Selection is something that doesn’t happen that often in most businesses, especially if the team has been settled for some time. For that reason it can be difficult for business owners to get the selection process right. Effective selection strategies are critical to sustainability. After all, 80% of success with people and teams is how you select and the other 20% how you manage them.
So what are the critical success factors for this important area? In my view, these include defining and communicating clear expectations for the position, getting proof of (not just hearing about) each applicant’s capabilities, understanding how applicants are wired (personality style) and ensuring prospective appointees are challenged in at least one area to prove how the relationship will function under pressure.
Clear expectations are critical for discerning who will make the right appointee. This starts with a job description that not only communicates an overview of the role but also provides a credible checklist of performance measures against which appraisals can happen in future. Priority must be to make it clear what is excellence for your business.
An effective selection strategy will ensure staff are capable of engaging with the expected standards. If this is not achieved there is a real risk of importing mediocrity, especially if appointees have not been exposed to best practice in their previous roles. That’s why the selection process must generate proof of capabilities.
Interviews are a selling process. Applicants typically focus on highlighting their perceived strengths while employers can fall into the trap of over-promoting the role. This is a big risk in an environment where there are a limited number of quality applicants and there is a temptation to lower selection criteria.
It is vital to the future working relationships and job satisfaction for all parties to go deeper than this. Interviews should be not just about hearing people’s experience, achievements and aspirations. They are about getting proof of capabilities. This need not mean the person is able to meet performance expectations on day one. It should be more focused on proving they have core skills needed, immediately accompanied by experience, qualifications and trainability to eventually reach the desired levels.
The selection process should be seen as an opportunity to ‘experience’ each applicant rather than simply having a superficial conversation. Interviews need to be structured to explore career history, experience, potential and limitations as well as lifestyle and personal background to the extent they impact on the position. There should also be clarity on each applicant’s ethics and values.
All this means the interview process should include more than just talk. As well as the usual discussion it should include getting applicants involved in carrying out tasks, performing calculations and other demonstrations of their abilities to prove the realities of their expertise, capabilities and limitations. I recommend selection is approached as a two-step process. The first meeting is to explore the fundamentals and the second contact is to offer applicants an opportunity to show what they can do.
When these steps are accompanied by robust reference checking, the chances of success are much enhanced.
It’s vital to remember the success of every relationship depends on compatible personality styles because role and the dynamics of each team will demand different wiring. Getting evidence of how applicants function through personality questionnaires, reference checks and experiencing people and interview is fundamental to complete the picture.
Finally, the selection process should always include some challenging conversation that will illustrate peoples’ behaviour under pressure. Obviously this needs to be managed sensitively but is critical to ensuring you employ those who you will find it easy to disagree with.
Success in selection is a fine balance of exploring and understanding applicants against promoting the opportunity your business offers. It requires employers and managers to look at themselves first and have a realistic understanding of their team’s strengths and weaknesses.
I am currently updating the people management resources on my website. These new additions include audio presentations that cover how to advertise, interview and reference check as well as questionnaires and support documents to make managing this process easier.
These are freely available to any businesses so that this critical aspect of teambuilding drives the main event -- profitable, sustainable and satisfying roles for all involved.
• Kerry Ryan is a New Zealand based agribusiness consultant available for face-to-face or online for advice and ideas. You can contact him at www.kerryryan.co.nz
