the last word
Attribute-Based Hiring
HOW TO HIRE AND RETAIN TOP TALENT
Do you remember your worst hire – that one individual you
questioned hiring because they didn’t quite fit in with the
rest of your employees? Even after hours of training and
job shadowing, you still had to let that person go. It’s the
goal of every HR professional to hire, train and retain the strongest
employees that “fit.” However, this is much easier said than
done. The question on everyone’s mind: how do you weed through
the field of applicants to find the people who will thrive in your
organization?
In an extremely competitive market, implementing creative and
innovative hiring processes can help you find the best person for
your organization. By focusing more on behavioural attributes,
rather than traditional work experience and skill sets, you can
drastically increase employee satisfaction and retention.
IDENTIFY CULTURE AND DNA
Every company has a unique organizational culture. And within
the company, there is a set of DNA for each critical role. The key
is to identify which roles inside your company are most critical and
determine the DNA for those specific roles. Start by interviewing
your team’s top performers and ask them why they believe they are
successful. Also look to those individuals’ colleagues and managers
and ask them the same questions. Practice the same exercise
with your bottom performers and see what sorts of feedback you
receive. You’ll start to notice consistent language and traits emerge
from these conversations, from both the top and bottom performers.
These identifiers are the foundation for the role’s DNA.
IDENTIFY THE ATTRIBUTES
Based on the research garnered from the interviews with top performers,
you will start to notice recurring traits and competencies.
These are the attributes and traits that you can’t train for, but rather
those that make up an individual’s personality DNA. These are
the attributes that you will want to find in potential new hire candidates.
Every company will have a different set of attributes and
competencies that they find valuable. While some may focus on
independence, change resiliency and creativity, others may need
employees who are collaborative and risk-tolerant. By clearly identifying
specific DNA, you will be able to find people who will be
successful inside your company culture and who fit well with the
values of your organization.
FIND THE BEST PEOPLE
Once you’ve identified the attributes you are looking for, a hiring
process will need to be developed to help find these individuals.
Use a combination of behavioural and non-behavioural questions
to help identify the attributes you are looking for. Scoring
guides are helpful tools to assist hiring managers and recruiters to
know what to look for during the interview process. Demonstrable
attributes are the hardest thing to examine, but it’s up to the hiring
manager to watch for these behaviours during the interview
process.
HELP YOUR TEAM BECOME MASTERS
Once you have found the best people for your company, it’s time
to focus on retention. Start by creating a culture where there is aspiration
for excellence and a passion to truly master the skills of
the job. Help your employees find value in the work they do and
clearly outline your performance metrics. When a culture provides
employees the opportunity for continued growth and development
through coaching, practice and feedback, these individuals
will thrive as they are aligned with the company’s purpose.
REDEFINE YOUR STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE
Just as it’s important to have the best employees, so is ensuring
your clients or customers know that as well. Try asking your clients
and customers why they love working with your company
and what they value most. To make sure your customers are fully
satisfied, base your standard of excellence on what they think is
important, not just what management thinks is. n
Sherri Wright-Schwietz is head of talent and mastery for ATB
Investor Services.
Singkham/Shutterstock.com
By Sherri Wright-Schwietz
72 ❚ FEBRUARY 2015 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL