Where is my people problem??

If you have an engagement problem then you’re most likely to have a retention problem!

Of course this leads to productivity and morale issues, and so the vicious cycle continues. But let’s take a different perspective.

Could it be you actually have a hiring problem?

Listening to a podcast recently by HR Works, Bob Kelleher challenged the status quo and raised the question about hiring the right person rather than trying to engage or retain them.

Companies focus on professional development programs, expensive retreats, employment surveys etc. to engage and better understand their employees but when you get down to the basics are businesses simply hiring the wrong people to fit their culture?

Let’s explore this further. So are you hiring to fill a role or are you hiring an asset that matches your cultural fit?

Sam Walton famously said. “It’s all about who you let in the door!”, so think carefully about what you need in terms of the right cultural fit. Often we focus on education, skills and experience but, what about behaviours and traits?

You don’t performance manage an accountant because they can’t add up right? But, you could find yourself doing this because they are arrogant, not a team player or their customer interaction is poor.

“It’s all about who you let in the door!” Sam Walton

If the problem stems from lazy hiring, how can companies do a better job at identifying what are the behaviours and traits that define their culture? How do you build this into behavioural based interviewing so you can extract those behaviours specific to your organisation.

One idea is to focus on who is great! Get your leadership team together and ask them to identify what makes your company great, who are the ‘star employees’ and what attributes do they have that make them great and inspiring to others within the company. Through this process you can start extracting common behaviours and traits that make your organisation rock!

Now you have identified your employer value proposition (brand), find people from the applicant pool who share these behaviours and traits through your behavioural interviewing process.

Having recently joined wattsnext I actually really enjoyed the interview process, hard to believe I know. From job advertisement, to phone interview, first interview, second interview and behavioural analysis (DISC profile) I knew this was the company for me.

Their approach, their questions, their infectious attitude, the number of people involved highlighted to me they took the process seriously; they wanted the right person to fit their culture. Their employees clearly live and breathe the company’s mission and values.

So as an organisation invest the time and money on identifying what great looks like, look at the bigger picture and hire talent that fits your culture.

Hire well and avoid the stress of diagnosing and addressing as many people problems.

Simplicity sticks Complexity rejects, remember #HRrocks!