As a grad student at George Mason University, I studied Organizational Development. In our program we were taught that organizations are made up of people, relationships, systems, and knowledge. Through my experience running my own business, I realize how true that is. Moreover, the impact people have on the organization is paramount to the culture and success of the business. The reality is, organizations are the people, just as we are what we eat.
Of course we are what we eat, literally, but the synthesis of the chemical compounds add up to more than the sum of the parts, just as an organization does with its people and systems. If you eat fast food every day and live on soft drinks and candy, the likelihood of you being overweight and unhealthy is high. If you eat a balanced diet, whole foods, and moderate the intake of junk food, the likelihood of being healthy is higher. This is not rocket diet science, this is just common sense.
The same common sense applies to organizations, but people are much harder to categorize than food. It is much more difficult to judge and discern how good a person is for your organization at a first or second glance.
Recently, I attended a seminar called Entreleadership, by Dave Ramsey. He talked about talking more time when hiring people. Meet with them half a dozen times, meet their spouse, and wear them out during the interview process. You can never tell who a person really is from a resume or references. People don't show who they really are on an interview; at least not on the first or second interview. Aside from the obvious signs of appearance, it is difficult to see something real about a person. That is why it is important to give them a chance to show you who they really are on a personal, real level. Plus, they can see who you really are and what type of organization they are getting into.
For my company, I have decided to increase my interview process to a 3-6 month process. I will look for people in the fall to hire in the Spring. I will have them interview initially for 30 minutes, just a drive-by, then ask them to come back if they feel interested in the position. I will invite them to lunch, but not with their spouse. Dave Ramsey's organization is hiring for higher positions than I am, and so, I will not be applying that particular part of his process to mine. I will administer a personality test, and I will exhaust them with interviews. Plus, I require free, a half-day tryout. I do this just to see if they know how to work, in general.
Of course we are what we eat, literally, but the synthesis of the chemical compounds add up to more than the sum of the parts, just as an organization does with its people and systems. If you eat fast food every day and live on soft drinks and candy, the likelihood of you being overweight and unhealthy is high. If you eat a balanced diet, whole foods, and moderate the intake of junk food, the likelihood of being healthy is higher. This is not rocket diet science, this is just common sense.
The same common sense applies to organizations, but people are much harder to categorize than food. It is much more difficult to judge and discern how good a person is for your organization at a first or second glance.
Recently, I attended a seminar called Entreleadership, by Dave Ramsey. He talked about talking more time when hiring people. Meet with them half a dozen times, meet their spouse, and wear them out during the interview process. You can never tell who a person really is from a resume or references. People don't show who they really are on an interview; at least not on the first or second interview. Aside from the obvious signs of appearance, it is difficult to see something real about a person. That is why it is important to give them a chance to show you who they really are on a personal, real level. Plus, they can see who you really are and what type of organization they are getting into.
For my company, I have decided to increase my interview process to a 3-6 month process. I will look for people in the fall to hire in the Spring. I will have them interview initially for 30 minutes, just a drive-by, then ask them to come back if they feel interested in the position. I will invite them to lunch, but not with their spouse. Dave Ramsey's organization is hiring for higher positions than I am, and so, I will not be applying that particular part of his process to mine. I will administer a personality test, and I will exhaust them with interviews. Plus, I require free, a half-day tryout. I do this just to see if they know how to work, in general.
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