The Metiss Group's Blog

Whether you are defining jobs using a traditional job description or an Accountability Matrix (our recommendation), you’ll want to get input from people who interact with the individual in the job when outlining the key requirements.

The supervisor and/or HR are generally responsible for defining the requirements for a job.  Soliciting input from those closest to the job provides two important advantages.  The people working closely with the job know whether it’s being done correctly or not — often because it impacts their work.  Gaining input from these stakeholders helps further define the success factors of the job.  Additionally, consulting the stakeholders creates a commitment from them to the individual in the job to succeed since they had a hand in defining it.  Just imagine the support felt by a new hire!

Ask for input from many people when defining your jobs and your direct reports will succeed.

After you invested in developing Job Accountabilities and a Job Profile at the beginning of your selection process, you’ve noted the ease with which the decision of who to hire, and not to hire, has been.  Too often, we notice some leaders failing to get the real “bang for their buck” because that appears to be the end of the point at which the Job Accountabilities and Job Profile are used.

During your one-on-ones and quarterly performance reviews, be certain to go over the accountabilities and success factors by asking whether or not your direct report is on track or off track.  If off-track, ask the employee if they need additional resources or obstacles removed to get themselves back on track.  Also ask by what date should you expect to see them on track.

Additionally, the Job Profile can provide a path to reinforcing the right means by which to achieve those results.  So ask about the behaviors, motivators, and skills you defined as critical to the job at least as part of your quarterly reviews.  As an example:  please describe for me a time you demonstrated Goal Achievement or Personal Accountability in the last quarter.  The other option is to use the behavior based interview questions used with candidates to probe the right characteristics with employees.

Remember if the Job Accountabilities define WHAT we want done in a job, and the Job Profile defines HOW we want the job performed, a real superstar will accomplish both.  Use what you already have in place to drive the performance excellence you seek.

You just finished following your selection process and you are ready to make an offer to a superstar.  The superstar accepts your offer and commits to starting in two weeks.  Now what do you do?

If you found a superstar, someone else is about to loose one.  Expect the superstar’s current employer to try to keep them from leaving by offering increased pay, more responsibility, or a promotion.  You are at a disadvantage here as the superstar has some allegiance and may have second thoughts.  All your hard work and expense following your selection process may be for naught if the superstar decides to rescind their acceptance.

After your offer is accepted, stay in touch with the future new-hire.  Coach the superstar on how to handle their company’s offer to stay.  Ask them, “What is your current boss likely to offer you to get you to stay?  What are you going to do if you are offered more money to stay?  What are you going to tell your boss if s/he offers you a promotion?”  Give them tips on how to answer.  Simply planting these seeds, will help your chances of not loosing your superstar.  Additionally, regular emails and calls are essential to letting the superstar know you really want them.  Meeting for lunch before s/he starts working for you is a good idea.  Your superstar will be excited after deciding to come work for you; keep that excitement from wearing off and avoid the risk of loosing them.

Empower you future new-hires for success and your career will soar.

We recommend assessing candidates after the phone screen, core values assignment and first interview.  As assessments become easier to administer, we are seeing more-and-more organizations assessing candidates at various points in their selection process.  In some cases, where they are being inserted, and how they are being used might create a legal/moral dilemma.

Legally, no assessment should count for more than 1/3 of the selection process and no assessment should be a go/no-go decision on its own.

There are two other business reasons not to assess too early in the process: 1) you might be investing in an assessment for a candidate you don’t like and could have screened out without the investment; and 2) the assessment might bias your view of the candidate before you meet. Meeting with a candidate before assessing allows you to be open mined about their styles.

A bigger mistake hiring managers make is administering assessments too late in the process.  It is common for managers to assess candidates as the final step “just in case something pops up.”  By the time a candidate gets to this stage of the process, hiring managers have emotionally committed to the candidate and cannot objectively interpret the results.  If hiring managers are deep into the process and committed to a candidate, don’t bother assessing.

Assessing candidates after the first interview allows the hiring manager to confirm their observations and objectively focus on concerns in follow-up behavior-based interviews and behavior-based reference checks.

We recommend every hiring manager have a repeatable selection process consisting of three phases: job and candidate definition, screening, and evaluation.  How do you know if your selection process is any good?  If you can answer yes to these questions, you probably have an excellent selection process:

• Do your employees respect the new hire for succeeding in your selection process?
• Would your employees cringe if they had to go through your selection process?
• Do weak candidates drop out of your selection process because it is too hard?
• Are superstars attracted to your company because your selection process ensures weak candidates are not hired?
• Every new hire, without exception, goes through your selection process?
• A potential superstar has not dropped out of your selection process because you moved too slowly?

Develop a quality selection process, be disciplined in administering it, and empower your team for success.