Hiring the right people into the right positions is critical to the success of any business. Keeping the people you have hired and making sure they stay engaged is equally as critical.
Chris Yeh, investor, mentor, entrepreneur and author of "Blitzscaling: The Lightning Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies," had some interesting insight on hiring, corporate culture and employee development. I shared some of his thoughts with you in a previous blog.
One of the many things he talked about during a recent webinar was about who should be involved in the hiring process. He believes that in companies of less than 500 people, the founder of the business should be involved in every hiring decision. This is so the founder can determine if prospects share the same values and can add to the company’s culture. It gives the business founder the opportunity to share their views on the company’s core values, mission and vision.
However, as a company grows, the leader’s job moves from dialogue mode to broadcast mode. This is where the leader is leveraged to make sure the corporate values are reinforced throughout the organization. Back in the day, that was done via all-hands meetings. Today, that can be done as effectively through asynchronous communication, such as internal podcasts, email or videos, which employees access on their own schedule. These forms of communication allow employees to consume information about the company at their own pace and at a time that is convenient to them, yet it ensures that everyone is hearing the same message.
Yeh also talked about what we can expect as businesses begin to bring some workers back to offices. It is likely that many businesses will be operating in a hybrid mode with some employees coming into the office while others will continue to work from home. Therefore, it is important for managers to focus advancement and promotion on what gets done rather than where it gets done. It is understandable that people who are in the office and see the manager on a regular basis have an enhanced chance of promotion. Managers need to be aware of that bias and make sure advancement and promotion are based on goal achievement and not on who they see every day.
Yeh also pointed out that one of the things that happens when employees work remotely is that they miss out on experiences in the office that build emotional connections. What Yeh calls micro-socialization—chatting before or after work in the lunchroom—is missing. These little encounters build camaraderie and engagement. It is hard to replicate them in a remote or hybrid work environment. This means managers need to work hard to ensure remote workers feel engaged and connected.
The workplace is going to continue to evolve and develop ,and every industry will see technology changing faster than ever before. This means that employees need to continue to learn new skills.
One thing hiring managers need to do is tell prospective employees the company’s development story. Make sure job candidates know about the company’s investment in training and development for its people. Talk about training opportunities within the organization but also about programs available from outside sources that employees can take advantage of.
Managers need to determine what new skills will be needed and then determine what should be done to fill any skill gaps that exist. This is a great opportunity to ask employees what they want. What new skills do they want to develop or what areas interest them? Once the manager understands what employees are interested in, they can devise a development plan for each employee to help the employees develop the new skills they want but also the skills that the company needs.
As the workplace is being redefined, savvy leaders will make adjustments in the hiring and development process that will put them in a better position to grow their organizations.
Jane Clark focuses on managing the member services operation at NationaLease as vice president of member services. She works to strengthen member relationships, reduce member costs, and improve collaboration within the NationaLease supporting groups.
