When Do You Hire The Right Person?

Man In The Wall - picture taken in  Montemartre

When do you hire the right person?




When the right person comes along.





It takes work, effort and time to find the right fit for every role.  Sound simple enough right?  Except we are often under pressure to hire as someone is about to leave.  So you are either always recruiting or getting temporary help until you get the right fit.

Unfortunately, this appears to be easier said than done (or maybe they just don't like me :)). Firstly, do you know what you want to hire for - what their job objectives are? Secondly, developing a pool of qualified people to select from takes time. Thirdly, how do you interview them to determine that he or she is "the one". Lastly, people who fit the criteria may not agree with your style, vision, compensation so even if you like them, they may not go for the job.

The things I look for in an individual are: Ability to self assess thus learn and develop (as I mentioned in the previous blog), self motivation (some fire in their belly), and someone who can relate to the vision I have for the business (culture fit).

Finding this person usually takes time...about 6 months in my experience. I don't know why, it just seems to be.

So what do I do?

Over the years, I have developed the profile of the people I like to hire. Unfortunately, it has been through trial and error. If you have not done so, at least write down the ten things you want that person to do in your organization. Prioritize them. Think it through. You owe it to yourself and, frankly, to the person you hire, that both of you understand.

I have also built relationships with certain personnel recruiters. I have spent enough time with them that they have an idea of the type of people that work well with me. Whenever they see someone that fits, I ask them to send the person my way. Our companies also run ads throughout the year. This is a mindset...be continually looking for talent.

Interview people all the time. Every week. I do. Even if we have no job openings. It is just part of my leadership role. In fact, we often hire people and give them the support to build businesses around themselves. It is quite a surprise when I say, "I don't have a job for you but I would like to hire you and lets build a business around you."

When do you hire the right person? When they come along. Because the right person - self assessing, self motivated, and buys into your vision - are few and far between. What typically happens is the reverse - leaders are so desperate to fill the role that they hire the first acceptable person that walks in. Thats the difference between high performers and mediocrity.

Lets continue this discussion next week...stay tuned.