Hiring and Teams (make the unsexy, sexy).
It is a different world out there, there is no hiding that. However, you can see that as a stumbling block, or you can flip it into an advantage.
This week I want to show you how you can turn the difficultly of hiring and new teams into the biggest advantage for your business.
Go back a couple of year and hiring was easy, people wanted to work, and they put in the effort to get noticed. Classically we would have hundreds apply for our CA jobs an invite up to 30 for the group interview and being spoilt for choice when we had to make our decision.
Now it is all change. There are still hundreds who apply but only a handful to take personal attention when doing so, we invite just a couple of ‘reasonable’ candidates to interview, and many choose not to show up on the day! Frustrating to say the least, and I know I am not alone having worked with many of you one on one recently though the same issue.
With that being the current state of affairs, how on earth can we turn that into an advantage for the business?
Firstly, when it is time to hire this is a result of two things, either you practice is growing and you need more help or one of your current team is leaving and you need to fill the void.
Both of these situations cause a stretch in the business. Classically people are taking on more roles and responsibilities and you as the business owner are having to pick up some of the work.
While this may seem frustrating and it can be exhausting, it is in fact and huge advantage for you and a critical learning opportunity.
Quite often in our practices we grow the business before we develop the foundations, we just muddle our way through and like a beautiful swan gliding across a lake, patients and the public perceive a level of calm and professionalism that you are happy with. But just like that swan, under the water you and your team and pedalling like mad to keep going.
This is your biggest weakness and one of the reasons why your team may choose to find other employment or why they may feel fatigued, frustrated and even take sick.
If a business is existing like the swan, it is a ticking time bomb.
That is why this period between a stretched team and a new hire is crucial to develop your systems and for you as the boss to know it all. You can really use this time to your advantage to see where the stretch is and what tasks cause frustration. Work with your team to develop new systems to achieve the tasks at hand. I have written several blogs on creating systems so be sure to look back and check these out.
The other real bonus of developing that system now is that it becomes part of your training for the new team member. Which brings me onto my next point.
When new team members join, they are looking for direction, certainty and leadership. Having a clear training plan is crucial for their speed of integration and how much they can help take tension out of the stretch.
Again turning this troublesome time of hiring and teams into an advantage, be sure to work on and develop a training plan for each team member.
To do this be sure to start with the end in mind, what it is the overall outcome you want them to achieve and break that back down over a 6 month process to have them fully trained.
Turning our attention to you and your current team during these difficult times between hiring, I want you to think about an orange. A nice big juicy orange if you squeeze it what will come out? You guessed it, orange juice of course.
Why do I say this? Because when you team is stretched you really see what they are made of. It is a great time for learning and praise. You tend to find that a stretched team performs better than a comfortable one, the pressure (if for short periods) brings out the best in people.
So when your team is squeezed, notice their qualities and take time to praise and thank them for it. While the times are tough you really want to keep them engaged and on board.
Now everything I have gone through so far is all well and good, but what about finding and hiring the right person?
There is no magic bullet for this but there are some ground rules that you should put in place and here are my Top 5 essentials in the hiring process:
1. Cover Letter.
Ask applicants to provide a cover letter, the act of doing this shows they can follow a simple instruction for one. It also shows some of their personality and if they want a job with you specifically or if they are applying for anything.
No cover letter = No interview.
2. Show them the Values.
(If you don’t have company values, time to do them). Before the interview, send them the company values to read.
At interview ask them if they have any ‘thoughts, fears, or concerns’ about the values. Firstly, you would see if they bothered to read them, and secondly you will see if they are on board with your ethos.
3. Shadow Shift.
Always invite your prospective candidates to a shadow shift, here you are checking to see if they have the people skills you are looking for. Ask them to speak and interact with patients. Observe them, to see if they are comfortable. They will also get a feel for the place.
Remember it is easy to teach systems, hard to teach people skills.
4. Spider Sense.
My wife loves this one, listen to your gut!
If you just get a feeling it is not right, but on paper it looks perfect. Trust me, don’t hire them.
5. Hire slow, fire fast.
An old saying worn thin but so true, take your time with the hire process and use that time to build the foundations of your business. And if you do hire but it doesn’t turn out right, let them go with love.
There you have it, time to build your team. And in the words of Sir Richard Branson:
“Train them so well they can leave, treat them so well they don’t want to.”
With love,
Tom