Tim Hebert
Management Services Committee Member
A&W Electric Inc.
Thought leaders in management provide solid information on developing people. Bottom line: You must find great people and place them in the right roles. My favorite phrase of all: “Right People; Right Seats.” If only it were that simple!
Selecting the right people for the right roles is one of the most important and difficult things we do! When someone fails in a role, it does not mean they have no value to the organization. They may have tremendous value in other positions. As leaders, we must find that unique talent inside each person and help them maximize their potential.
Hiring Challenges
As a business owner, I have encountered several challenges. Perhaps you can relate to some of these:
Hire for attitude and talent – not just experience and background. How many of us look primarily for expertise in the role or industry when hiring? Technical skills are critical. But how do we screen for attitude? How important is it to your business that employees get along, work after-hours schedules when needed and focus on quality and customer service?
As our company has grown, we have recognized that being a good co-worker or a committed professional is just as important as one’s ability to use a multimeter or turn a wrench. We now integrate interpersonal skill evaluation into our screening and hiring process. We have started using DiSC profiling to assess fit. While we are currently using it mostly as a pre-hire screening tool, we have also used DiSC with existing employees to foster more conversation about individual development.
Promoting the best technician to manager. Have you ever worked with a company where people are promoted based on seniority? How about companies where the best mechanic becomes a supervisor? It’s important to understand that the skills required to succeed in a supervisory role are not the same skill set needed to be a strong technician. I have seen instances where advancing a successful technician to a supervisory role has failed miserably, resulting in a “double whammy” because you have a mediocre supervisor and lost a good technician! We now evaluate whether a person has the skills needed to succeed in an elevated role along with what made that person successful in their current role.
Do ALL positions have job descriptions? Do your people know what you expect of them? What does success look like? If you have job descriptions, have you shared them with your employees? Many companies spend time developing job descriptions, policy manuals and procedural documents only for them to collect dust on a shelf. We must share these expectations with all employees, including technical skills and the attitude and talent expectations mentioned earlier.
Does each employee have a Personal Development Plan (PDP)? One of the main causes of employee disengagement is a perceived lack of meaning in his or her work. Our employees want opportunities to grow. A PDP identifies career desires, existing fit for those roles, learning opportunities and a commitment from both the employee and manager to achieve these goals. When the desired position becomes available, both employee and employer will feel confident that the employee is prepared to succeed. One-on-one meetings allow both parties to be clear on progress, provide two-way feedback and establish a relationship where both begin to care for each other’s progress and success.
As leaders, one of our main roles is creating specific developmental paths for our employees’ growth. This process begins pre-hire and never really ends. The rewards are spectacular if we are successful. The future success of our organizations depends on it.
Related Reference and Training Materials
Print