For all businesses, finding and keeping talent is crucial to growth. It’s also very hard, as anyone who owns the responsibility will attest.
Unless you’re Shirley MacLaine, there’s no crystal ball as you sift through stacks of resumes and endure hours of interviewing. Difficult as it may be, there are things you can do to create a greater likelihood of success.
Young people today possess resumes that rival Ted Turner’s , that’s OK, it’s the game. “B.A. from UCLA with honors;” “MBA Stanford, internship at Qualcomm Inc. and president of the Journalism Club.”
Wow! “I’m looking for an entry-level manager, not Bill Gates’ replacement.”
Don’t misread this; credentials count, but look beyond the paperwork. The point is, it’s people who make a business successful, not a piece of paper. And, successful people are about communications skills, common sense and attitude.
The best training is the college of life , lessons taken waiting tables or mowing yards. In the real world we deal with difficult constraints, such as time, money and personalities. Life experience prepares kids for these realities. It teaches how to negotiate, listen and recognize organizational rules.
– Check Experience And Credentials
Credentials awarded by an Ivy League school can’t do the job alone, nor should we expect them to.
I ask candidates what jobs they held as teen-agers. It catches them off guard, but it tells me what kind of material they’re made of.
Did they flip burgers at McDonald’s? What do they read? Can they write? There isn’t a successful business around with employees who can’t write a clear memo or explain a product to a client. While “hostess” is often left off the paperwork, I’ve found it says more about potential than other, more sensational items combined.
A second place to focus is a young person’s ability to play on a team. At any level of hire no amount of talent can overcome, “It’s all about me.”
Look hard for this, if not, you’ve just hired a cancer that will have to be removed sooner or later, and at great cost. Consider baseball’s Yankees in the 1980s. New York’s a tough town on their legacy franchise and George Steinbrenner an infamously demanding boss. So after a couple of years of mediocrity and armed with free agency, George buys arguably the best player in the majors at every position.
Slam-dunk, right? He thought so, but for the three years following this talent-only spree, the mighty Yanks actually fell in the standings. What he wanted was a dynasty. What he got was a vandalized clubhouse and an enormous bill. What he forgot was teamwork.
Fast-forward to today. World Series champs three years running despite only a couple of “household” names on the roster and a second baseman who can’t throw the ball remotely near first base.
But each player understands his role. Each knows what’s expected of him and how his personal strengths fit into the team. Even Steinbrenner learned a lesson , hire people who measure their success by the success of those around them.
– Nurturing And Keeping Winners
So you’ve found what you think is a diamond and recruited her onto your team. She’s ambitious and impatient for recognition. How do you grow her? Give responsibility immediately, provide constant feedback , good and tough , and most importantly reward performance.
Throw them into the fire! The truly good ones are ambitious, proactive and want to contribute , so let them. Set the bar high and expect results.
Encourage them to take risks, and to make mistakes. Tell them that a miscue well planned scores as many points as a success. Just make sure that you’re there to catch them when they fall , it’s not only your job, but also builds their confidence and trust. Tell them that “sitting on the fence” is a negative career move and mean it.
Encourage sharing of ideas and solving of problems together. Hold brainstorming meetings and let the young ones speak first , regardless of how much terror is displayed on their faces. Build on their ideas with your experience.
– Apprise Workers Of Their Standing
Communicate constantly with them on how they’re doing. Trust me, they are wondering what you’re thinking all the time. When they do something well, say so, and do it loudly. When they make a mistake or display inappropriate conduct be equally forthright albeit, more privately.
Your young worker should never be unsure of where he stands. Regardless of whether he’s doing well or poorly at the moment, the energy uncertainty saps is tenfold of that which it takes to do a great job.
Once again, reward performance only. Depending on circumstances, significant raises may be difficult to dole out. Even then, give disproportionately more to the stars and less to those who lag. And remember, while everybody works for a salary, productive staffers hold emotional benefits of work in equally high regard. Reward the comers with additional responsibilities and make sure the entire organization notices it.
Possibly an even more critical part of rewarding performance is punishing the other extreme. Of course, not all valuable employees are stars, but don’t hesitate to terminate the true laggards. When someone is not earning his keep, you can be sure you’re not the only one who’s noticed.
Letting those go is good for the company, for that person in the long run and is the most visible sign of reward for performance that exists.
Remember, deep down we’re all the same. Like Pavlov’s dogs we do and repeat what we are rewarded for doing. So find the right souls to add to your team, make your performance criteria crystal clear and liberally reward those who deliver on them.
Matthews is the chairman and CEO of matthews/mark, one of San Diego’s largest and fastest-growing advertising and public relations agencies.
