HR & Recruiting Tip of the Month

Traditional job descriptions are little more than a list of skills and qualifications a hiring manager believes a candidate needs to succeed in the job. But, there are no guarantees that a candidate who possesses these skills and credentials will be able to perform the role successfully. 

A better way to accurately predict a candidate’s success in a future role with your company is to examine what they achieved with their skills and credentials in the past.

That’s why focusing on performance goals makes far more sense. If you follow this simple two-step process, you’ll broaden your pool of qualified candidates, improve your, and the candidate’s, interview experience, and most importantly make a better hire than using a traditional job description. At DK Cole, we call this building a "success profile."

You should be able to identify 4-6 performance goals for every position. These goals should be very specific and measurable with estimated timelines. 

For a production-oriented employee, you will want to list the key functions and outcomes the candidate must successfully perform on a daily basis.  For example, an estimator’s goal may be to prepare an average of 1-2 estimates per day, utilizing your chosen estimating software. For an executive, you’ll want to identify key goals they will be expected to achieve at key points in the first year. For example, a CFO’s goal might be to implement a new accounting system before year end or improve work in progress reporting in the first 90 days.

If you are having difficulty identifying specific performance goals, here are a few simple questions to ask yourself.    

·         What behaviors will I observe or goals will be accomplished in 90, 180, and 360 days that clearly shows me that I hired the right person? 

·         What are the behaviors that I know separate a top employee in this role from an average one? For example, what are the important behaviors or activities my current top superintendents do every day that make them successful?

·         How will I evaluate whether a candidate brings the right attitude and has the chemistry to fit into our organization and the job role quickly and successfully?

Once you document those 4-6 performance goals, build your interviews around them. Do this and you will have

 a perfect road map to increase your chances of a successful hire. 

Remember, these questions should not remain static over time. Factors change. Adjust your questions accordingly.   

Be sure to share selection process with others in your organization. This will help increase the quality of all your company’s new hires. There is no better way to make your company more competitive and profitable.