Hiring For The Future: How To Build An Organization That Thrives

It's natural to desire people who will fit with your company's culture when you recruit them. Even if you may identify your culture, some new workers will inevitably fall outside of it. So, how can you find great individuals who will fit into the future you and your company are creating?

The importance of hiring for the future

Today, it's not always possible to fill unfilled positions with people who look the part. Ideally, you want to hire someone who will stay with you for a long time. This will help you to effortlessly transition from one person to the next while also giving you the benefit of a long-term employee with skills and expertise and future hires will be more likely to stick around as a result of this. 

You won't have to spend a lot of time teaching each new hire how to do their job and who to talk to. They will just take it up as if they've been doing it all along. To get the most out of your staff, you need to hire the proper individuals for the future you want to build.

How to hire for the future

Every business is going to have a certain type of employee in the future, and some employees will need to change, not just in their physical skills and abilities, but in their mindset and their willingness to adapt to your environment. You want to make sure that you don't only hire for your current needs and the skills you need now, but that you hire the right person for the future. So what do you need from people in the future?

There are a few things to keep in mind when planning your hiring strategy:

First, always remember job seekers and recruiters think about a job very differently. Consider whether a candidate has the skills that are needed for a position. Also, consider whether the position needs to be done in a certain way, and if so, who will perform the function. The culture within an organization also plays a role in how it functions. You will want to choose employees who are flexible and have a good work ethic.

Second, think about how your employees are all moving at different speeds and at different times. No matter what your mission is today, there will be someone who has the energy to move ahead with it, while others need to take a step back. What do you need and want from them?

How to create a culture that attracts good employees

It's critical to have a clear future vision that is compatible with your culture. The easiest method to eliminate blind spots is to include the appropriate people in the debate early on. Here are the four steps to creating a culture that will attract, motivate, and retain the best employees.

1. Assess your talent pipeline. There are some ways to know if you have a bad pipeline of employees to choose from. Are there certain career paths that you haven't filed yet? If so, is there a reason that you haven't filled the position yet? For example, the average customer service agent job pays between $16.24 and $21.27 an hour. But a lot of those jobs don't require any experience with customer service.

  • Know how your company works. The right people for the future don't just need to know how to work with technology, but how to use the technology you already have.
  • Creating a succinct job description: It's critical to correctly identify the main talents required for success in any position. Creativity? Making a decision? Resilience? Will there be a need for longer-term remote work? If that's the case, what skill sets would be most helpful? Someone who ‘shakes things up and offers a fresh perspective might be the ideal choice.
  • By promoting objective and fair applicant selection, as well as a well-structured and relevant interview guide, Psychometric exams allow you to screen candidates prior to an interview, allowing you to objectively assess each applicant's strengths and weaknesses in accordance with an accurate job description.

  Bias reduction

  Adding objectivity to the mix

  Saving valuable time.

  • Quality Communication: Leaders that are more effective prioritize personal communication with their employees. They keep people informed and transparent without overburdening them with information. They make effort to be visible, going out of their way to see employees. They keep the amount of written communication under control.

However, communication is a two-way street. Effective leaders pay attention to their employees and do not pass judgment. Workers feel appreciated and engaged when they know they can raise legitimate concerns and receive a response.

  • Applying the principles to your organization: Ask yourself some basic questions about what culture you want to create. In general, you should create an organization that stresses collaboration and problem-solving. Instills an entrepreneurial spirit. Seeks out change and innovation. The point is that if you can't answer all these questions when you're first hiring, you probably don't want them on your team. And you can identify behaviors that are consistent with these qualities. Then, each time you hire, you can look for someone who will fit the culture in some way. You may want a young, energetic candidate with a social orientation who might be someone you could promote later on. Or you might want someone who fits into the existing culture but who is different enough to raise some eyebrows.

Conclusion

These questions can help you find the answers. Hopefully, the ideas here will be helpful to you as you build your teams and find the people you need. Originally published at Larsen Consulting. Larsen Consulting helps companies succeed by combining big-picture vision and pragmatic execution.