According to a survey by PWC, 77% of Executives say hiring and retaining talent is their most critical growth driver in 2022. Hiring the correct talent isn’t always as easy as it sounds! It goes without saying that there are various challenges to be faced when hiring, here we discuss two key areas in more detail: technical skills and cultural fit.
1 – Technical Skills Shortages
You will have heard the word ‘unicorn’ in relation to hiring – if you haven’t, it is commonly used to describe a difficult-to-find candidate. Skills shortages exist in all verticals, technology is most often spoken about, but it’s not limited only to the tech world. When you are considering your next hire, whether replacement or growth, it is important to consider different approaches to help combat gaps in experience. Asking yourself these questions can help to give a realistic expectation of the external market and overcome skills gaps:
- What technologies or experience are essential from day 1, rather than day 100?
- Is there training could you provide to upskill existing and new team members?
- Have you considered relocating talent from outside of the region?
- Could you distribute some ‘harder to find’ responsibilities from the job description amongst existing team members to offer internal growth and learning opportunities?
2 – Cultural Fit Assessment
Cultural fit is often overlooked as arguably the most crucial factor when hiring. If you are lucky enough find THE unicorn who ticks every technical box, but they have a bad attitude and upset the dynamic of the team, are they worth hiring or will it do more long-term damage? Core values of an organisation are essential to incorporate from the early stages of the hiring process. You can do this by:
- Establishing values for your own team, and how these are linked to the bigger picture
- Understand key behaviours that will complement the values and the wider team
- Consider the first stage interview not as an opportunity to discuss technical experience, rather as a chance to discover motivators, drivers and personal values
- External assessment tools such as personality testing and learning styles
Ultimately, we are all human and humans can make mistakes. You can however limit hiring challenges through acknowledging that they exist and taking time to think outside of the box.
