Performance Matters - Idea #27

Hire good people who you have confidence in. Take the time to get to know them personally as well as professionally. Meet their family. Do something recreational/social. Put a challenge to them to see how they respond under pressure. Check their references - probe! Put them through leadership and work style assessment tools to discover their natural tendencies. Interview multiple times. Include team members in the interviews. Get consensus.

Avoid filling positions with “a body” – it will always be a disappointment and will always harm the organization eventually. Harm comes in many forms - financial, lost reputation, eroded morale, lost opportunity, damaged relationships, loss of trust, wasted time... the list goes on.

Pick good people who share your cultural values, work ethic, and practice philosophy. If people aren't working out after hiring do yourself and them a favor and terminate them - do so graciously and generously, don't burn bridges, but part company - the sooner the better. No one bats a 1000 when it comes to hires. Give your self permission to make an occasional mistake in hiring but not the permission to make a second mistake by not firing.

If people truly are an organizations greatest resource make sure the people you hire and retain are the greatest resource.

Bob

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Performance Builders