Attracting Great Talent
What keeps an entrepreneur up at night?
The list is endless - from the general ebb and flow of business to the excitement of new opportunities around every corner. I have a large network of small business owners that I meet with on a regular basis and I have noticed that we've all had our share of sleepless nights. I developed this series to tackle entrepreneurial challenges head-on, provide insight with actionable outcomes, and offer you peace of mind knowing that you're not alone.
This brings us to part one: Attracting Great Talent. After all, the people make the business, not the other way around. The below references Who by Geoff Smart and Randy Street, along with my own experiences and those of my peers.
When it comes to starting the recruiting process, two things matter:
Things that you can do
Things that your organization can offer
The things that you can do are the processes you establish to find and hire the best candidate. Start by clearly defining the role and asking yourself:
What is the mission of the role?
What are the outcomes this person is expected to reach?
What key competencies should an individual have to be successful in this role?
How can you be certain that someone will fit your corporate culture? Wow clients? Help you to achieve your business goals? I create a skills scorecard to clearly measure how each candidate stacks up. This helps to keep interviews on track and offers a perfect summary to review at a glance.
Consider a four-step interview process:
An initial 30-minute screening discussion
A process-driven who interview to measure a candidate against your scorecard
A focused interview to double-check areas that didn’t come through clearly in the who interview, and to ensure alignment with core values
Conduct reference checks with bosses, peers, and subordinates, not relying solely on the list provided by the candidate
Things that your organization can offer are the intangible factors that form your culture. The truth is that people are willing to take a leap of faith and join companies when they are offered a lot more than just money: doing great work, an environment that inspires and fosters innovation, and having that human touch that makes individuals feel important and acknowledged.
Attracting great talent can weigh heavily on the mind of an entrepreneur, but these are some of the ways I have found success. I hope this offers insight into your hiring strategy and peace of mind knowing you are not alone.
What keeps you up at night? Let me know and your idea might be featured in our next article!