Published
Articles
Originally
Published in The Business Journal of CNY.
Hiring
for a New or Created Position
The process
of hiring for a new position, where there is no incumbent, is very
difficult, totally unique, critical to the company future, and needs
to be handled in a very different way than normal hires. There is
no frame of reference for better or for worse to compare to in these
situations. There is no incumbent to help train and transition the
new person. There is no schedule or routine for the new hire to
fall into.
This is truly
a situation that requires a very different approach, in both
the hiring process, and in the initial training process.
This article
was inspired by seeing too many employees hired under these circumstances
floundering because they were selected improperly, and without the
necessary thought process, and also not given the proper training.
Often, these hires are destined for failure from the day they are
hired. Some thrown out to the wolves the first day to fend for themselves,
with no clear source of help. Obviously, a large cost to a small
company that is not at all necessary.
As small businesses
grow, the need to expand and delegate tasks becomes critical to
organization and continued growth. The letting go part is a little
thought-out reason for these "mishires", because in general, most
owners do not like to let go, and also believe (usually rightfully
so) that no one can do it as well as they can. The problem is, even
given that, continued positive growth is contingent on these types
of hires being done, and done right. You can only grow so far from
within, and besides, bringing in outside, fresh faces is mandatory
to controlled growth and fresh, new ideas.
The person for
these new positions has to be very unique. Because the reality is
that you will probably never be able to offer them the right amount
of time for training (despite the best of intentions), they need
to be motivated and a self-starter. They need to be inquisitive,
self-assured enough to ask questions before they get too far off
track, creative in helping you (or your manager) develop the job
into something much stronger than any of you ever originally envisioned,
and quick-studies capable of blending into their new culture as
quickly as possible.
Please understand
that this does not absolve you from training them. That would be
too much to ask, and impossible. In fact, it is an injustice to
you and the company to not invest in the right way in this new hire.
In order for them to take the burden off your back (or your managers),
you will need to "prime the pump". Nothing comes without a price,
that if done right, is well worth it.
Every hire coming
in under these circumstances should have a well thought out training
and orientation plan. They should be assigned a "mentor" in the
company (aside from, and in addition to the owner) who will work
with them and be there during those "awkward" times. Picking the
right person for this role is essential, and you need to take into
consideration the ability of the two personalities ability to help
each other and to communicate openly..
Goals with benchmarks
should be in place on day one, worked out and agreed to by both
the manager/owner, and the new hire. The mentor should be clearly
aware of exactly what the expectations are, and what timeframes
they must happen in to be effective.
The worst part
of ANY new job is the initial two weeks, which if left unclear,
are unbearably boring. These two weeks set the tone for all future
success. It's like a first impression. If it gets off track early,
it becomes either very expensive or impossible to correct.
Have specific
projects assigned from day one that really accomplish something
in these first two weeks. This (these) projects should be challenging,
but within the new hires abilities. They should have all of the
material and information they need to complete the task, and a person
designated to go to as soon as any problems or uncertainties arise.
I can't overemphasize the need for a success in the first two weeks.
It sets the path for all future activities, and proves that both
sides can hold up their part of the bargain.
This project
becomes the default work, should everyone be busy, no one has any
time to give to them, and the rest of the plan, for whatever reason
does not work out. Look at it as the escape hatch for that hire
to go to when all else fails. But, don't get comfortable with this
to the degree that you all feel that nothing else is necessary since
they have this project to keep them busy.
The whole point
of this exercise is to challenge them early and immediately, integrate
them into the company, and get a positive experience and result
under your belt early. Even if you said it was your money and for
whatever legitimate reason you were willing to lose it during this
two week trial, you will have set precedents and habits that could
be very difficult to undo in the future.
If you do it
right in the beginning, the future is very rosy. Take this initial
span very seriously, because the costs of not doing so are often
prohibitive.
Keep in mind
that the whole company is watching how this person will work out;
some hoping for the best, and others, unfortunately, potential saboteurs,
or at a minimum, hoping it will not work out, for any variety of
totally bizarre reasons. Its your job, by the way, to help every
employee see why this job is so critical to their success, and how
much it will not only help the company (which should be enough),
but help them in many indirect ways too.
Keep in mind
that obviously many of these points apply to normal hires also.
You work too hard (especially in today's economy) to be lucky (or
good) enough to get a good hire, and than not proceed on and integrate
them properly. When you begin to question if its worth it, think
about the pain and agony of going through the process again, when
you already have a good fit, not to mention the risk that the next
hire could be a bad one.
Dennis Hoppe is President of Change Management Implementation, Inc. in Brockport, NY. He has been a small business advisor to owners of hundreds of companies since 1989. Visit his web sites at www.dhoppe.com and www.hmcexecutivecoaching.com, or call him at 800-724-3525.
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