When A Business Doesn’t Have the Right People
Quick Answer: Hiring the right people is often not the real issue. Many businesses expect a new hire to do things their way, on their schedule, with no clear instruction, which no one can do. What is usually missing is sufficient training, documented procedures, effective supervision with feedback, and working with people the way they are.
Hiring the Right People: The Real Issue
Many business owners and managers say that it's difficult to hire the right people. They want to hire people who perform well, take initiative, have common sense, and work well with others in the business. It's frustrating for them when the people they hire turn out to not meet their expectations. Businesses often think that if they can just find the right person to hire, things will work out well.
While it is important to find a candidate who is a good fit for everything that the job entails, including the company culture, this is often not the real issue that needs addressing. Often, when someone finds it difficult to find the "right people," they are actually looking to hire someone who will do what they expect, the way they expect it, by the time they expect it, automatically and without clear instruction.
There is also the expectation that the new hire will do tasks correctly every time after being told or shown what to do only one or two times. There is a mismatch of expectations, and for these expectations, finding the "right person" is likely to be an impossible search because workers can not read the minds of their higher-ups. These businesses are often looking for someone who is a duplicate or clone of themselves, who thinks like they do, and performs tasks like they do.
Many times, what's missing is:
1. Sufficient training of the worker.
2. Documented procedures for the tasks that the worker is to perform.
3. Effective supervision or management of the workers.
4. Working with people the way that they are.
The Right Person: As They Are
If a candidate is qualified for a position and a fit for the culture, then the worker needs to be accepted the way that he or she currently is.
This means working with people as they are and not the way that we wish they were or think that they should be. Now, steps can be taken to help someone be as they are while also performing the way that the business needs or wants.
People will often do things if they see that it benefits them and their team, rather than doing tasks because they were told to, like a robot. They want to know that they provide value to the organization and that their work means something. Providing a clear understanding of their role in the business and how their work benefits the business gives them some understanding and a feeling that they matter.
They can start to see how their job affects the jobs of the others inside the company since some jobs depend on them to get their work done. An organizational chart or a diagram that shows the workflow between jobs can help illustrate this. Many job descriptions have duties and responsibilities. They may also have tasks that need to be performed.
The Right Documentation for the Right Person
However, instructions are often vague about what the worker actually has to deliver. Writing out clear expectations in the form of the quantity or quality of specific tasks and results helps both the worker and the supervisor know what needs to be done. It removes the ambiguity, and the worker can measure how he or she is performing at the job without waiting for a performance review to find out. It also helps the supervisor measure performance when many of the tasks and results of the job can be measured.
Having documented procedures for tasks helps workers perform tasks consistently. It provides standardization, predictability, and helps with quality control. If a business doesn't have documented procedures, having the person document while being trained can be useful.
Training Until There Is Competence
For a worker to be trained sufficiently, the worker needs to do the task over and over until there is competence. This is unlikely to happen after being shown the task once or twice unless the worker has done it before. For the worker to practice the task effectively, there needs to be supervision to review that the task was done correctly, and feedback needs to be provided.
Without the feedback, the worker doesn't know if the task was done correctly, or they may assume that it was since no corrective action was taken. When tasks aren't done correctly, use the documented procedures to help the worker know what step was skipped or if the procedures need to be improved.
Hiring and Training the Right Person
In the end, what many businesses need is to improve how they train and manage their workers in order to help them perform at the level that the business wants. By working with people the way that they are, managers can create win-win situations because the business, the manager, and the worker all benefit.
If you need guidance on implementing proper documentation within your business, please contact us for a free assessment. You can also learn more about our products and services. We look forward to hearing from you.
- "We can't find the right people" often means expecting hires to read your mind.
- No one does a task correctly every time after being shown once or twice.
- What's usually missing is training, documented procedures, supervision and accepting people as they are.
- People perform better when they see how their work benefits the team and the business.
- Clear, measurable expectations and feedback let workers know how they are doing without waiting for a review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I find the right people to hire?
Often because the expectation is someone who does what you expect, the way you expect it, without clear instruction. That search is likely impossible, since no one can read their manager's mind.
What do businesses usually get wrong with new hires?
They expect a task to be done correctly every time after being shown once or twice. Competence comes from doing the task over and over with supervision and feedback.
Why are documented procedures so important?
They make tasks consistent, predictable and easier to check for quality. If you don't have them yet, have the person document the procedure while being trained.
What does "working with people as they are" mean?
Accepting a qualified hire the way they currently are, rather than as you wish they were, and helping them perform while being themselves.