Diamond in the Rough – Are you Finding the Best Talent?

• Defining the key accountabilities for the position being filled and the profile of the ideal candidate for this position is a crucial first step.
• Do you know your terms? A key accountability is a specific yet concise statement describing a key result for superior performance. Any job should have 3-5 key accountabilities.
• What’s the best way to identify a job’s key accountabilities? Benchmark it!
• In an interview, asking the potential employee about both their strengths and areas that need development will give you insight as to how they view themselves.
• Your organization’s growth and success is dependent on making smart choices and hiring the best.
• It’s impossible to search for an employee without first identifying the ideal traits and qualities required of an employee for a certain position.
• You might have found the best talent but this employee will only dramatically increase your success if they are placed in the right job.
• Determine whether salary is a set number that you can offer your future employee or if it can be negotiated to secure the best talent.
• Do you have a big enough candidate pool to pull talent from?
• Use multiple social media sites to draw in candidates for a position. You never know where that diamond in the rough is hiding!
• Studies show little or no correlation exists between positive reports that emerge from a traditional job interview and the job performance of the candidates who receive those reports.
• Take the guess work out of selection. Assessments can aid in determining if a potential candidate can be retained and excel in a position.
• When a job benchmark has been created, “talent” assessments can be used to assess potential hires and how well they fit with the job.
• Are you tossing out the overqualified candidates? Eliminate your fear of them wanting an out-of-range salary for the position or them replacing you. They could be your diamond in the rough.
• “Overqualified” candidates might be looking for experience in a new industry – marketing for a privately owned boutique is different than marketing for Home Depot. Hire them and learn from each other!
• The cost of not hiring the best talent fit for the job? A high turnover rate, costing as much as the lost employee’s salary to find and hire someone new, not to mention time.
• Research shows approximately 80% of turnover is caused by bad decisions made during the hiring process.
• What is a “bad decision” during the hiring process? Hiring primarily based on their job interview and not assessments and not benchmarking the job in question.
• You have decided you want to employ the best talent that is out there. Do you know what that means for your organization?
• Hiring the best talent strengthens your brand: lower turnover rate, higher productivity, employees that are happy in their jobs and overall increased positivity in the workplace.
• How can you successfully grow and lead your team if employee disengagement and turnover are taking your time?
• Did you know that through traditional hiring techniques there is only a 14% likelihood that the hire will be successful?
• If there are multiple one on one interviews with the same candidate, make sure to allow time for the interviewers to discuss the candidate in question.
• Plan for a big yet focused candidate pool: when posting an open position online include the key accountabilities for the job and the behavioral characteristics that would be ideal for the employee filling that position.
• Growing your candidate pool should start within the organization. Post open positions on the company pin-board and announce them at meetings; one of your employees might know the perfect candidate.
• The “Join Our Team” section of your website is part of attracting the best candidates out there. It should include your company’s vision, mission, values and culture.
• Have you interviewed and assessed someone who would be a great fit with the company but doesn’t fit the open position? Develop a master list of potential employees for when an appropriate position is available.
• Don’t burn bridges with the candidates you didn’t select for the job. They have connected with your brand and their opinion on your organization counts! Or your organization might grow so quickly that you need to hire them too within the year.
• Maybe you don’t feel like you have time to hire the best candidate out there, let RedRock Leadership help you in your search for superior performers.

RedRock Leadership believes growing companies by growing individuals. We also believe in challenging the status quo in everything we do. RedRock Leadership provides world class training and coaching to entrepreneurial minded sales and business leaders.

Contact us: 813.885.5097 or training@redrockleadership.com.