MightyRecruiterWhen sports teams recruit new players, they look for skill and compatibility. They don’t worry about recruits being more talented at the sport than the coaches are because each has a different role. The coach’s job is to lead the team, and the players’ job is to carry out the mission to win. Instead of seeing each other as competitors, they see each other as part of the same system with the same goals. Your hiring goal should follow this same perspective. Instead of hiring people you think are inferior to you, you should hire those who are smarter.
The Reasoning Behind It
It may not make sense right away why hiring people smarter than their bosses is a wise move. However, when you think of the purpose of a business it becomes more clear. A company is a group of people working together to accomplish a united objective. It’s best achieved when diverse strengths and responsibilities are respected and utilized. It means having a great team and great management. You don’t need to be the smartest in your field in order to have a successful enterprise, but you do need to be a smart employer. With higher-qualified people as your hiring goal, you will be able to recruit the best in your industry and beat out your competitors or simply improve your own business. Your job isn’t to come up with the ideas, but to come up with the people who come up with ideas and to manage them effectively. With the right leadership and mutual respect, you’ll be able to retain these valuable employees.
The Dating Game of Business
In order to meet your hiring goal, you need to approach it like dating. First, have a specific picture of who you want to add to your team. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you may not recognize it when you see it. Write down a detailed description of the position that needs to be filled, and be specific. Then describe the kind of person who would best fill that position. What attributes would the person have? How would the person fit with the rest of your group? How would you measure the person’s success? Answering these questions will not only help you find the right candidate, but also help you clarify duties and expectations once the employee is hired. After you have your picture, start the hiring process. When you get to the interviews, look for these three traits to ensure you choose the right applicant. 1. The right attitude and personality 2. Compatibility with your company culture 3. A desire and willingness to learn, or teachability
1. Attitude
It’s much easier to hire people who already have the kind of attitude and personality you want than to train them to act in a way that doesn’t come naturally to them. Be sure you know what that desired trait is. It could be friendliness, optimism, creativity, or dedication, to name a few.
2. Compatibility
Likewise, determine what your company’s culture, or environment and tone, is so you can find someone who would be compatible with it. For example, if you’re all playful and lighthearted, your hiring goal wouldn’t be to accept somone with no sense of humor who would feel like an outsider. It’s also important that the applicant shares the same values as you do. If you don’t have the same standards or visions, it can invite problems. Remember that it’s nothing personal. A candidate can be a wonderful person but not a good fit for your company, and you’d be doing you both a disservice by hiring him or her based on likability or niceness instead of on compatibility.
3. Teachability
As useful as experience is, there are going to be tasks that newcomers won’t know how to do and things they won’t know. How they handle these situations is key. You want workers who can take instruction and feedback, who know how to listen to others’ ideas and not just spout off their own. People who are curious, willing to learn, and humble make better employees than those who have years of experience but no desire to accept change and new perspectives.
Be Smart by Hiring Smart
With the right preparation, you can achieve your hiring goal of adding on team members who are smarter than you. Your unique positions and qualities will create a workplace in which everyone can succeed. For more tips on how to hire the best, check out more Mighty Recruiter articles.