EVERYONE AGREES THAT HIGH-PERFORMING TALENT (that is, excellent, skilled people who do brilliant work) is essential to succeed in our hyper-connected and complex global economy. Most organizations are also aware that they must manage their talent (their human teams, their people) very efficiently to get great results. Long-term commercial success, consequently, can’t simply be measured by revenue. Talent is a big factor.
Great people deliver high performance, which is very attractive to other great people who are drawn to companies featuring strong, high performing teams (Remember what we said in Stage 1: Grounding, about money not always being the big factor in why and how people choose to work?). On a more practical level, great talent also delivers advances in company performance (from customer service to technical and process innovation) which can drive better financial results.
A Selection Process
MANY BUSINESSES USE A SELECTION SYSTEM for choosing who to hire. Such a system generally includes a few standard steps:
INITIAL “QUICK LOOK” INTERVIEW
The first quick look is mostly done by looking at CVs, and by calling potential employees who have responded to adverts. The quick look is simply to confirm whether the person meets the basic requirements of the job. You don’t want to spend a lot of time interviewing someone for a position when they don’t have the basic skills required.
BRIEF INTERVIEW
This interview is generally about fifteen to twenty minutes long. It’s normally conducted by the administrative staff who have gone through the “quick look” process, and, ideally, includes the person to whom the candidate would be reporting.
The idea behind the brief interview is to have a look at the applicant’s attitude, grooming and verbal skills. Do they meet the job requirements and match the company culture? These are important questions to ask and answer at this stage. Specific experience can also be explored in this stage. In-depth questions should be reserved for more intensive interviews, to be conducted later.
QUICK JOB-MATCH ASSESSMENT
If the brief interview is positive, the next step is for the applicant to complete a quick “instrument” (a questionnaire, really) to evaluate their job fit. These instruments measure the applicant’s core behavioral traits, and whether they meet the requirement for various jobs.
INTEGRITY TESTING
Integrity tests are usually inexpensive, and often quite accurate. This type of test usually requires about twenty minutes. There are different forms of the integrity test, so it is advisable to explore the options thoroughly.
BEHAVIOURAL-BASED INTERVIEWS
This step sees the best candidates selected from those that are still in the race after the above steps have been followed. Behavioral interviews explore interview questions that are tailored to the specific job – which is why you want to do them last. It takes time to prepare questions for each candidate, and you want to do as few, highly targeted, behavioral interviews as possible.
These interviews are usually very effective in collecting information about the applicant’s experience. You can also explore how the applicant was required to deal with actual events from previous situations, and how they handled, perceived, and reacted to the challenges involved. These types of conversations can be very illuminating as to whether the applicant is likely to gel with your company or not, and to succeed at the tasks they will be handed.
NATURAL ENERGY IN A TEAM ENVIRONMENT
IN STAGE 1 WE WENT INTO SOME DEPTH ON the idea of Natural Energy, via Sirdar Groups Contribution Compass. Let’s revisit this concept, this time within the context of the team.
Effective results are achieved when a team’s Natural Energy is balanced. Whatever the context or team level, maximizing results is about maximizing each individual’s contribution.
A successful team can achieve more than the sum of its parts. To get this right, the team needs diversity in its skills and abilities. A balance in natural energy is as important as balance in skills and abilities. When balance is achieved here, every opportunity and challenge is seen from different perspectives. Problems are spotted quickly, as are opportunities.
Every company talks about maximizing its growth opportunities. But not that many companies actively commit to taking the steps necessary within the team environment to make this happen. When there is a balance of natural energy around a boardroom table (in an executive or management group, or across the operational or frontline team), there is a much more effective flow of operational energy, which delivers better results. Companies should commit to consciously understanding and bringing into balance the natural energies of its board, team and key functions.
In my view the starting point is to use a tool, such as the Contribution Compass to do two things:
For details, guidance and videos on how to implement Natural Energy in a team environment, log into the A-Game Business online course, which can be purchased here: www.agamebusiness.com/online-course/
EVERYONE AGREES THAT HIGH-PERFORMING TALENT (that is, excellent, skilled people who do brilliant work) is essential to succeed in our hyper-connected and complex global economy. Most organizations are also aware that they must manage their talent (their human teams, their people) very efficiently to get great results. Long-term commercial success, consequently, can’t simply be measured by revenue. Talent is a big factor.
Great people deliver high performance, which is very attractive to other great people who are drawn to companies featuring strong, high performing teams (Remember what we said in Stage 1: Grounding, about money not always being the big factor in why and how people choose to work?). On a more practical level, great talent also delivers advances in company performance (from customer service to technical and process innovation) which can drive better financial results.
A Selection Process
MANY BUSINESSES USE A SELECTION SYSTEM for choosing who to hire. Such a system generally includes a few standard steps:
INITIAL “QUICK LOOK” INTERVIEW
The first quick look is mostly done by looking at CVs, and by calling potential employees who have responded to adverts. The quick look is simply to confirm whether the person meets the basic requirements of the job. You don’t want to spend a lot of time interviewing someone for a position when they don’t have the basic skills required.
BRIEF INTERVIEW
This interview is generally about fifteen to twenty minutes long. It’s normally conducted by the administrative staff who have gone through the “quick look” process, and, ideally, includes the person to whom the candidate would be reporting.
The idea behind the brief interview is to have a look at the applicant’s attitude, grooming and verbal skills. Do they meet the job requirements and match the company culture? These are important questions to ask and answer at this stage. Specific experience can also be explored in this stage. In-depth questions should be reserved for more intensive interviews, to be conducted later.
QUICK JOB-MATCH ASSESSMENT
If the brief interview is positive, the next step is for the applicant to complete a quick “instrument” (a questionnaire, really) to evaluate their job fit. These instruments measure the applicant’s core behavioral traits, and whether they meet the requirement for various jobs.
INTEGRITY TESTING
Integrity tests are usually inexpensive, and often quite accurate. This type of test usually requires about twenty minutes. There are different forms of the integrity test, so it is advisable to explore the options thoroughly.
BEHAVIOURAL-BASED INTERVIEWS
This step sees the best candidates selected from those that are still in the race after the above steps have been followed. Behavioral interviews explore interview questions that are tailored to the specific job – which is why you want to do them last. It takes time to prepare questions for each candidate, and you want to do as few, highly targeted, behavioral interviews as possible.
These interviews are usually very effective in collecting information about the applicant’s experience. You can also explore how the applicant was required to deal with actual events from previous situations, and how they handled, perceived, and reacted to the challenges involved. These types of conversations can be very illuminating as to whether the applicant is likely to gel with your company or not, and to succeed at the tasks they will be handed.
Let’s be clear about leadership. See next section.
