When recruiting new staff team fit is Critical.
When hiring for your company we look at many attributes a candidate brings to the table, high on our priority as Managing Directors or HR professionals it usually is their qualifications, their individual skill set and experience within the industry we work in. In an ideal world this would be enough, I am here to tell you that it isn’t.
Whenever we hire new people, we hire with the best intentions
For myself as a Managing Director I employ with the desire to see that new team member succeed. In most cases we are hiring for growth, our companies with good leadership expand and then evolve. With growth the next stage of the company’s capabilities creates more opportunities not only for the business but for our staff as well.
Growth in our business is always the desired outcome but what happens when, you have a team member who does not and will not embrace the changes you are putting in place for the company. The company you started and worked hard for, as a business owner the sacrifice you have made to become successful, the long 17-hour days, times missed with family and friends, you even had to work when you are genuinely unwell and I’m sorry but as a business owner, what is a weekend? As owners we just don’t stop.
What happens if a person in your team does not embrace change?
Left unchecked they will hold YOU and more importantly YOUR company back in more ways than one, this is detrimental to everything you have worked, lived and slogged your heart out for.
People who do not embrace change demonstrate the following attributes:
- Placing obstacles in the way resulting in delaying, what seems to be a relatively seamless process.
- They complain about the new team and the existing team, causing friction and any new process you have put in place.
- They disparage the company and the other team members to the clients and suppliers and to anyone who will listen.
- Aggressive tone in their voice
- They show a lack of respect towards the management.
- They will not follow process that are in place and in some cases, they will create their own process with the hopes that NO ONE will notices.
- They will do anything to disrupt harmony in the workplace,
- Some of the things they do to achieve this is being late for work, creating mess in the office for others to clean up, their lack of personal presentation is poor, all things to push you to react with emotion.
Do not fall into their game, you own the business, you make the decisions, and you have the right as the employer to expect your team to work towards the common goal of success.
By now you have likely guessed that I have experienced this myself. I learnt a valuable lesson form having this type of person in my team.
How we made a change to our team
I recently hired people to join my team who are incredible, they all stand behind the brand I have created. They believe in putting the company’s reputation first, ensuring my clients experience is seamless. I have built a business that is unique for our client needs and wants, we cater our business model to your business, we listen, and we achieve, and they all believe in my ethos to the full degree I do. All of this is true however I had one staff member who disliked the changes, who didn’t like the company growth and I couldn’t understand why so I as a Managing Director had to do my due diligence.
Some of my most motivated dedicated employees started to feel dissatisfied in our working environment to the point even questioning if they wanted to stay. I had to make things right. This was my responsibility; I must take accountability for the actions of what my staff do and how they were making others feel in my Company.
Firstly, I spoke with the affected team members. As Managers, we must display an even temperament with open communication then follow that up with action when required. I did not falter from our company rules, I asked the hard questions, I gave people a safe and trusted environment to openly communicate their frustrations assuring they felt heard, that way they could be completely honest with me, and I reassured them that what they were about to say would not cause them to feel insecure in their employment.
I listened and I mean actively listened to what they were saying. I watched their body language as every successful businessperson will tell you, words are one thing but how they are portrayed can either be with honest intentions or outright lies and body language shows those intentions far more than hearing the words, that is the true meaning of active listening.
I investigated the issues; I collected my facts, my evidence and for sure, I will always listen to the person who is the quiet achiever as opposed to the person who makes the loudest noise. As the saying goes “Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Noise.” If they are making a lot of noise, complaining and must be always right, I disagree with this I will put my bottom dollar; they are the problem.
I then acted accordingly and put in the required disciplinary action in place. How the person of interest responded was exactly as expected. The outcome also reflected this.
Our company employment contracts, company Induction and IT policies are the most important documents. I highly recommend your companies employment contracts have been written/created by your lawyer, this will save you the migraine that even Panadeine forte wont clear. Your company policies, inductions and IT policies need to be clear and given to every staff member sign.
In summary I go back to the start of my message, TEAM FIT IS CRITICAL. It is our responsibility to both ourselves for the efforts we make and take every day for our company to our staff who uphold our values and support our company growth to ensure we hire then if necessary, fire accordingly.
