Hiring the right person for the job is probably one of the most critical activities for any team, work-group, or organization. A group of people can not be better than the efforts and talents added by the individual contributions. Furthermore, the retention of trained and experienced top performing individuals is an advantage to any organization, while a healthy turnover of low performing individuals maintains a competitive edge for the team. How do we manage this critical life cycle of an employee?
Hiring the right person can be broken down in identifying two fundamental elements. The person must have the right knowledge and posses the right character that fits the organization. We can easily adopt mechanisms that enhance the certainty of hiring someone with the right knowledge. In my experience, I have added elements such as titles, transcripts, certifications, and even aptitude test to ensure the level of competence is met before joining the organization. Nevertheless, assessing the character of a new hire is rather tricky. We can certainly interview candidates on an behavioral basis, such that during the interview they recount past situations that predict and reflect the future behavior we seek however; the assurances are minimal. The recollection and perception of the individual may not be as factual as we need and most likely any candidate that passes the knowledge criteria set will recount the events in favor of the candidate. Hence, the importance of such elements as probation period and references.
Printing the expectations in the new hire’s mind from the start provides a head start to the person and organization. The early days of employment of any individual build and reaffirm the expectations of the role and culture of the organization. Although the first 90 days are seen as the critical make or break time for a new position, I believe that the assimilation of a new hire to the organization is much shorter. Within the first three weeks of employment the new hire develops a set of expectations and perceptions about the role and working environment. Regardless of the overall size or organizational structure, the new hire will build first impressions and reinforce them based on the behavior observed from immediate supervisor and colleagues. A "tribal learning" process is inevitable yet manageable by controlling on boarding events, and first impressions. In addition, frequent (at least one hour once a week) one on one meetings and follow up with new hires can ensure that the expectations and initial perceptions are adjusted to the organizational needs. In addition, this critical time of an employee’s history with a new organization must be documented to ensure a diligent and quality assured probationary period. Probationary periods, although very popular at all organizations, usually lack the necessary scrutiny that they deserve. Although the new hire process is a mutual "leap of faith" by the individual and the organization, it can be managed for mutually beneficial successful employment life cycle.
Managing the life cycle and development of the employee ensures a successful partnership between the individual and the organization. Once the work habits, ethics, and accountability culture is formed in an individual’s mind its important to guide the development of the individual for maximum return and job satisfaction. Its practically impossible to fit one process to all or a group of individuals. Its rather a customized process that needs to be tailored to every individual as per the needs for optimal performance of the role and preferences of every person. Although all humans are fundamentally created equal, not one person is the same. Different motivational drivers, diversified educational backgrounds and experiences, along with varied intellectual capabilities make if practically impossible to globally recommend
an employee prescription for improving performance. Hence, the importance of development feedback and personalized coaching is critical for everyone at any stage of their career. Although both functions similar in nature, I believe that the two are distinctly critical to the ongoing success of an employees lifecycle. Feedback provides a external reaction to the behavior and choices made by the employee while coaching provides guidance on how to move onwards. Both activities a exclusive, both are needed. Furthermore it is important to focus on future behavior and focus on the choices of the future rather than critiquing past events. Setting up an employee for success requires a visualization of the desired future rather than a reminder of the failed past.
