Labor shortages often increase the burden on existing staff members, creating the potential for dissatisfaction, burnout and more vacancies. However, the temptation to hire anyone willing to take the job could have potentially harmful consequences, according to Harvard Business Review.
If hiring no one or hiring “just anyone” can be harmful, how do managers know whether to take a chance on a candidate or keep a position vacant until they find a more appropriate candidate?
Harvard Business Review identifies four traits that most significantly affect a team.
- Reliability. Use reference-checking skills to try to screen out unreliable workers. Make sure the interview includes behavioral questions that might provide clues, such as asking how the candidate managed an unexpected event; generally, adaptable and resilient individuals are more likely to be reliable.
- Job readiness. If your employees are overworked, some help may be better than no help—assuming the new hire requires minimal training. Beyond task-specific skills, look for candidates with a growth mindset, because they believe knowledge and abilities can be developed with effort.
- A positive attitude. Many employees will change their task workflow to avoid someone negative and difficult. This can affect other employees, who end up accomplishing less work and becoming more dissatisfied.
- Good communication. Being able to communicate well with colleagues is important in any work environment, and for projects that require professionals with different areas of expertise to work together, one individual can derail the whole team. Managers can assess basic communication skills during an interview by looking for clarity and coherence of responses. They also could consider asking the candidate about his or her preferred communication medium to see how it fits with the team’s.
In the meantime, it is crucial you respect, give attention to and reward your current employees, as well as reassure them you are looking for someone who would be a good co-worker for them.
