So what’s the answer?  Stop hiring by instinct and start hiring based on evidence that the person you hire has already demonstrated the capabilities you need now and in the near future.

Before you even start looking at candidates, first make a list of the knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) the person will need to be successful in the role.  For example, an operations manager might need to know about interstate commerce regulations, have skills in automated logistics systems and creative problem solving, and demonstrate attitudes such as self-discipline and drive for results.  Then, from your list of KSAs, pick about 6 of the most important ones and create a behavioral question for each designed to determine the extent to which each candidate has demonstrated that knowledge, skill or attitude.

Here are a few examples:

• Tell me about a specific time when your knowledge of interstate commerce regulations made a difference to your employer.
• Please describe one of the most difficult logistics problems you’ve faced.  Tell me exactly what you did and why.
• I’d like to hear about a situation you’ve faced on the job that required some serious self-discipline on your part.

During the interviews, be sure to ask all questions of all applicants.  Take good notes and identify the responses that really reflect the skills you need – as well as the ones that concern you.

You may need to remind the candidate that you want specifics rather than generalities – applicants often tend to focus on what they “always” do or what they believe is “right” rather than providing information on one specific incident.  And don’t be afraid to probe for details.

Then after all the interviews are over – review your notes and hire the candidate who’s clearly demonstrated the  KSAs that will help you and the team move forward – and not slow you down.

What are some of the things you do that have helped you bring on strong performers?

So why do employees leave their jobs?  This may be surprising, but it’s generally not for more money.  SHRM suggests that most employees leave to get away from something they don’t like in their current job.  A poor supervisor, difficult co-workers, unfair treatment, lack of advancement opportunities and dysfunctional systems top the list of things employees are eager to leave behind.

Beverly Kay and Sharon Jordan-Evans have written a terrific resource for leaders who want to hold on to their best employees:  Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em:  Getting Good People to Stay.  They outline 26 engagement strategies  (one for every letter of the alphabet) that really work.  Some of our favorites include:

• ASK  people what would keep them, what they find engaging about theiir jobs  and how you can help them succeed.
• JERK .  Don’t be one.  The Saratoga Institute estimates after analyzing over 60,000 exit interviews that 80% of employee turnover is related to an unsatisfactory relationship with the boss.
• TRUTH.  Tell it.  Give honest feedback about their work.  Share information about the organization.  Ask them for their honest opinion – even about you.

Why do you think people leave your organization?  What might you do to help the good ones stay?

There probably isn’t any job in your organization more critical than the supervisor of the employees whose work directly serves the customer. But too often, it’s the best worker that gets promoted and then flounders and fails – bringing everyone around down in the process.   In addition to higher levels of functional and technical skills that are required of employees on the team, here are some of the common competencies needed for the supervisor’s role:
Self-Management  If the key function of a supervisor is to get results through others, no one will get too far in managing others unless he or she can manage their own behavior. Even more than the employees whose work they oversee, supervisors must be able to keep their emotions and personal bias in check, drive for results, and engage in creative problem solving.
Business Acumen  They need to be able to demonstrate knowledge of the industry and the organization.  Supervisors must also be able to focus on organizational objectives above his/her personal interests in order to be sure the team is aligned.
Business Communication  Supervisors need greater communication skills than the general employee population.  They need to be able to influence others, write well, conduct meetings, and make presentations.
Relationship Management  Communication, team management, conflict resolution and many other interpersonal skills are necessary for the supervisor to lead others.
WebMentor Skills, Avilar’s competency assessment software, comes preloaded with over 90 job roles common to small businesses. A skills assessment helps to identify each employee’s most critical skill gaps, and employees are be able to choose from hundreds of online courses and other learning resources to create an online development plan.
For information, contact sales@avilar.com.

One of the most helpful tools I’ve ever seen to help an organizational leader diagnose and solve performance problems has been developed by Robert Mager and is described in detail in the book he wrote with Peter Pipe:  Analyzing Performance Problems.  In it, a series of questions helps you walk through a performance issue to determine the best course of action.  We’ve summarized a few of them here:

1.  What’s going on, how important is it, and is it worth fixing?  First you need a crystal clear picture of the gap between what you want and what you’re getting.  Perhaps deadlines aren’t being met, quality is declining or customer complaints are increasing.  Before assuming you know what’s causing  the problem i and getting to work to solve it, weigh the possible benefits of solving the problem against potential costs to create a dollar limit for what you’re willing to spend on a solution.

2.  Is there a knowledge or skill gap?  This is frequently the case, but not always – and it may not be the only cause for the problem.  A skills assessment of some kind (our WebMentor Skills for example!) can pinpoint exactly where the knowledge and skill gaps are.  However, if an employee could perform as required if his or her life depended on it, the problem may lie elsewhere, and the following two questions might lead to the answer.

3.  Is poor performance being rewarded?  Of course, no manager would intentionally reward performance they don’t like, but it happens all the time.   For example, one employee may skip key steps in order to leave for the day on time, while another  slows down and drags things out in order to be offered overtime.

4.  Is good performance being punished?  Are there unintended bad things that happen to people who do good work?  Are they asked to do more and more without recognition or additional compensation?  Do the best performers get stuck without opportunities to grow?  The manager doesn’t control all the consequences of a behavior, but a good one will understand the balance of consequences and ensure that good performance is more rewarding than poor performance.

5.  Are there obstacles to performance?  Are the resources employees work with reliable and functional or are they unsuitable or out-of-date?  Are your systems aligned with your processes, or are they held together with chickenwire and duct tape?  Do the disparate teams that need to coordinate efforts work like a well-oiled machine, or from silos?

We highly recommend the book (use the link below to buy).  And there are other resources available on Mager’s website at http://www.cepworldwide.com.

 
Analyzing Performance Problems: Or, You Really Oughta Wanna–How to Figure out Why People Aren’t Doing What They Should Be, and What to do About It

We often talk about talent management as an organizational process designed to attract, manage, develop, motivate and retain key people in order to create a high-performance, sustainable organization that meets its business targets.  At Avilar, we think this is too important to be left to the big guys.  In fact based on our experiences, we’re guessing that your talent needs are quite similar to those of larger  organizations.

• You need to find and hire the right people in the first place.  Finding the right fit is often a challenge for untrained managers who base hiring decisions on “gut feel.”
• You need to manage the performance of employees so their efforts are aligned with your mission, strategy and goals, and so that you can move or remove the people who aren’t pulling their weight.
• You need to train and develop your people so their skills remain up-to-date.
• You need to keep people engaged and committed so that you retain the best.
• You need ways to make sure your business is sustainable through change and growth.

In the coming weeks, we’ll explore each of these talent areas in a bit more detail.

Meanwhile, what talent issues are keeping you up at night?

Many of our most satisfying business relationships are with  small and mid-sized growing businesses – often called SMBs. Here are the top three reasons why:

1. Everyone’s close to the customer.  Each employee can connect to the mission and can feel a direct responsibility for the success of the company.
2. Time, money and energy are critical resources and there’s little room for any waste.
3. Each person matters.  Employees typically need a wide range of skills on the job, and even small improvements in individual skill and performance can make a large impact on revenue.

So that’s why we decided to start a blog focused on the talent needs of the SMB, hence Big Talent, Small Business. We’ve been in the industry for over 15 years and have lots of ideas and experience to share. But we certainly don’t have all the answers. We’d love to hear from you, the small business professional, so please, feel free to comment on  any post. Let’s make this an ongoing conversation! What are the top 3 reasons you like working in a small business?