BY C. Lee Smith
At our company, we’ve developed a psychometric assessments platform that helps employers determine how to hire the right person. When a manager finds the candidate who’s a great fit for the job and the company, they are on their way to a successful relationship. But hiring and onboarding that perfect candidate is only the start. Managers must do much more to ensure a long-lasting relationship.
How to Hire the Right Person
The results of our psychometric assessments will show you how an employee works best, what motivates them and their likely strengths when working on a team. But you may have trouble attracting candidates in the first place. Some verticals in the current economy are experiencing a shortage of talented candidates, a fact that will make it harder for you to find exactly what you are looking for.
To fill that position, follow the trend of skills-based hiring. In the past, you may have insisted on recruiting people with a degree in IT. The new reality in the marketplace is that more employers are giving a thumbs up to candidates who possess specific skills such as the ability to write code in Python. If you’re flexible in your requirements, you may find a candidate who is much older or younger than you expected. And they may come from a background that doesn’t match what you have in mind.
How do you know if they’ll fit in and if they can do the work? These days it comes down to micro-credentials and skills testing. If you’re still not sure about a candidate’s viability after you give them a skills test, assign them a project. More candidates are expecting project work as part of the interview process.
How to Keep Your Employees Engaged
Managers will not succeed if they focus solely on how to hire the right person. Today’s workers know the skills required to perform a job are constantly changing. Stephanie Mehta, LinkedIn’s chief economist, reports that “workers are investing in themselves.” If their current employer doesn’t offer training, forward-thinking employees, the ones you want to keep, will move on.
Soon after you onboard your new hire, talk with them about professional development goals. Then set up the training they’ve indicated an interest in and show them where their new skills will fit into the company.
Attention Required to Retain Gen Z Team Members
Younger employees have different values from generations that have entered the workforce in the past. Team members under age 40 believe their employers must share their values. Whether it’s a commitment to protecting the planet and ensuring human rights for all, nearly 40% of these individuals “have previously rejected a job offer due to a mismatch between a company’s values and principles and their own.”
This may seem like a harsh reality, but younger employees have been successfully job hopping and commanding higher salaries as they do. If you don’t make an effort to meet their demands, you risk losing them.
To keep these employees engaged, employers must be ready to “partake in an exchange of thoughts, opinions and ideas within their workplace.” Offering this kind of workplace culture requires extra effort from managers. But Deloitte research reveals that the investment pays off. Employees will stay loyal to companies that make the effort.
Addressing Mental Health Needs for Employees
In addition, Gen Zers have a much higher rate of diagnosis/treatment for mental illness compared to older generations. They are stressed about their current workload, their futures and don’t feel appreciated. If you aren’t having regular meetings with your employees to learn how they feel about work, it’s time to start. Ask the difficult questions about whether they can handle the tasks you’ve assigned and where they are encountering roadblocks.
Being proactive about assisting them in properly prioritizing their tasks may eventually increase productivity. And it will certainly boost their loyalty to the organization.
A manager’s listening ear can only go so far. Employees of any age may need access to mental health services. Making those resources available to team members gives you a competitive edge and a reputation as a caring employer. After spending significant resources on learning how to hire the right person, you must also commit to helping them achieve their professional goals and provide a workplace environment they’ll boast about to their friends.
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.