Want a high performing team? Stop telling yourself these stories (lies?) about hiring

All of a sudden I have a lot of clients who are hiring.

Hiring should be something to get excited by—you’ve got new clients! You have the opportunity to expand your team! But, more of my clients are dreading the hiring process rather than embracing it. Even though their teams are screaming at them for more help, I see them dragging their feet.

I sat one owner down to ask him about it and here’s (approximately) what he said…

“Brad, why should I be excited about expanding my team! Don’t I have enough problems with my current team?” OK, fair point. But if we hire well, adding team members might make the whole group easier to manage. Besides, not hiring what you need is only making them less manageable!

“I’m so busy right now; I don’t have time to hire!” This is a common problem. When we lose someone, we’re doing an extra job (hiring) while short-handed. When we’re growing, we’re managing lots of incoming business while also trying to hire. It’s a terrible juggling act!

“The process is daunting; I’d rather reach for a ‘sure thing’” “What’s a ‘sure thing’,” I ask. “Well, someone I know. A friend, someone I grew up with…” he replies. If that’s your idea of a “sure thing” I want to challenge you on that. Don’t hire someone you’re not willing or able to fire. Or if you don’t trust me, HBR has similar advice.

“I don’t hire a lot, so I always feel like I’m starting over — technology is changing — how do I keep up?” OK, now we’re getting somewhere. Hiring technology is always changing. Candidate behaviors are changing. And we need to have a hiring process that is flexible yet still produces consistent results. You are right, that is hard!

“Interviews are awkward and confusing! I don’t know what to say (or how to tell if he/she is good). What’s the point?” I understand where this comes from: we don’t get much if any, interview training during our careers, so interviewing is hard! It’s an enigma if you don’t have a process in place. An interview process that has a consistent track record of separating the pretenders from the contenders helps with this. It starts with written interview guides (more on that in my next message.)

All of these fears around hiring are process problems! Clear goals, a more structured process, and a different mindset can help you overcome these challenges and give you better people who will support you more. If you know, deep down, it is time to replace or expand your team, you have to start facing your fears about hiring dead on.

So tell me.

What are your concerns about hiring? What has your experience been? What makes you cringe when you think about hiring? I really want to hear back from you—would you do me the favor of hitting reply and letting me know? Just off the top of your head what makes you anxious or apprehensive about hiring?

On Thursday, I’ll give you my best hiring advice (don’t miss it).