Let’s be honest, building out A-Teams for your business isn’t easy. Great talent, great culture, profitable business – we all want it! The issue arises when business owners get impatient with the process. They have a talent gap, they want it filled… yesterday. Unfortunately, when hasty hiring decisions are made to fill a role, a lot of proverbial rocks are left unturned. The result is high turnover and employee morale takes a nose dive.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint and yes, slow and steady will win the race more often than running too hard and getting burned out before you get the result you want. Enough with the metaphors, let’s get to the meat of the process I bring people through!
How to win at the talent game:
- Know thyself and they culture. If you are responsible for hiring talent it’s imperative you are REAL about your current team, the culture, and the TYPE of person that will work well within those parameters. Hiring great talent into a culture that doesn’t fit within his/her wheelhouse will result in turnover. They may THINK they can adapt, but more often than not, they don’t.
- Look internally FIRST. Often the best person for the job is someone within your ranks. Why not explore this option FIRST before paying a recruiter? Sometimes you need an outsider like a search consultant to mix things up, have a new perspective – that’s fine. If you are looking to grow an existing team and you have a culture that works – is there someone who can rise to the occasion that’s already on your payroll? Besides saving a boat load of money on the search process, promoting from within also sends a message to your employees that there are growth opportunities for individuals work hard, do well, and remain with the organization.
- Reach out to your Network. Six degrees of separation is a powerful thing, I know I use that theory daily. Before you reach out to write me a check, make sure you reach out to your trusted circle and let them know you are looking for a new team member to fill “X” role. Be specific on what you are looking for. Most likely your trusted network knows the good, the bad, and the ugly about your company and won’t refer you to someone that won’t be a good fit.
- Professional Associations. Don’t discount reaching out to your professional associations. They know your industry and are deeply connected with who’s who.
- LinkedIn. Yes, it’s perfectly acceptable to peruse LinkedIn and see what’s out there.
When you’ve exhausted the above avenues, it’s time to bring in the pros with extensive networks beyond what you can access.
In the end, be patient. You will be far better served waiting to find the right person than filling the empty slot with someone who only hits 3 out of 5 on the “must have list”.