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WANT
TO RECRUIT, HIRE, AND RETAIN BETTER?:
KNOW
YOUR GREAT EMPLOYEES
One
of Jim's top performing employees just resigned. This was the third
employee to resign in the last 2 years. Jim knew something was
wrong but didn't have a clue about how to fix it. He only hired
employees who knew the industry, who had a strong track record
of sales, and who had great references. Jim knew what it took
to work at "Company X" and he felt that he asked all
the right questions in the interview. What puzzled him most
about this situation was that the employees who left took
similar jobs in other companies for roughly the same pay. Should he be
recruiting differently?
Should he be asking different questions in the
interview? Should
he be recognizing and rewarding his employees' performance
differently?
Unfortunately, Jim suspected that the answer was yes to
all these questions.
JOB-FIT
V. CULTURE-FIT
Most
managers recruit, hire, and retain for "job-fit." They identify the
knowledge, skills, and abilities required to do the job. They then work to
recruit, hire, and retain employees who best fit the job
requirements.
This approach guarantees that you will recruit, hire,
and retain someone who CAN do the job. This approach does NOT
guarantee that you will recruit, hire, and retain someone who
WANTS to do the job for your company. To accomplish this
goal, managers need to recruit, hire, and retain for
"culture-fit."
Jobs drive WHAT is done in an organization; culture
drives HOW things are done in an organization. Many times, employees
leave less because of their job and more because of how they
have to do their job.
So how can managers recruit, hire, and retain for
"culture-fit?"
Create a "Great Employee
Profile."
GREAT
EMPLOYEE PROFILE
Most
managers find it much easier to describe their ideal customer
than they do their ideal employee. For example, most
managers can easily tell you where their great customers come
from, what attracts them to their company, and what keeps them
coming back?
Surprisingly, many managers do not have a clue about
the answers to these same questions as they relate to their
top employees.
The answers to these questions and more can help
managers powerfully focus their resources to attract, hire,
and keep great employees.
So,
what can you and other managers do to create your
organization's "Great Employee Profile"? How can you and other
managers use that information to hire for "culture-fit" as
well as "job-fit?"
First,
think about the top 10-15% of people in your
organization.
They are the ones that you'd go into a tailspin if they
resigned tomorrow.
These are your great employees. Now, think about these
people and answer the following questions. If you don't know the
answers to these questions, ask them?
- Where
were these employees prior to coming to work for
you?
- How
did they come to initially talk to you (e.g., classified ad,
recruiter, referral, etc.)?
- What
attracted them most to the company and/or to the
job?
- What
hobbies and/or activities are they involved in outside of
work?
- What
kinds of publications (e.g., newspapers, magazines, trade
publications, etc.) do they read?
- What
radio stations do they most frequently listen
to?
- What
websites do they most frequently visit?
- What
characteristics and traits do they all share/have in
common?
- What
are 2-3 core values or beliefs that they all share/have in
common?
- What
things do they like most/least about their job and the
company?
- What
makes them want to keep working for you and your
company?
- What
would make them consider leaving their job and/or the
company?
BENEFITS
OF A GREAT EMPLOYEE PROFILE
Knowing
the answers to these questions helps managers decrease the
time they spend on recruitment, hiring, and retention AND it
helps managers increase the quality of the people they
attract, find, and keep.
The more managers know about their great employees, the
better they can focus their time, effort and resources on
people strategies that work. A "Great Employee
Profile," provides managers with useful information such
as:
- New
and different recruitment and/or advertising sources (e.g.,
publications read by your top employees, radio stations
listened to by your top employees, and websites visited by
your top employees)
- Questions
you need to ask in the interview about applicant's values
and HOW they like to work (remember you're looking for
people just like your top employees)
- Specific
things you need to do to recognize, reward, and retain top
employees in ways that are meaningful to
them
Remember,
how someone does their job is often as important, if not more
so, than what they do.
A "Great Employee Profile" supports your goal that you
will recruit, hire, and retain someone who can do the job AND
who wants to do the job in your organization. Isn't that what all
managers want?
Start creating your "Great Employee Profile,"
today.
For
more information about this article, please contact Joan
Brannick, Ph.D., SPHR at 813-672-0500 or visit her website at
www.brannickhr.com.
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