how to hire & inspire the right workforce in 2015

How to Hire and Inspire the Right WorkforceTom Morley, President, Snowflake Llc

www.highroadsolution.com

Today’s Content LeaderTom MorleyPresident, Snowflake LLC• Strategy, organization, and

people subject matter expert• 17 years consulting to leaders

in all sectors, US and abroad• Twitter: @snowflakellc


The Challenge, Simplified

InspireHireIdentify

Right

• Different world, different resources• People = Strategy’s limiting factor• Fit is as important as skills• New and existing staff have to be

inspired

Inspiring


Inspiring the Workforce

InspireHireIdentify

If you can’t keep your best people inspired, there’s no point in hiring them.• They won’t deliver what you want• They’ll get frustrated• They’ll take you down with them


Motivated vs. InspiredThe motivated individual:• Primarily driven by objectives• Will do what it takes, including changeThe inspired employee is motivated, plus:• Primarily driven by the mission• Confident in ability to make impact• Enthusiastic champion of the brand• Constantly looking for ways to improve• Collaborating with and inspiring others


What Motivates?• Emotion• Values• History----------------------------• Compensation• Incentives• Status• Opportunity


What Inspires?• Influence• Direction• Participation• Independence• Interaction• Presentation• Recognition


How You Can Inspire• Impact – Expectations, demonstration• Direction – Strategy, transparency, milestones• Independence – Trust, macro-management• Interaction –

– Quality – Hiring, development, “boundarylessness”– Opportunity – Meetings, events, work groups

• Participation – Roles, projects, inclusion• Visibility – Responsibilities, forums • Recognition – Incentives, publicity


Unscientific M-I Life Cycle

UnmotivatedMotivated

MaxedOut

Up to Speed

Resu

lts

Time

Inspir

ed

Effects


Losing Inspiration – CausesInspiration wanes when people: • Don’t see how what they do makes a

difference• Feel abandoned by managers• Think they’re not trusted• Don’t respect managers or colleagues• Feel consistently ignored or stifled• Don’t know what others are doing• Aren’t recognized for contributions


Losing Inspiration – Effects“Lost inspiration”…worse than “never inspired”:• Good employees get frustrated, “check out”• Like inspiration, disaffection is infectious• Service delivery – and brand image – suffer • Eventually, the best employees leave• Short- and long-term employer brand effects


Inspiring the “Wrong” PeopleGiven a mandate, the “wrong” people will be quickly frustrated and sow discontent.• Criticize but don’t give constructive ideas• Under-informed, but act as experts• Constantly do things their own way• Disrespectful to managers and colleagues• Overzealous and won’t pick their battles• Inaccurately represent the brand


For Consideration“Great [organizations] don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them… unless you give

motivated people something to believe in, they will motivate

themselves to find a new job and you’ll be stuck with whoever’s left.”


Inspiration TakeawaysFive lessons you should learn:1. Hire the “right” people2. Prepare the ground3. Channel energies4. Attend to the conditions5. Weed out the unmotivated

Hiring


Hiring Who You Want

InspireHireIdentify

If you can’t hire people the people you want in your organization, who you do hire:• Won’t be able to do what you need• Probably won’t last long…• …but long enough to disrupt culture


Hiring’s Most Basic Elements• Engage target populations

– Geography, demographics, industries, degrees, etc.

• Attract qualified individuals– For specific defined jobs

• Convert interest into actual hires– The people you determine are “most right”

• On-board new employees– Arguably, last stage – completes the hire


Isn’t “Personnel” Responsible?• Human Resources (HR), managers, and

staff all have responsibilities– Need for an integrated approach – no “hand-

offs”– You’re recruiting with every interaction– The interview is a key hiring tool

• Recruiters need to be specialists– Consultants to you– Knowledgeable of the business

• Consider outsourcing portions


Engaging Target Populations• Develop “latent interest” relationships

– Broad – Informational campaigns or events– Focused – Individual, direct outreach– In-bound – Forum to exchange information

• Be honest– Highlight the “selling points” for the targets– Include key challenges

• You’re feeding off delivery– Consistency with the “product” story– Mirror member/prospect interactions


Attracting the Interest You Want• Use what they’re using • Encourage self-selection, but don’t

exclude the people you’re after– Job announcements are critical– Build on latent interest– Give them a place to go for information

• Find them, and let them find you• Highlight the appealing factors


Emphasizing the Appeal• Four main categories to draw from

– Compensation– Development– Intangibles– Conditionals

• Different combinations for different groups• Remember what inspires• Make sure you can deliver!


Converting to the Hire You Want• Knowledgeable recruiters!

– Candidate finders– Screening net– Initial impression

• Transition relationship• Interview process

– You’re selling you, they’re selling them– Involve multiple levels of staff– Case studies and simulations

• Close the deal


Hiring “Fails”What if you don’t get the people you want? • Cost of “doing it over”• “Wrong” people

– Tendency to settle, without a plan– What you asked may not be what you wanted

• Downstream cost of attrition and replacement– Inability to meet expectations– Can apply to employee and organization


For ConsiderationWhat’s this “people you want”

stuff? I thought you were going to tell us where to find,

how to hire, and how to inspire the “right” people? Is that universal, or something

we have to define?


Hiring TakeawaysFive lessons to learn about hiring • Every interaction is a sales pitch• It pays to be accurate and honest• Build relationships throughout the process• You can’t hire “right” if you don’t define

“right”• If you define “right”, you’ll know where to

look

The “Right” People


Defining Who’s “Right” for You

InspireHireIdentify

If you don’t take the time to correctly define who’s “right” for your organization, you’ll:• Hire the wrong people• Inspire the wrong people• Start a lasting cycle of mediocrity, at best


Who are the “Right” People• Some general characteristics

– Can do the work as you’ve defined it– Fit your existing culture, or consistent with changes– Are affordable and the best use of resources– Are motivated – or inspired – by what you offer

• Different for every organization, e.g.:– Size, budget– Culture, flexibility– Management capacity– Type of work– Time in the organization’s “life”


Skills

Defining and Organizing Work

WorkStrategy

Key Roles

Levels


Environment ParametersWhat are the conditions?• Budget• Culture• Work Rules• Management Capacity• Facilities• Infrastructure• Image


First Cut

Who’s “Right” for the Jobs?

Profile, e.g.:- Knowledge- Experience- Attributes- Pay Range- Interests- Objectives

Conditions

Labor Market(Internal and

External) In ContextCulture


Do the “Right” People Exist?

Profile, e.g.:- Knowledge- Experience- Attributes- Pay Range- Interests- Objectives

Conditions

Labor Market(Internal and

External)

Limiting Factors- Skills- Money- Location- Flexibilities- Incentives- Ambitions- Other

Labor Market Analysis


Addressing Limiting FactorsThere are many potential options• Pay more – beware of impacts• Change conditions• Expand labor market• Hire down and train – look internally• Reallocate responsibilities and skills to other

jobs• Outsource part of the work• Offload the entire role• Consider partnerships• Reassess your strategy


For ConsiderationIs it always possible for you to hire the “right” person for a

position you’re seeking to fill?


For ConsiderationCan you turn the less-than-

ideal “best available” candidate into the “right”

person?


What About Who We Have?How to deal with existing staff• Inclusion

– Are they “right” or “wrong” for your future?• Hard decisions

– What’s best for both?– Voluntary vs. involuntary separation– Outplacement services– Maintaining a connection


Takeaways – Defining “Right”Six things to remember about the “right” people• Strategy drives skills, but it’s not always

possible• Time and effort to define is worth the

investment• Profile the entire ideal employee• You may need to change to attract the “right”

people• Consider associated impacts of specific

decisions• Existing staff are opportunities, challenges

Hiring and Inspiring the “Right People”


Summary – Key TakeawaysThe least you should remember…• Hire to inspire• Inspiring is a continuous process• Make sure you can evaluate• Hiring “right” requires knowing “right”• Remember organizational context• Take the time to define• It starts with the strategy


More InformationResourcesGet the people you need: Learn how creative, labor market-aligned, need-based resourcing can help you overcome your hiring problemswww.snowflakellc.com/resources/#insights

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how to hire & inspire the right workforce in 2015

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