Last week, we featured the second piece in a series from Susan Dawson, Chief People Officer at Silverchair Information Systems, and a CNE board member. This week, we present to you the final installment.
In the first two sections of this series, I talked about, checking your assumptions and flexing your process. Lastly, I’d like to share how you can ensure you get what you need and want.
Get Technical
Technical assessments are a great way to see if your candidate has what it takes to do the job. I’ve heard people say technical assessments are challenging for non-technical jobs, and I respectfully disagree. All jobs have a level of technical expertise required. For example, hiring an office manager, an assessment might look like having the candidate prioritize incoming tasks and reviewing how they would respond to sample questions from board members, executives, customers, etc.
Check for Fit
Beyond technical questions and assessments to sort if the candidate is qualified, consider your organization’s culture and values. Be careful: don’t mistake “cultural fit” to mean hiring someone who looks like you, or who will not challenge you or the organization. Rather consider, what matters about how people ‘show up’ every day?
For example: Is a high degree of resiliency needed? Do you want people who think fast on their feet? Do you have a culture of learning? Are you trying to change something within your culture — what would the ideal behavior be?
When you know what matters, think backwards to behaviors and skills employees would need to have to help you realize that vision. Ask questions to elicit how people will respond to different situations.
I hope these tips help you get the best and brightest.
Susan Dawson
CNE Board Member