When hiring a person or looking for a volunteer, we have a lot of decisions as leaders. The first item we need to do is look inward and ask the vital question of how much time you are willing to give up. To move our organization forward, we must be willing to give up our own time. If the answer is that you can’t give up any time, then you need to reevaluate the situation. There is no way as a leader you can bring on a direct report without devoting time to train, mentor, and prepare that person for success. How much time you can give up will help decide what skill level the person needs to have on day one! The answer to the above will also help you answer the next questions.
Before Posting the Job
Keeping in mind how much time you are willing to give up, one must answer the following set of questions before even posting the job:
- What are the skills that this person must possess on day one of their employment?
- What are your 1, 3, and 5-year goals for this position and the person in this position?
- What Skills can they learn over time?
Once you have answered the three questions above, you must lay out what that plan will look like and use this to create your job posting. It would be best if you also layout how you will get this person the skills they need to learn, as noted in the items listed from question 3 above. The answer can not just be, “I will teach them”! Even if that is the case, you need to layout the plan and curriculum to know your requirements!
After the Hire!
Lastly, after we hire or select the person who is the best fit, you need to prepare to pass the baton to them. Undoubtedly, you have employed them to lessen your organization’s stress or workload. The worst thing we can do is hire the person, but not work a plan to turn over duties to them! The best way to do this is by following the following points.
- Demonstrate:
- Not only give them the instructions of a task but demonstrate it for them. Often education is offered, but no demonstration. If we provide both, we have a higher chance of success.
- Experience:
- Let them gradually move into independence with each task and gain experience and slowly remove yourself from the workflow while still being available for questions. We should not give one day of training and tell the person, OK, that’s it and good luck!
- Assessment:
- We need to assess our teams and people continually. We need to give feedback on progress, both good and bad!
If we follow these steps and treat our individuals based on their future potential rather than their present status, we will have many successes.
ABC CVC Blog 