Recruiters get to have the inside scoop on many things from why people are fired to how they get hired, who is going out of business, and who is getting ready to hire a new fleet of people. We’re in the industry of passion, ego, money, and meaning all converging. When we see something or someone impressive, it stands out.
Recently I had a conversation with a client who hired an interim VP. He came in and made some changes that drastically improved the business in a very short amount of time. What did he do? One thing. He focused on in-depth training of new hires and promotions.
This led me to realize just how many times we hear about a lack of support from a new hire, and the other myriad issues that make those first 90 days break.
Here are 4 reasons why your new hire failed:
Like our aforementioned Interim VP friend knows, training can be everything. We hear many clients talk about wanting “self-starters” and someone that “wears many hats” and that is great. But that doesn’t mean you just throw them to the wolves. The stronger the foundation you give, the stronger your new hire will be out of the gates. This is also an insurance policy against wondering what happened if they do fail. Know with confidence that you taught everything you know to everyone on the team.
It may not seem like a big deal, but there tends to be two camps when it comes to the style of company someone does best in. There’s the corporate person who likes structure and order, who likes defined roles and deadlines. Then there’s the small business person who does better with a fast pace, getting to be creative, and dipping their toe into many different roles. No matter how much of a skill-set match, that company size match makes a huge impact.
It’s fairly hard to keep ambiguity when working with a tech recruiter or otherwise (we like details), but we do hear this quite a bit, “the role changed and now they want me to ______”. You promise one thing, and then ask for another. We’ve had a few candidates that took new jobs with the promise of zero travel and yet on week one they get asked to travel, and three weeks later it’s become part of the job. Or there’s promise of working with senior management and instead they have to take on a team. The list goes on and on, but make sure when you’re bringing on a new hire that you stick to what you’ve offered them – especially when it’s with someone who left another job to come serve your company.
A cultural fit should be at least 50% of all hiring decisions. You always want to hire someone that you like spending time with, it’s as simple as that. Even for the most senior person who is incredibly talented at what they do, you need 50% of the hiring decision to be based on a good culture fit. If it’s a lower level hire, a more green candidate (or a young person), then the hiring decision should be close to 90% culture fit, because skill will come but personalities are hard to change.
After over a decade of hearing about why people change jobs, want new jobs, or would never leave a job, these things stand out. Sometimes “it’s not you, it’s me” really is the reason things don’t work. As
top engineering recruiters, we’ve seen it day in and day out, but being aware of these dynamics should help in making the right pick for your business.
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