When it Comes to Making a Great Hire, the Intangibles Matter

When it comes to the success of your business, the best-fit people make all the difference.

Whether you’re hiring a manager, a line worker or a customer service representative, the intangibles – things like attitude, work ethic and integrity – can mean the difference between competence and exceptional performance.  Below are a few tips to help you determine and screen for key intangibles, so you can make a great hire:

• Define which intangibles are required for your corporate culture. A great candidate will provide maximum impact in a culture that naturally suits him.  To create the best fit, you must first understand your company’s own values and how a candidate should reflect them.  Develop a short list of traits that are critical for all company employees to possess.
• Determine which intangibles are most important for the position. Obviously, the essential traits for success in an outside sales position are vastly different from those in an administrative role.  Before you begin interviewing for any position, ascertain which intangible traits are required for success.  For example, does the individual need to be:
  – creative?
  – competitive?
  – compassionate?
  – able to perform under intense pressure?
  – a natural leader?
  – service oriented?
  – able to persuade and influence others?
  – detail oriented?
  For each trait you deem important, determine how much weight you should give to each when making a hiring decision.
• Benchmark and/or survey your top performers. In most cases, your employees who are most successful on the job have the right mix of both skills and intangible traits.  Define what makes them successful – beyond their skills and experience.  Ask them which traits they feel are required to thrive in both the available position and your organization’s culture.  Compare their answers with your own to round out your list of key intangibles.
• Ask the right questions. When choosing interview questions, select those that will reveal whether or not a candidate has the intangibles you’ve deemed essential.  Often referred to as behavioral interview questions, they operate on the principal that past behavior is the best predictor of how a candidate will perform on the job.
• Partner with a staffing service. As recruiting and interviewing experts, your staffing firm can offer useful clues about a candidate’s personality style, motivations and values.  Ask your recruiter to provide feedback about whether or not a promising candidate possesses the intangibles you require.  While only you can make the final decision about cultural fit, a staffing firm can be a valuable source of information to help you create the best match.

Successful Connections Start with Snelling

When you work with a staffing service, you should rightfully expect candidates to have the skills and experience required to do the job right.  At Snelling, however, we believe you deserve much more.  When we recruit and screen, we look beyond the basics for that “little something extra” – the intangibles that make a great, profitable hire.

Snelling Staffing Services is committed to helping your business thrive by creating great employment connections.  To us, it’s not just about hiring, it’s about hiring right.  What can Snelling do for you?