What’s The BEST Way to Get Engaged Employees? Hire Them!
According to Gallup, employee engagement barely improved in 2014 and only 31.5% of the U.S. workforce are engaged. There are many different initiatives to drive employee engagement, but how many organizations are looking at their hiring process to improve engagement? If we can improve our hiring process and work towards hiring more engaged employees who fit the company culture, perhaps we can make a bigger dent in increasing engagement levels moving forward.
What Should You Be Hiring For?
No, I’m talking about the position. What type of person are you looking for? A great way to determine this is by looking at some of the high performers in your organization and come up with a list of the behaviors and traits they have. This list of combined behaviors and traits will help you determine the type of person you should be hiring. Some examples could be: enthusiastic, team oriented, optimistic, and shows a passion for learning. Determining the behaviors and traits of the people you’d like to hire will also help you weed out who you shouldn’t be hiring. Simply create a list of the behaviors and traits that you associate with low performers, and avoid candidates that display those qualities. Some example behaviors and traits that you may want to avoid include: negative, egocentric, and shows a “me first” attitude.
Use the BEST Model to Hire Engaged Employees
BEST is an acronym to help managers hire employees who have the Behaviors, Educations, Skills, and Traits that would be the best fit for the position as well as the organization. Let’s take a look at each individually:
- Behaviors are demonstrated through performance, actions, and conduct. For example, remaining calm under pressure.
- Education is the information and knowledge an employee knows. For example, a degree or certification.
- Skills are related to a person’s ability to function in a job. For example, proficient in Microsoft Excel.
- Traits are the characteristics that define personal nature. For example, honesty, accountability or introversion/extroversion.
People can continuously update their education and skill to fit a position, or they can be developed further while in the position. Behaviors and traits are much harder to change than education and skills; hiring someone who has the desired behaviors and traits will help you hire engaged employees and overall increase employee engagement at your organization.
Be Proactive and Hire the BEST Employees Now!
Successful organizations are always looking for potential candidates, especially as the race for talent speeds up as we come out of an economic downturn. If you wait until there is an opening to begin the recruitment process, you are possibly creating more problems for yourself – you may not have the time needed to find the right candidate. If you are proactive in your hiring practices it means you are planning ahead and growth is a part of your strategy; you’re developing a culture with engaged employees. Proactively seeking out talented employee who will thrive in your culture will help your organization move towards higher levels of employee engagement.
Remember, we tend to hire for education and skills, yet we fire them for their behaviors and traits. Can you afford to hire while not using the BEST Approach?
-Kaitlyn Carr, Organizational Development Specialist @emplyengagement @kacarr789
