Who is your next superstar employee? If you can’t answer that question you probably have a recruiting mindset that says, “we recruit and hire to fill openings.” This is the thought process most businesses have, especially most smaller businesses. Finding great employees with a deadline looming and an overworked team clamoring for a warm body can lead to mistakes and high turnover. A proactive recruiting process that is focused on finding superstars, no matter what your staffing situation, helps you maintain a strong talent pipeline. It actually reduces recruiting and hiring time and allows you to avoid the chaos that can happen when a key player leaves. Here are some things to think about as you look to ensure your talent is always ready to take your business to the next level.
Find them everywhere and stay in touch. They may be working for a competitor, they may have waited on you at lunch or they may be someone you worked with earlier in your career. Stay connected with these people just like you would a prospect or potential customer. Reach out and let them know that you respect their attitude and their work and would like to work together in the future if there’s an opportunity, even if you don’t have a place for them today.
Continuously raise the bar in your own ranks
There are times when you find a person that is such a great fit for your team that you have to make the move to upgrade your talent. This is why it’s critical to have a talent planning process in place that is constantly evaluating the talent you have and looking for the next opportunity to move a mismatch out of your business and give them the chance to be successful elsewhere. Bringing in new employees that push everyone to engage more fully and perform at a higher level is one of the ways great businesses continue to thrive. This is very different from the traditional approach of waiting for an opening, posting a job and hiring from the available pool of applicants.
Hire for your future, not your present
Create and keep an up to date talent profile that clearly articulates the kind of person you are looking for. Revisit that document on a regular basis and update it based on where you want to be in the future. Skills are important, but attitude, cultural fit, and commitment are the things that most managers call out when they fire someone or talk about a hiring mistake. There are a lot of people out there that can do a job, it’s harder to find people who can do it in a way that creates more growth and opportunity for the business.
You will never build a business that performs better than the people in it. They decide, by their engagement, their initiative and their accountability how good your business will be. You have a say in who enters and leaves your organization. If you want to create a growing, thriving successful organization, always be recruiting, and choose wisely.
Leading Through Influence
We develop better leaders so they can build a better future. Contact Us to learn about leader development via our training, workshops and executive coaching.
