Something I’ve noticed about my best clients is that they place and hire well – particularly in the area of their key employees.

My clients who struggle to successfully grow, change or get to the next level usually don’t. It is a common pattern and it provokes the question: What does it take to ‘hire well?’

First, it is important to be able to place people well in all positions. However, key positions are uniquely critical.

I typically define a ‘key position’ as a leadership or expertise role.

For some small and medium-sized organizations, however, it might even include a strong administrative assistant.

Many times, a key employee may not directly generate revenue or provide services. Their placement is often viewed as either an investment or a risk (depending on the perspective of the employer.)

A well-chosen, key employee will do at least one, if not more, of three things:

• They will lift an enormous management burden from the plates of the current leadership.
• They will personally create or take advantage of opportunities that were previously out of reach.
• They will dramatically improve the performance of everyone within their sphere of influence.

Here is what my best clients do to make sure that they place ideal people:

1. Place someone with demonstrated capacity – both in experience and expertise. In fact, the key hire is often far better at their job than the person hiring them. They have a strong track record.
2. Place self-directed leaders. These are people who can see or help figure out what needs to be done. They don’t sit and wait for the next set of instructions. They don’t spend their energy on maintaining a status quo that no longer best serves the organization.
3. Place people who have a passion for your organization and excellence. It doesn’t matter what your industry is. Find someone who can get excited about it and excited about what you do and do great work.
4. Place confident leaders who engage well with others. Engaging well goes beyond being a good team player. (Which too often means ‘don’t rock the boat.’)

Engaging well combines the ability to be assertive while listening well and respecting those around them.

Leaders must lead. Jerks cost you in the long run.

5. Create a match between their desires and their role. These people want to feel challenged, they want to learn and they want to meaningfully contribute. (If they don’t want these things – don’t place them.)

However, often we place these people in roles that don’t challenge them or restrict their opportunities for growth or contribution.

If you don’t create an opportunity for high potential or performing people to be their best, they’ll leave.

You’ll be stuck with everyone else.

Here is what my continuously struggling clients do:

1. Make sure they are the smartest person in the room. They are threatened by anyone else who ‘shines.’

They surround themselves with people who either don’t have the confidence to lead well or the skills to meaningfully contribute.

2. Place key people who don’t have a sense of direction. Related to the above, struggling clients tend to hire key staff who need to be led and managed as opposed to those who can provide effective leadership and management.
3. Place key people who are either only interested in their own advancement or wish they were doing something else: In other words, they bring in someone who clearly isn’t planning on contributing, beyond what is absolutely necessary, to the joint success of the organization.

These are takers. Not builders or contributors. It’s ok for interns. Not key positions.

4. Placing either the jerk or the compliant personality: Assertiveness doesn’t have to mean a lack of respect or valuing. Getting along with others doesn’t have to mean rolling over or acquiescence.
5. No match between key staff desires and the role: We lead people. Not machines. The degree to which you can help people feel engaged, fulfilled and valued in their roles is the degree to which you will be able to find, choose and retain high-value key employees.

If you try to place someone in a key position who would rather do something else or be someplace else – you’ll have a problem. Sometimes, people are attracted to the title or compensation – not the actual roles and responsibilities.

Make sure you screen for this.

Think of your last key placement who worked well for you. How well did your decision-making process match the first list?

Think of a key placement who didn’t work out. To what degree did your process match the second list?

What one change can you make in terms of effectively making your next key placement?

Ideal employees, whether they currently work with us or not, have choices. They usually know this.

They may even be recruited by others.

We may be offering them an opportunity. But we should never forget that the right person, in a key role, is often offering us an opportunity as well.

Take good care,

Christian

P.S. Would you like to talk to me, one-on-one, about how you (or one of your key staff) can rapidly develop ideal leadership behaviors or habits? Or perhaps you’d like to increase your ability to accomplish your priorities, decrease your unwanted workload, boost your profits or do more of what you love?

95% of my clients report positive results within the first 90 days of working together. Actually, they don’t report the positive results. The reports come from the people who they lead, their colleagues and supervisors. It’s real, quantifiable change.

Additionally, they report adding between $120K and $1M in new, annual revenue or savings, usually within 12 months.  Contact me to learn more: christian@vantageconsulting.org or 907 522-7200.