In my previous company, I perceived it was easier to be hired if you weren’t an internal candidate and I’ve written about this recently.
You may be surprised to hear this, but we knew almost everything about internal candidates, and typically just their failures and mistakes tended to surface in the discussions. External candidates were all upside; internal candidates had upside potential but their downsides were all to visible.
This really was a waste of our talent. We hired great people, trained them, developed them- and frequently fell out of love with them if they weren’t perfect or fit the desired mould.
If your company is like that or even if is isn’t, here are 8 things to look for to find that exceptional team member inside your organisation who can lift you and your team.
1. Job descriptions are just the start.
The smaller the company, the more important it is that employees can think on their feet, adapt quickly to shifting priorities, and do whatever it takes, regardless of role or position, to get things done.
To enable you to succeed you need people to look beyond a list of tasks, to look at the results and focus on what needs to be done to achieve this. When a key customer’s project is in jeopardy, you want people to understand and act without being told there’s a problem and jump in without being asked—even if it’s not their job. Look for people inside your organisation that act with responsibility to make the right things happen, even though its not their job.
2. Eccentric, they are.
You work for a brewery looking for marketing talent and at the interview the guy asks for baileys, not beer- what do you do. I hired him. Your best potential candidates will often be a little different: quirky, sometimes irreverent, even delighted to be unusual. They seem slightly odd, but in a good way. These out of the box personalities shake things up, make work more fun, and transform a conforming group into a team with flair and flavour. And companies with strong internal processes struggle to promote this type of person, to the company’s detriment.
People who aren’t afraid to be different naturally stretch boundaries and challenge the status quo, and they often come up with the best ideas. I hired the baileys drinker for having the balls to ask for one, and I wasn’t disappointed. Find these people around the edges of your company, as junior team members who don’t fit in they are looking for a boss to lead them.
3. They know when to conform.
An unusual personality is a lot of fun… until it grates on your and the team. When a major challenge pops up or a situation gets stressful, the best future team members stop expressing their individuality and fit seamlessly into the team. Look for this characteristic around the business see how flexible and results focused the the quirky individuals are.
You need someone who knows when to play and when to be serious; when to be irreverent and when to conform; and when to challenge and when to back off. It’s a tough balance, but you need someone who does balance their personality with getting the job done.
4. They publicly praise their colleagues.
Praise from a boss feels good. Praise from a peer feels awesome, especially when its genuine and deserved. Find those in your business who have a reputation for praising others good work.
Remarkable employees recognise the contributions of others, especially in group settings where the impact of their words is even greater.
5. And they privately complain to you.
Yes we want team members to raise issues but some problems are better handled in private. The person you seek knows to discuss things with you privately and so deserves some space to bring up controversial subjects. You also need to have people working for you that do bring these issues up to keep you grounded and aware.
Then they come to you before or after a meeting to discuss a sensitive issue, knowing that bringing it up in a group setting could set off an unecessary confrontation. They don’t use meetings to grandstand their pet-peeves nor do they play to an audience… they want solutions not the limelight.
6. They speak honestly when others won’t.
Most employees are hesitant to speak up in meetings. Some are even hesitant to speak up privately unless they know what your own views are, fearing criticism. Seek out individuals that positively and proactively raise the concerns of their colleagues in a way that reassures you and provides necessary information for them.
Seek out those who have an innate feel for the issues and concerns of those around them, and step up to ask questions or raise important issues when others hesitate.
7. They are motivated by proving doubters wrong.
Self-motivation often springs from a desire to show that others in their past are wrong. I’ve hired polytech graduates in preference to college grads because they often have a burning desire to prove people wrong about a perceived lack of education. Find out the reasons they didn’t go to University, maybe its a motivation for them to succeed with you?
Intelligence, talent, and skill are important, but drive is critical to people’s success and your success as a manager. Select internal candidates who are driven by something deeper and more personal than just the desire to do a good job or a regular pay packet.
8. They like improving things.
Some people are rarely satisfied with the status quo and are constantly seeking to improve things; reworking a timeline, adjusting a process, enhancing a workflow.
Sure they can follow processes when time is tight but they find ways to make those processes even better, not only because they are expected to… but because they just can’t help it.
So here are 8 tips for finding your next great team member from within your organisation. Start your next search now, know who are the people inside your organisation that you want to work with. Make HR’s job easier by having a list of internal candidates ready. Start early as the diamonds in the rough could just be coal, and so you need to dig and polish a little first. Be on the look out for a potential star, and you’ll find them often when you don’t expect it.
Have you a star team member who’s different, please share how you managed to hire them, and why you chose them.