Recruitment - What you're really, really looking for

Imagine that you're a sports coach and you need a new player on the team. Would you walk up to someone in the street and say - "I want you to come and play for my team. I'll train you to become the best player in the country." Sounds a bit ridiculous doesn't it? What you'd probably do is watch players in other teams. On the other hand, you might decide to find some young player that you could develop for your team. So you'd spend some time looking for players in schools and colleges. What is it you're looking for when you're watching these young people or more established players? Is it experience of the game or perhaps an all round knowledge of how it should be played or even just a good all round player. All of these would be good to have but what you're really looking for is - talent! You're looking for that gift or flair or capacity to achieve your outcomes. If you're looking for a goal keeper, then you're looking for someone with that extra something that keeps the opposition from scoring. If you're looking for a shooter, or a winger or a quarter back then it's the same story, you're looking for talent. It doesn't really matter how long they've been a player or whether they have a great knowledge of the game - you just need them to produce results. It's no different when you're picking someone new for your team - you're looking for talent. And it's a different talent for every job. It could be: *The talent to strip down an engine and rebuild it in record time *The talent to make other people feel at ease *The talent to produce reports that are clear and easy to read *The talent to persuade people to buy your product or service Be absolutely clear what you need this person to do - keep in the forefront of your mind the outcomes that you'll be ultimately judged on. Use your talent, be happy It's important the person you employ is happy in their new job. Think for a moment about something you're good at, a talent that you have, something you can do better than lots of people. Do you enjoy doing whatever it is, does it make you happy? I'm sure it does. When people use their talent in their job - what they do best, it makes them happy. It makes the customer happy, it makes the boss happy and it makes the person more productive. Sad to say it's not like that out in the world. The Gallup Organisation did some research by asking millions of employees from countries throughout the world to respond to this statement - "At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day." The results were staggering; only 30% of employees were able to reply in the affirmative. And it's extremely unlikely that the remaining 70% will achieve world-class performance. If you want success in your business and in your team - Pick people for what they do best, what they have a talent for.