organisation and the job opportunity to the best candidates out there, be ruthlessly authentic about the role, its responsibilities, and requirements for candidates because your goal is to educate and inform candidates so the right ones progress through to application and the wrong ones opt themselves out early.

Include the right information in your recruitment advertisement. If you can, it’s great to have an enticing advertisement on a job board that links to an attractive landing page for each opportunity. This way, you can market to the best candidates out there, fully educate them about your organisation and the role, and if you can include screening questions, better still!

Don’t fall into the trap of throwing advertisements on job boards and having to plough through piles of resumes, many of which are from unqualified, disinterested, or unsuitable applicants. Fully educate and inform your candidates before they even apply.

Use a shortlisting and selection process that’s rigorous and disciplined. Use selection criteria that you’ve established beforehand across the board.

The more you can avoid a huge volume of applications from unsuitable candidates, the better.  (Check out our great articles on how to write a great recruitment advertisement and the best screening questions you can use.)

Use video interviews wherever possible to conduct high-quality behavioural-based interviews. Hiring managers can then view (even an edited 10 minutes of a behavioural-based video interview) before they meet the candidate face to face). So instead of a huge volume of face to face interviews, you can opt for quality and being judicious about who you spend your time with.

Be mindful how you present the opportunity to candidates in naming your event. A “Group Assessment Day” is a less attractive term that can put candidates off. At the same time, inviting your candidates to a “Group Information Day” doesn’t communicate to candidates they have the opportunity to progress, which may result in a low attendance rate. Naming your event a “Group Information and Interview Day” solves this problem.

At the end of the day, time is money and we’ve got to keep our recruitment processes optimised and commercially viable without missing out on the best talent that’s out there. Your talent is your biggest asset. When a great candidate comes into your organisation either for an individual interview or a Group Information and Interview Day, or to start work on their first day, don’t ever let them feel like they’re being lined up against a candidate who’s far from their level who was brought in to fill numbers.

Have you achieved success using Group Information and Interview Days? Leave a comment below.

The post Don’t make the mistake of choosing quantity over quality: here’s why appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

Speeding up current processes can be met with intense resistance. Case in point…

At a meeting of the leadership team of a health insurance company, Paul thought the idea of fast hiring was “repulsive.” As we discussed how to plan the process, Paul started making passive-aggressive comments. After he said, “What’s next? We’re going to replace our employees with robots, like in that Will Smith movie?” I knew our discussion wasn’t addressing all of his concerns. I asked Paul to explain.

“People aren’t products,” he said angrily. “I can’t believe we’re even discussing such a dehumanising approach. Picking the right people takes time. Interviews, even if they last all day, are a good investment of our time. We must make sure we’re picking the best people. Besides, good candidates won’t want to be rushed through the process. I’m finding this whole conversation repulsive. I’m sure my team will feel the same way.”

Instead of trying to convince Paul to change his mind, I decided to let him change it himself.

“Paul, thanks for your honesty. I bet you’re not the only one with concerns about a faster approach.” Two other leaders nodded their heads in agreement. “What would you need to determine if this could work for the company?”

Paul thoughtfully paused before responding, “I’d need to see proof. Absolute proof that this will work for us.”

That led to a conversation about rolling out a faster hiring process on a limited basis to start. Two leaders, who didn’t share Paul’s concerns, agreed to test the process. Choosing a job common to both of their departments, we designed a plan and timeline that could be implemented without interrupting day-to-day business. Two other leaders, including Paul, were designated as auditors, outside observers who would monitor and document the pros and cons as the process was rolled out.

I met again with the leadership team after the beginning of the rollout. The two managers testing the process gave updates, sharing mostly positive news. They had made a few missteps along the way; however, both were upbeat. Both had filled two open jobs and lined up several additional candidates in their pipelines as potential future hires.

During their updates, I watched Paul out of the corner of my eye. He spent the entire time looking down at his notes. He appeared angry, even angrier than when he shared his concerns in our first meeting. I learned why when it was Paul’s turn to share pros and cons as an auditor of the test.

“I hate being wrong,” he said. “But, there it is. I was flat out wrong. There was nothing dehumanising about a faster approach. If anything, it enabled interviewers to focus on people, not process. This shorter, simpler process allowed them to get to know each other better. Our new hires told me they loved our efficient process, and that it was a factor in choosing to work here.”

When recruiting and hiring, speed and accuracy are not mutually exclusive. Nor are speed and intimacy. A well-designed, well-executed hiring process allows people to be fully present and have conversations that matter. These interactions build trust as candidates learn they are dealing with confident professionals, and hiring managers discover which candidates are ready to make a job change. This trust becomes the foundation for the employment relationship, one built on a professionally intimate hiring experience.  

To help navigate through resistance as you work to speed up hiring in your organisation, do one or more the following:

• Support people in changing their own mind
  Trying to convince someone to see things differently is hard, sometimes impossible. Instead, let them do the heavy lifting. Ask a question like I did with Paul: What would you need to determine if faster hiring could work for your company? Integrate the responses into additional questions until you understand the root of the resistance and what will make it go away.

• Suggest a limited approach
  Resistance isn’t always about the change itself. There are times when people want to change but are fearful of the overwhelm it may cause. A limited scope can help. Start with one role; run a short-term test; bring in outside help to lighten the load. By working together, you can drive forward a faster hiring process without driving people crazy with overwhelm and fear.

• Find a different path
  Sometimes the path of least resistance is another person. Seek out an early adopter in your organisation, someone who’s known for being first in line to implement new ideas. Work together to plan and execute the rollout. Make adjustments as you learn what works and what does not. Once the speedier process is in place and producing positive results, ask your early adopter to share their experience with others. Nothing enrols doubters faster than positive proof.

Resistance is futile (yes, for you Star Trek fans, that was intentional), especially when you’re the one trying to overcome it. Don’t go it alone and avoid doing all the heavy lifting. Effective hiring is a team sport. Speeding up hiring requires a team effort.

Scott Wintrip is the author of High Velocity Hiring: How to Hire Top Talent in an Instant, named a must-read book by SHRM’s HR Magazine. Over the past 19 years, Scott has led the Wintrip Consulting Group, a global consultancy that has helped more than 22,000 organisations build talent-rich companies that have eliminated their hiring delays forever. For five consecutive years, Staffing Industry Analysts, a Crain Communications company, awarded Scott a place on the “Staffing 100,” a list of the world’s 100 most influential leaders. He’s also a member of the Million Dollar Consultant Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Staffing 100 Hall of Fame.

The post Overcoming resistance to faster hiring appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

The unintended consequences of slow to hire

The idea of slow to hire has been around for years. I noticed it gained traction as staffing leaders became increasingly aware of the significant costs of a bad hire. The financial cost alone has been estimated as a five- to six-figure sum. Then there’s the lost time, missed opportunities, wasted effort, and added stress. Because of these costs, it made sense to make hiring decisions carefully.

That was the original intent of being slow to hire—taking the time necessary to make smart hiring decisions.

Unfortunately, the idea of careful hiring took on a life of its own. One or two rounds of interviews with prospective hires expanded to three, four, five, sometimes six separate rounds before making a hiring decision. Then there are additional steps including testing, reference checking, and background checks.

Finally, if all goes well, a job offer is made to the most qualified person. However, if that offer is declined and the second choice candidate has already taken another job (which often happens after a long, drawn-out hiring process) the whole process starts all over again. That adds more time, more effort, more expense, and more interviews, making slow to hire even slower.

Has this cautious approach to hiring worked? Not if you’re a leader with an unfilled job. Certainly not if you’re in HR and can’t find enough qualified people. Definitely not if you’re in staffing or talent acquisition and your best candidate was just hired by a faster competitor. The time it takes to fill just one job has reached an all-time high, and there’s been no improvement in employee turnover.

Because of this misunderstanding about slow to hire, the world has been operating on a faulty premise. People have mistakenly been equating time and effort spent on hiring with making a quality hire. The more take they take, the more energy they expend, the better the hire will be. It’s given them a false sense of control. Taking lots of time to hire doesn’t save companies from bad hires; it only saves people from making a decision they’re afraid may be wrong.

Slow to hire became something unintended. It turned into being slow to fill.

You can break your organisation out of this cycle, while still taking a prudent approach to decision-making. You do that by being slow to hire and fast to fill. Here are 6 steps that will help.

1. Recruit ahead
   Pick one role and start cultivating talent for it right now, even if there are no current openings. It’s not if that job will open, but when. You’re preparing for the when.

2. Build rapport
   Let candidates know you hire differently, getting to know people before jobs open. You’ll typically find that talented people welcome this approach since this gives them an option for their future.

3. Interview actively
   Just as you try on clothes before buying them, you can have people try-on opportunities. Invite people to experience your company and culture. Having them try out sample work lets you both determine if a role in your organisation may be a future fit.

4. Maintain contact
   Touch base with prospective hires at least monthly. Use the few minutes you spend to pass along valuable information, such as marketplace updates or news on a trend you’ve seen. This keeps your relationship top of mind while also making them better off just from having spoken with you.

5. Fill fast
   When a job opens, offer it to the top person with whom you’ve stayed in touch. If they’re unable to say “yes,” offer it to the next best candidate on your list.

6. Repeat
   As you maintain contact with candidates who are ready-to-hire, you can repeat these steps with another role (if you like). And then another. And then another.
   

Smart decision-making and a speedy process can work hand in hand when you’re slow to hire and fast to fill. This balanced approach lets your organisation make prudent hiring decisions while filling jobs the moment they become open.

Scott Wintrip is the author of High Velocity Hiring: How to Hire Top Talent in an Instant, named a must-read book by SHRM’s HR Magazine. Over the past 19 years, Scott has led the Wintrip Consulting Group, a global consultancy that has helped more than 22,000 organisations build talent-rich companies that have eliminated their hiring delays forever. For five consecutive years, Staffing Industry Analysts, a Crain Communications company, awarded Scott a place on the “Staffing 100,” a list of the world’s 100 most influential leaders. He’s also a member of the Million Dollar Consultant Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Staffing 100 Hall of Fame.

The post Here’s when it’s okay to be slow to hire appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

Here’s what happened. I walked into a shoe store to see what could be done with a six-month-old pair of boots that were falling apart at the seams. On the plus side, this store warranties their shoes for one year. That is, if you make it through the shaming that takes place when you attempt to have the product repaired.

The clerk who assisted me said the damage occurred because my daughter is a tough walker, who wore her boots on city streets that have salt. The last time I checked (and I’m sure Nancy Sinatra would agree), boots are made for walking, and if they are being sold in a city store, you should be able to walk in them on a city street. I left shaking my head, vowing never to buy another pair of their shoes.

The experience didn’t have to happen this way. The clerk could have apologised for the inconvenience and then asked if I was interested in hearing what we could do to ensure this wouldn’t happen again. It’s worth mentioning that the store was empty on one of the biggest shopping days of the year. I no longer wonder why I was the only customer inside.

Your front-line people are your most critical hires. In many organisations, they are the only person your customers and prospects interact with. If customers have a negative experience like I did, they’ll take their business elsewhere. And on the way out the door, they’ll be sure to tell everyone they know about their experience.

What’s perplexing to me is how little thought and effort organisations are making in their hiring process. Here’s an example of this. A growing number of companies are now asking applicants to take one-sided, automated phone interviews, as the first step in the hiring process. This trend is not reserved solely for front-line employees. People applying for jobs as a digital marketing specialist, sales director, and financial controller have been asked to take them in recent months.

The organisations using such interviews say they are more efficient and candidate-friendly in a tight job market.

Really? It’s bad enough that candidates are finding it difficult to break through applicant tracking systems to have a conversation with a hiring manager. Now, they’re expected to have a call with no one! This is nuts!

Many applicants, though, say they’re still acclimatising to them. Here’s my advice to job seekers who encounter this. Hang up the phone, as this is an employer you DO NOT want to work for.

If you’re seriously thinking of introducing this idea in your organisation, give me a call. I can’t promise anyone will be on the other end of the line. However, you’ll get to experience first-hand what your applicants will encounter, when calling into your interview lines.

Your challenge: shop your place of business. Then write to me and let me know what you discover.

P.S. Can you believe while writing this, I received a call from the clerk who waited on me at that shoe store? She told me my daughter’s boots couldn’t be fixed. She implied this was because my daughter lost the tiny metal piece that came off the zipper, as she was going through TSA on the busiest travel day of the year. I swear, you cannot make this stuff up.

© 2018, Matuson Consulting.

Questions or comments? Feel free to reach out to me at roberta@matusonconsulting.com.

To your continued success!
Roberta

© 2018, Matuson Consulting. All Rights Reserved.

Roberta Matuson, The Talent Maximizer® and President of Matuson Consulting, helps organizations [sic] achieve dramatic growth and market leadership through the maximization [sic] of talent. She’s the author of four books including the newly released, The Magnetic Leader. Sign up to receive her free newsletter, The Talent Maximizer®. Follow her on Twitter.

The post Why strong front-line hires are critical to organisational success appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.