Latest / Enhance.training / 5 Steps to get the Right People Doing the Right Job
Transcript
- 0:00SPEAKER_00: Getting the right people doing the right job, as every manager knows, is one of the crucial steps for success for the team, for the business, and for you.
- 0:10SPEAKER_00: And it's one of the toughest jobs to consistently get right, which is why, as managers, we are always struggling with how to make this crucial task easier.
- 0:19SPEAKER_00: I take you through five steps that should make getting the right people doing the right jobs easier and help drive your success.
- 0:26SPEAKER_00: The five steps are firstly exactly what is the right job, secondly, who are the right people for this role, third, winning the internal talent fight, fourth, hiring the right people, and then fifth, getting the right people doing the right job.
- 0:43SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles and I've had a 25-year management career in corporates and household names through to SMEs.
- 0:50SPEAKER_00: Get the right people doing the right jobs and doing them well, and you are halfway to your next managerial promotion.
- 0:56SPEAKER_00: Matching the right skills and personalities to the right roles and tasks is certainly a skill that gets better with practice.
- 1:04SPEAKER_00: Do practice.
- 1:05SPEAKER_00: If you're new to this podcast, Enhance.training shares business and people management expertise to help you improve your performance and that of your team and business.
- 1:14SPEAKER_00: Do visit us at enhance.training and take a look at the courses and resources for you to improve your management skills and the outcomes that your team delivers.
- 1:24SPEAKER_00: The first step to get the right people doing the right job is to work out exactly what is the right job.
- 1:32SPEAKER_00: You might be thinking this is an obvious step, and I would agree with you.
- 1:36SPEAKER_00: And I know so few managers really spend the time thinking through what is needed in the role.
- 1:41SPEAKER_00: I've done it myself and regretted it.
- 1:44SPEAKER_00: I've seen too many managers jump in without enough thought and they have not been happy with the results they got.
- 1:50SPEAKER_00: I promise you that any time you spend really working out exactly what the right job is will be an amazing investment.
- 1:57SPEAKER_00: You are less likely to have poor performance, recruit a dud, move the wrong person into the role, or spend hours tearing your hair out in frustration.
- 2:06SPEAKER_00: So challenge yourself to answer questions like, you know, firstly, is this job about maintaining the status quo or changing or improving it?
- 2:15SPEAKER_00: Secondly, where does this job sit on the range of lots of routine, repeatable tasks all the way through to constantly changing problems to solve?
- 2:24SPEAKER_00: Third, what metrics and goals need to be hit for you to judge that the role is being done successfully?
- 2:31SPEAKER_00: Fourth, what are the key responsibilities and deliverables for the job?
- 2:35SPEAKER_00: Fifth, what are the essential tasks and which are the nice to have tasks?
- 2:40SPEAKER_00: 6.
- 2:41SPEAKER_00: Which stakeholders, internal and external, does this job have to work with and what is needed for success?
- 2:48SPEAKER_00: Seventh, what skills are needed to smash this role out of the park?
- 2:52SPEAKER_00: 8.
- 2:53SPEAKER_00: Will this role change over time?
- 2:55SPEAKER_00: You know, for instance in a growing company?
- 2:58SPEAKER_00: And what skills will be needed in the future?
- 3:00SPEAKER_00: Or is this job likely to be fairly static, you know, say in a mature business?
- 3:05SPEAKER_00: 9.
- 3:06SPEAKER_00: What development opportunities are there in this role?
- 3:09SPEAKER_00: What career path might the right people for the job be on?
- 3:13SPEAKER_00: And ten, how attractive is this role for internal and external candidates?
- 3:19SPEAKER_00: Don't think high level or in generalities.
- 3:22SPEAKER_00: Try to dig into the detail as much as you're able to.
- 3:25SPEAKER_00: This is where the real value comes from in defining the role clearly.
- 3:29SPEAKER_00: The clearer you are about the role you are offering, the better you'll be at getting the right people doing the right job.
- 3:36SPEAKER_00: Write down the answers to the above questions or any other relevant questions that you think you need to answer and try to create a job profile from your answers.
- 3:45SPEAKER_00: The very task of writing a profile will help your thinking.
- 3:49SPEAKER_00: The right people will jump at the chance to do the right job.
- 3:52SPEAKER_00: The wrong people will probably run a mile.
- 3:55SPEAKER_00: This self-selection process is so much easier to go through before a person has actually started the role.
- 4:01SPEAKER_00: A big reason for people leaving a role soon after joining is the actual role was quite different from how it was sold to them.
- 4:08SPEAKER_00: Paint a detailed, accurate picture.
- 4:11SPEAKER_00: And of course, things will change over time.
- 4:14SPEAKER_00: Anticipate the changes that you can and worry about the pace of change rather than the change itself.
- 4:20SPEAKER_00: Work with what you know today.
- 4:23SPEAKER_00: The second step to get the right people doing the right job is to work out who the right people are for the role.
- 4:30SPEAKER_00: Before picking up the phone to your favourite recruiter or inviting the colleague you want to join your team for a coffee, take a bit of time thinking about what type of person will be successful in the role you've now defined.
- 4:43SPEAKER_00: There are so many factors in choosing the right people to do the right job.
- 4:48SPEAKER_00: Think about the characteristics and the fits before thinking about the hard or technical skills.
- 4:54SPEAKER_00: Some of the things to consider when looking for the right people are.
- 4:58SPEAKER_00: What aspirations should the right person have to fit in with the role that is being offered?
- 5:04SPEAKER_00: What intelligence level does the right person need in order to learn quickly enough?
- 5:10SPEAKER_00: Or be happy with a more routine role, for instance?
- 5:13SPEAKER_00: What sort of energy levels will the right person need to keep up with and overcome the demands of the job?
- 5:20SPEAKER_00: What drive and motivation does the right person need in order to match what the job requires and what you have available to give in terms of support and encouragement?
- 5:30SPEAKER_00: How ambitious should the right person be to enjoy doing the role for the period of time that you have in mind?
- 5:36SPEAKER_00: What other characteristics should the right person have?
- 5:44SPEAKER_00: Work out the list.
- 5:46SPEAKER_00: And finally, what technical know-how or qualifications will they need to enable them to do the job?
- 5:52SPEAKER_00: Having a clear profile of the type of person makes any conversation with potential internal candidates or recruitment consultants so much easier.
- 6:02SPEAKER_00: A clear profile also makes your job of finding the right people and keeping them a lot easier too.
- 6:08SPEAKER_00: We may have an ideal profile, yet one of the biggest challenges to overcome is to find people with that profile or something close to the profile we want.
- 6:17SPEAKER_00: And there are other times when we are just not sure of who will be interested in the job.
- 6:22SPEAKER_00: Or a person with a different profile appears to be a great fit for unexpected reasons.
- 6:27SPEAKER_00: Keep an open mind and get clear on who the right people might be for the job.
- 6:32SPEAKER_00: Both will help you fill the role with the right person.
- 6:36SPEAKER_00: The third step to get the right people doing the right job is winning the internal talent fight.
- 6:42SPEAKER_00: You've worked out exactly what the right job is and you have a clear profile of the right person to be successful in the role.
- 6:49SPEAKER_00: And Jill in Procurement or Ted in Supply Chain seem a very close match to what you want, and the role will be a good next step for them in their careers.
- 6:59SPEAKER_00: When you make a few inquiries, you quickly find out that two other departments also want Jill and Ted for different types of roles, which would also be good for their careers.
- 7:08SPEAKER_00: You have a number of people to persuade if you're going to get them into your team.
- 7:13SPEAKER_00: Firstly, Jill and Ted, of course.
- 7:16SPEAKER_00: Secondly, their respective manager, third, the head of function in which they sit, fourth, the HR person, and fifth, possibly even the management team.
- 7:24SPEAKER_00: You know who this list should be.
- 7:26SPEAKER_00: Work out exactly who you need to chat to first.
- 7:29SPEAKER_00: You know the politics in your company.
- 7:31SPEAKER_00: Do you speak to the individuals first or should you check in with their manager first?
- 7:36SPEAKER_00: In my experience, finding out if the individuals are interested as quickly as possible is essential and it saves you a lot of wasted conversations.
- 7:46SPEAKER_00: If they're interested in working in your team and in the role offered, then you are halfway there.
- 7:52SPEAKER_00: If you don't know them that well, invite them out for lunch or to a few coffees and get to know them and vice versa.
- 7:58SPEAKER_00: The strength of your professional relationship with each person on the list to influence is going to count, as will the business case for moving the individuals and the opportunity for development along the chosen career path for those individuals.
- 8:13SPEAKER_00: If you tickle these boxes better than other managers or departments, you should get a new team member.
- 8:19SPEAKER_00: Call in the favours owed to you and invite each person on your list for a coffee and persuade them to back your case.
- 8:26SPEAKER_00: If you don't get the person this time, then work on your relationships with colleagues and your reputation as a manager within the business so you'll get the person next time.
- 8:35SPEAKER_00: The fourth step to get the right people doing the right job is to hire the right people.
- 8:42SPEAKER_00: If there is no suitable internal staff members and assuming you have the budget, start looking externally to hire the right people into the role.
- 8:50SPEAKER_00: A clearly defined role and target profile of the person that you want will massively help the internal recruiter or recruitment consultant find the right person for you.
- 8:59SPEAKER_00: If you are advertising and sifting through CVs yourself, be prepared to invest significant time into the process.
- 9:05SPEAKER_00: And don't forget to ask your network of contacts too.
- 9:09SPEAKER_00: The process of selecting a suitable person and enticing them to accept a job offer is another challenge.
- 9:16SPEAKER_00: Some general tips for this process include Interviews of course remain the mainstay of most companies' hiring processes, they're a really time-efficient way to narrow down the field of candidates.
- 9:28SPEAKER_00: Think about as well auditioning rather than interviewing, which is a great way of selecting the right people, i.e.
- 9:34SPEAKER_00: getting them to do the role for a short while or an exercise over a few hours so you can evaluate their skills in action.
- 9:41SPEAKER_00: The third tip is to focus on the fit.
- 9:44SPEAKER_00: You know how well will they work with your team and yourself.
- 9:48SPEAKER_00: Put fit before technical skills.
- 9:50SPEAKER_00: You can teach technical skills, you can't really change a personality.
- 9:55SPEAKER_00: Fourth, make sure as part of your hiring process they get to meet the team and spend some time with them.
- 10:01SPEAKER_00: These team relationships will be very important in the future.
- 10:04SPEAKER_00: Fifth, pay attention to the questions that they ask during the process, as these reveal a lot about their interests and keenness on the role.
- 10:13SPEAKER_00: And sixth, set out your expectations clearly for the role so they don't have any surprises once they join.
- 10:19SPEAKER_00: Go with your gut as well as making a reasoned choice when it comes to hiring the right people.
- 10:26SPEAKER_00: The fifth step is getting the right people doing the right job.
- 10:30SPEAKER_00: So you have the right people in what you think is the right position.
- 10:34SPEAKER_00: Brilliant.
- 10:35SPEAKER_00: Don't put your feet up yet, your job is not over.
- 10:38SPEAKER_00: Create the best conditions you can to ensure the right people can actually do the right job you need them to do.
- 10:45SPEAKER_00: Some of the areas you should think about, you know, firstly, support your team members with coaching, mentoring, bouncing ideas around and any other help that sets them up to do the best job they can.
- 10:56SPEAKER_00: Secondly, protect them and the rest of your team from the ups and downs created from demands on the team, from vested interests, from politics, etc.
- 11:05SPEAKER_00: Third, keep the team motivated and focused, providing them with clear direction that is tied into the goals of the function and the company.
- 11:14SPEAKER_00: Fourth, give team members honest, open feedback so they can get better at what they do and they also know what they're doing well.
- 11:21SPEAKER_00: Fifth, praise where it's due and praise often.
- 11:25SPEAKER_00: Positive reinforcement really works and everyone likes to know what they are doing well.
- 11:30SPEAKER_00: Recognition is an important motivating factor for most people, and the lack of it is a top reason cited by levers.
- 11:38SPEAKER_00: Keep working hard to get the best out of each of your team members, and all the efforts you put in will be rewarded with better team performance and a happier team, which in turn helps you as their manager in many ways.
- 11:51SPEAKER_00: So there you have five key steps to getting the right people doing the right role.
- 11:56SPEAKER_00: Don't be afraid to move people around within your team or change responsibilities or mix roles up to make the best use of the skills that you have available to you.
- 12:05SPEAKER_00: As a reminder, the five steps are firstly exactly what is the right job, secondly, who are the right people for this role, thirdly, winning the internal talent fight, fourth, hiring the right people, and fifth, getting the right people doing the right job.
- 12:22SPEAKER_00: Do visit us at enhanced.training and take a look at the courses and resources for you to improve your management skills and the outcomes that your team delivers.
- 12:33SPEAKER_00: And if you have any questions, please drop me an email at support at enhanced.training and I'll get back to you.
- 12:40SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.