~3-5 minute read~
We are coming up on a new year, and we all know what that means. It's time for us to come up with our resolutions, those patterns of behavior we resolve to change to make our lives better. ...And we mean it this year!
But we all know, there is a big difference between writing down our resolutions and actually implementing them. As an example, consider this statistic: of the millions of people who will join a gym in the month of January, 80% of them will drop their membership or abandon their attendance within 5 months. That's 4 out of every 5 people.
Others will pledge to stop smoking, quit overeating, get more/better sleep, etc, all with similar results.
What that tells us about our behavior is that even when we want to change our behavior, it is difficult. Even small changes in our habits take a few weeks to become regular (the '21 day rule'), and a complex or well-ingrained pattern (such as how we make decisions, relate to other people, or our disposition toward rules) can take months and months to change.
So what does that mean for your business?
For one, think about how you hire. In my experience, what normally happens is we screen with a resume, do an interview that asks a few questions about past experience, and then move on. There are other pressing issues on your plate as a business owner, and you've got to get someone quickly.
What's the worst that can happen, right? 'We can fix it with training.' By training, what people generally mean is the four hour orientation, or two days of shadowing.
That's just not going to be possible. Behaviors are like a large ship: the way it stops and changes course is by making a series of small changes over a period of time.
What's needed is someone whose natural behaviors fit the needs of the job!
That's the next point: think about what kinds of behaviors the job needs. We have to define the job before we find the person.
Their experience can give you some data, generally ideas about their technical capacity: do they know relevant systems or regulations, can they answer phones, can they develop websites, etc. But it can't tell you how they are normally going to act.
Because jobs are done by humans and grow out of jobs done by humans, they generally have a behavioral profile. And since we've already established that it is hard and time consuming to change our behaviors, it's important to match the needs of the job to the behaviors of the potential hire.
This, in turn, reduces turnover. The cost of turnover is tremendous, wasting people's time and energy and interrupting operations. It also impacts morale, as employees see people leave constantly, and if it's happening at a higher level (such as a manager or executive level) it is a structural threat to your business.
The key is to know what the ideal behaviors are for the job you are filling, as well as the applicant. You need a reliable tool that can give you real data so you can make a more informed decision. Our behaviors assessment can give you that insight. To improve your hiring process and reduce turnover, it is an ideal solution.
We can help you - connect with us today to get started!