MightyRecruiterSo your business has completed the tricky labyrinth that is the hiring process and hired stellar candidates. Now you can kick back, and watch your hires blossom, right? Not really. Tapping new employee job skills is a big part of what keeps these folks around for years to come, and having just gone through the process of sifting through resumes and interviewing, you know how cumbersome and costly connecting with potential employees is. Never fear; the five tactics below will help you and your new hires reach success.
Way 1: Balance the New Hire’s Work Up Front
Tapping new employee job skills means knowing what new employees are capable of. Take everything they said in the recruiting process with a grain of salt. For example, if they said they were proficient in Microsoft Excel, they may well be, or they may have exaggerated a teeny bit, with their Excel skill levels falling somewhere between average to advanced. The trick to assessing an employee’s skill level is to give work that is neither too easy nor too difficult. At the same time, employees should be going through new-hire training. A new workplace and new work: it’s a lot to take in, so don’t overwhelm new folks, but do make their work fun and challenging.
Way 2: Gradually Increase the Work and Quality of Work that You Expect of the New Hire
Far too many employees feel that employers do not allow them to reach their potential. This leads to a certain amount of restlessness, particularly among Generation Y employees. They will leave to seek better work; your job is to make them want to stay by continually challenging them. So, part of tapping new employee job skills is to gradually introduce a diverse range of assignments that use a variety of skills. You, or the new hire’s mentor, should meet with the new hire frequently to get an idea of how he or she is handling the workload and if it is enhancing new hire skills.
Way 3: Make the Magic Happen
Magic does not happen in a vacuum; for new hires to expand on their skills and gain more, they must attend conferences, seminars, classes, workshops and the like. Chances are that your organization already has a culture that encourages such professional development. In fact, one way of wooing ambitious and motivated hires is to explain on your career website and in interviews what their job progression can look like and the professional development opportunities you provide to make it happen. From mentors, coaches, networking and official training, you can make magic happen by not only tapping new employee job skills but by giving new hires more tools. A few additional benefits of cultivating an atmosphere of professional development: new and longtime employees alike are capable of handling most workloads, freeing up your time, and your recruitment process becomes sleeker, with less of a need to seek more hires as employee retention improves.
Way 4: Lead by Example
Have you ever known a manager or supervisor who asked his employees to sacrifice but never did so himself? One of the best approaches for tapping new employee job skills is to, quite simply, lead by example. You should be developing your own job skills and in a visible way; for instance, by attending workshops or seminars at work taught by employees, or by participating on a project in a role other than supervisor. Send emails along the lines of, ïI found ABC course online a few months ago. I enrolled in it with the aim of building my skills in X area. Everything went well, and my ability to do Y has increased tremendously. I encourage everyone who is interested to sign up for the next round of this course. More information below.ï
Way 5: Hire from Inside Your Organization
It’s often easier, smarter and more efficient to hire from within than to hire from outside. For instance, when you hire someone who already works for your organization, you know how well the person fits into your workplace culture. Yes, it’s certainly possible the new employee would need some training, but that is where tapping new employee job skills comes in. Many job skills are soft skills and transferable: for example, communication and empathy. And other job skills simply need to be expanded. A receptionist who has a working knowledge of Microsoft Excel can take an intensive class to learn the program more thoroughly as part of his new position as a salesperson. Speaking of Excel, you could ask your employees to list their job skills in Excel so that you have a running inventory of what each person can do. As you learn about ways to make all-star hires, turn to the resources here at Mighty Recruiter for further guidance.