You were short-staffed and had to make a quick hire to fill an employment gap. You went with your gut feeling and hired the candidate that had the most relevant experience. It’s now time to really evaluate your new hire and decide whether he or she is a temporary Band-Aid to an employment need or have long term potential for growth within the company. Here are a few important questions that can help you gauge growth potential and validate that you made the right hiring decision.
What’s their ability to adapt?
As you are likely aware from your own experience, there’s a learning curve for every job. Over the first few weeks of the new hire’s time on the job, pay attention to just how steep that learning curve is. Employees with strong growth potential are much more likely to adapt quickly and are not afraid roll up their sleeves and dive in head first. They’re also willing to wear many different hats in order to learn as much as possible. On the contrary, an employee who is very slow at getting up to speed and seems very stuck in a “well this is what we did at my old job” mentality, is not the best candidate for growth within the company.
What’s their availability?
How engaged does the new hire appear to be? Are they excited about the learning opportunity or do they get frustrated and throw in the towel when they don’t know something? If the new hire gets to work early and is willing to stay late, it’s a sign that they’re making themselves completely available for their new job. They realize in order to grow with the company, they’re going to have to put in the necessary effort to get up to speed as quickly as possible.
What’s their dream job?
As a manager, it’s important to know your employees career goals and objectives. Talk to the new employee about their life dreams and goals. Do those goals align with that of your organization? Is there a path for growth at your organization that’s on the employee’s ideal professional trajectory? Getting the answer to these questions will help determine whether the employee is a good long-term fit.
How comfortable are they with change?
In today’s economy, organizations are constantly changing in order to keep up with technology and their competitors. Outside of having a skill set that’s right for the job, your new hire needs to be open to flexibility and willing to tolerate change if they plan on sticking around. Test the new hire by shifting the direction on a project you give them. If they’re able to deal with the change, it’s a sign they’ll be able to deal with larger organizational shifts as well.
Looking for great candidates with upmost potential?
Let the experienced recruiters at BOS Staffing help. For more than 35 years we have helped clients throughout Northeast Georgia and nationwide complete work cost-effectively, hire smarter, and manage their workforces more efficiently. If you are looking for a better way to work, give us a call today.
