Strengths-Based Selection (WT711)

Strengths-Based Selection (WT711)

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by Shirley Dalton | 9 Feb, 2024 | Blog, Business

WT 711 Strengths-Based Selection

This week we’re back on the topic of recruitment.

It seems that recruitment and retention is the biggest challenge for businesses at the moment so I thought I would share a couple of tips with you.

  1. REACH profiling
  2. Skills assessment

I use the REACH profiling system because it is a comprehensive ecosystem.

Not only does it provide a number of different reports such as Personal, Communication and Leadership, we can also generate an Interview Companion.

The Interview Companion is gold. It is based on “strengths-based selection”.

In other words, we want to hire people in roles that are suited to their strengths.

We know that interview is the least reliable form of recruitment because applicants tell us what they think we want to hear.

The Interview Companion helps us to clarify the strengths we want for each role, which makes it very easy to see if the candidates’ strengths match the role.

The second tip is to assess the skills either before, during or after the interview.

If touch typing is important for the role, you can test this at https://10fastfingers.com.

If spelling, grammar and formatting skills are important, you can test that too.

Perhaps you need someone who can get their way around Excel. Ask them to complete a couple of tasks in Excel. You’ll soon see how well they can use it, as well as how they interpret instructions.

It’s okay to assess the candidate’s skills, if it’s important to you that they come with skills.

Some companies are happy to train and they need to test for attitude and aptitude. One way to test attitude is to invite the candidate to come to work with you for a few hours or a day.  They get paid, it’s not for free, however it gives you an opportunity to see whether they have initiative.

It allows you to see how they communicate with and relate to team members and customers.

Determining the assessments and criteria can be quite easy if you have taken the time to be clear on what you want from the role and have worked out the K.E.S.A.Q. required for the role.

  1. Knowledge
  2. Experience
  3. Skills
  4. Attitude
  5. Qualifications

And the third and final tip is “don’t be desperate”.  When you’re desperate, you’ll most likely hire the wrong person and then end up having to do it all over again within a few months.

P. S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

Shirl Wants One (WT525)

Shirl Wants One (WT525)

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by Shirley Dalton | 17 Jun, 2022 | Blog, Leadership

WT 625 Shirl wants one

Firstly, congratulations to our lucky winners from last week, where we celebrated 12 years of thoughts and welcome to our new subscribers.

Last week I attended the Lake Macquarie Women in Business Network and gave a presentation on How Your Personality Affects How Well You Lead.

It was a lot of fun with a great group of ladies.

We went through the REACH profiles and had a giggle at some of the differences.

This week’s thought continues the theme, however I didn’t find the example I’m about to share, as funny.

Here’s what happened:

Ross has a mate whose mum has dementia and yet she is still able to sew. She makes beautiful little zippered bags for your cosmetics or coins etc. and some lovely bags to hold your pegs, which clip onto your clothesline.

Ross’ mate was visiting his mum on the long weekend.

I asked Ross if he could call his mate and ask if his mum had any more peg bags.

I overheard Ross leaving a message for his mate.

“Has your mum got any more peg bags? Shirl wants one.”

Cringe!

“Wow! That is such a Driver comment”, I said to Ross.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Straight to the point. No niceties, no rapport, no manners”, I replied.

“What’s wrong with that?” he said. “You do want one.”

“Yes. I do want one, however that’s not the way I would have asked.”

“So what would you have said”, he challenged.

“I would have shown appreciation for him and his mum. For example, hey Shane, Shirl really loves those peg bags that your mum makes. She was wondering if she has some, could you please bring one back for her.”

“There’s no need for all that”, says Ross. “You want one. I asked.”

Oh dear!  That’s an example of the difference between a Driver personality and a Coach personality.

At the end of the day, I suppose neither is right or wrong. We are just different. The important thing is to use the right “language” for the right personality.

How would you have asked? What would you have said?

P.S.  Early Bird Discount, (saving up to $1500) for our August Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience ends on 30th June. More info here:https://shirleydalton.com/leading-yourself-leading-others-may2020/

P.P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

I’m Not Interested in Your Personal Life (WT523)

I’m Not Interested in Your Personal Life (WT523)

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by Shirley Dalton | 3 Jul, 2020 | Blog, Business

WT523 I’m Not Interested in Your Personal Life

You’ve heard me mention the REACH profiling system a number of times. This week, I was privileged to see one of the profiles in action.

I was talking with a new acquaintance who was explaining his philosophy on hiring and working with staff.

“I can’t stand it,” he said. “I hired this person and every morning I had to waste an hour while we talked about her kids, the dogs, what she did on the weekend, etc. before she would start work.”

I smiled to myself as I thought, “Wow! This is typical Driver behaviour”.

“And if that wasn’t enough,” he continued, “I then had to thank her for everything she had done that day and waste another 30 minutes while she told me what she was going to do after work.”

The Driver profile is interested in results. They are quick to take action, often making decisions with their gut. They don’t get small talk. If you understand the Driver, you’ll be less offended. They are “driven” to get results. We need Drivers. Without them, not much gets done.

The Advisor profile is similar to a Driver in that they are more focussed on tasks than people, however, they like to take their time to plan and organise things and are very methodical. You can’t rush an Advisor. Imagine then an Advisor and a Driver. The Driver wants to go, go, go and the Advisor says, “No, no, no, not yet. Have you thought about….? Have you considered …..?”  Advisors are our risk mitigators.

Counsellors and Coaches are focussed on people. Coaches want to inspire. They want to know “why” and Counsellors want to know “Who”.

It doesn’t matter what your REACH profile is. They are all needed to make a team function at its best.

As I listened to my new Driver acquaintance, I could imagine how his employee felt. I imagined that they were probably a Counsellor, which is diagonally opposite the Driver on our profile matrix. Counsellors provide immense value in that they are there for the people. They complement the Driver.

As you read this, I’d like you to think about your own personality type and see if you can find it within yourself to be open to learning more about the other profiles. The more you know yourself and know others, the more results you’ll get, easier and quicker.

Think of it like learning another language. If you were going to Italy, you might learn a few words of Italian to help you get along in your travels. Same with the profiles. Whilst your personality doesn’t change much over time, you can increase your REACH. This is the degree that you are comfortable with the other profiles and the degree to which you can speak their language and relate to them.

If you’re a leader, you really do need to make sure you work on your REACH. The best leaders are able to influence their people because they relate to them on their terms. They understand people are different. They understand we need the differences and they actively seek to understand their people.

How about you? How well do you know yourself and your people?

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