The Barrier of Staff
Staffing is your most valuable resource and, at the same time, can be the most difficult component to navigate. Maybe you’re at a place where you need to hire for a specialized position that you don’t have in-house, or perhaps you can’t utilize volunteers to accomplish tasks to the degree you desire. Getting the right people on the bus and in the right seats is critical for organizational growth!
In truth, the same people who got you “here” aren’t always the ones who will get you “there.” This can often result in a reshuffling of personnel, new hires, or staff overhaul.
Consider the process you use to hire. You’re an investigator: gathering information about candidates through reading resumes, having conversations, checking references, observing mannerisms, assessing responses, and determining cultural fits with your existing team. Do you have a formalized hiring process?
Harvard’s published a study entitled “How to Avoid Hiring a Toxic Employee.”
They interviewed over 60,000 employees across 11 industries. In the study, they elaborated on the cost of hiring somebody that is toxic versus hiring a superstar. A superstar is defined as someone who is in the top 1% of the skill that they provide to the team or to the organization. Furthermore, they talk about having structured interviews for final candidates, asking them the same questions in the same order and same fashion.
Another hiring tip involves inviting other people you trust to be in their presence, to informally interview them and give you feedback, which helps you better assess each candidate. These are the people who picked them up at the airport, the front office admin, executive assistant, staff who interacted with the candidates, etc.
Lastly, the study explains the costs of letting somebody go who was toxic or not a good fit: litigation fees, arbitration, settlements, wasted time, and stress. In the employee discipline process, wisdom would have us document all correctional meetings with signatures and keep them in a file. Following procedures and keeping good records are as valuable as gold. Put in place a separation policy to be signed by employees that sets expectations in the case of termination of employment, that no disparaging statements are allowed before, during, or after the termination.
Here are some helpful tips when hiring. Let’s call them “The Four C’s.” Rank these in order for when you must determine the best candidate.
1. Character – Who they are at their core and how this affects their work
2. Chemistry – The alignment of vision, ethics, and style with key team members
3. Competence – Knowing one’s craft with proven ability to learn and grow
4. Capacity – Being able to perform extensive responsibilities well under pressure
Here are other helpful guidelines.
• Hire slow / fire fast
• Don’t hire anyone you can’t fire
• Don’t fire anyone you can move and don’t move anyone that should be fired
• Prioritize codifying a clear HR process for firing people
Staffing can make or break your organization. While no employee will consistently perform at 100% every day, you can still critically assess candidates and then equip them to perform well. Leaders put procedures and safeguards in place to ensure, as best as possible, smooth transitions in and out of an organization. With staffing, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.