Think of a scenario where you get an email from the CEO of your company at 1 a.m. in the morning. You’ll be flabbergasted, nonetheless, and frantically open it with a case of shaking nerves and limbs to see what could be so important. This just happened with the Tesla employees on the 11th of January, 2019 when they got an email from Elon Musk himself. And the worst part; the contents of the email didn’t paint a very pretty picture of the company.
In the aftermath of the email, many industry pundits have argued that Tesla is not going to survive the onslaught of luxury electric cars from industry giants such as BMW and Toyota. The email ranted on about cost-cutting and reducing the current employees by 7 percent. This is a sad story as one of the most promising companies in the world is behaving just like any other run-of-the-mill company; firing its employees because it’s future is in jeopardy in the wake of tumbling share prices too.
How to Hire a Team that you can be Proud of?
Any business depends on the workforce that can make all the difference between a highly successful venture and one that regularly faces disruption and problems because of non-qualified / inexperienced staff. Companies can make use of a project management tool worth its salt, that can help you in this regard but the prime concern for any businessman is hiring the best talent in the industry for their company. A team that will have you thinking twice before firing any member, as all of all provide immense value to your business.
In this article, I will give you 8 vital tips which I think can be instrumental in finding the right people for any business, who can stand the test of time.
1. Check the Integrity Level of the Person
As a prospective businessman or one trying to expand your team, you definitely need a person who is honest, responsible, understanding of their mistakes and ready to fix them. Too good to be true? Well, looking in all the right places and conducting interviews, you can come close to finding people like them. Of course, it’s impossible to pinpoint a person after a 10-minute interview but let me give you a tip on how to go about this task.
If the person is someone you know or already works in your company and applying for another position, it’s a piece of cake. Otherwise, you have to rely on his past reputation and check in with the references to gauge their aptitude and fit. Even then your own gut feeling will be an important indicator in choosing the right person for any job.
Further Read: 8 Interview Tips for Hiring the Right-fit Employees for your Organization
2. The Intelligence Quotient of the Potential Employee
Checking the intelligence level doesn’t mean you need a genius with a 140 IQ score. I am talking about a person who has a strong sense of intellectual curiosity, expert knowledge about the job and work he will be assigned, and ability to lead people smartly. You will surely have a tough time finding such persons but a proper test in this regard and asking the right questions should help you chafe out the cream.
I would like to clear a misconception here; don’t relate education with intelligence. And this fact is evident in the practical field even more. You can hire a fresh student with a master’s degree who boasts of the qualities I have mentioned earlier, rather a PhD with no relevant knowledge. Intelligence is hard to come by these days, but when you do find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, hold on to it.
3. The Advantages of Hiring a Mature Person
Age is just a number. Being 40 doesn’t make you mature, while being 18 doesn’t instantly chuck you in to the opposite category. Being mature is all about acting like a true grown-up and taking things with a grain of salt. See to it that the prospect can work well under pressure, take the heat, keep work-related stress at bay and get back up after setbacks. You can easily deem one having the above-mentioned qualities as a mature person.
Maturity is not just about facing adverse situations. A person should also be able to enjoy the success responsibly and with humility. That’s why you should put emphasis on all these factors mentioned to find out the best person suited for a job, especially for a managerial position.
4. Look for the Positive Energy in the Person
A person exuding a positive energy in essence is an optimistic one, who can be suitable for any job. For any position, this is a basic requirement and you need to search for people with a positive vibe. They should be able to thrive on action and relish change like no other. Some other qualities are being easy-going and able to talk their way through different situations.
As a business owner or a top executive, you should look for a person who kick-start their mornings with enthusiasm and zeal. People with positive energy just love the way they live and that’s why don’t complain about the workplace and the nature of their jobs. Instead, they look to solve the problem they are facing rather than making hue and cry.
5. The Ability to Energize or Motivate others
A business owner needs supervisors and line-managers who are able to spread the positive energy they have. For instance, the ability to get other people revved up and ready for the day ahead at the start of a new week, is once such trait. These people inspire others and their team to take on seemingly impossible tasks and actually complete them with vivacity.
Energizing is not just about giving motivational and emotional speeches. It is also concerned with possessing a deep business knowledge and strong persuasion skills to influence others in a positive way. During the interview process, you can come up with scenarios like these and ask the interviewee his views about them. You will have to patiently wait though, for a person equipped to energize others, as they are an extinct species.
Further Read: 4 Elements that Drive Employee Motivation & Improve Retention
6. Having the Edge and Courage to Take Tough and Unpopular Decisions
As a business owner, you will face endless canaries where your point of view will differ from your management or the workforce. You need a person who can get everyone to the same page and take a decision that can be bold even for you. The person having this edge and courage in them should be your ideal senior manager / top executive.
Taking an unpopular decision is easy but making everyone believe that the action taken is in the best interest of the company and showing them the result in the promised time, is the real deal. Choosing a single option from multiple ones and also the right one is a tough.
7. The Ability to Execute and Finish off a Job
This unique ability is one important trait of a true leader. Surely, you will come across such people after going through hundreds or thousands of candidates for the job. These high potential individuals can be the catalyst behind your future success, so you need to carry out the interview and the overall selection process with an active mind and think smartly to select such personnel.
A person may have energy, ability to energize others and even have the edge and courage. But if they are not taking the decisions as and when required, then they are seriously lacking in the execution part. You don’t want the CEO of your firm to be like this. Always remember, you are the owner and can execute these decisions too but hire a person who has a proactive approach so that you don’t have to interfere at every critical juncture.
8. A Person who is Really Passionate about the Job
Finally, you need a person who is pumped up and harbors a deep and authentic desire for the job and also succeeds in it. They care about the person who they are supervising and everyone else in the company. That’s another defining quality of a person who is able to give so much to the company with total dedication and commitment to the cause.
If you find a person who is passionate about everything related to his job description and other aspects too then you should be happy. Even during the interview, you will find these folks oozing with passion about what position or task they will be given and assuring with their replies and previous experience that they are the right person for the job.
Conclusion
I am sure you will find the above mentioned 8 tips very useful. You may find some traits overlapping with each other but that’s because the traits of a hardworking, passionate and committed person will be present in many tips.
Please offer your valuable feedback for this blog or feel free to ask any question you have in mind by using the comments section below.
