Success in spite of ourselves is not a sustainable strategy.
Because I work with CIOs on transformation, and because transformation is driven by high-performing teams, I also work with HR to better staff and develop IT.
I have found a significant disconnect between HR and CIOs in how to acquire top talent, or as the title teases, hot employees.
I appreciate David Fuller, CRO and advisor, for his insight and findings on this as well.
For most, the disconnect is in three employee dynamics: How they are Hired, how they are Onboarded, and how they are Trained (H.O.T.)
Firing Our Hiring Practice
Too often, hiring is based on positional skills and qualifications only. CIOs need to inform HR of other and more specific qualities a hire must bring based on the actual projects, priorities and practices the employee will be involved in.
If you are hiring and you know that the new employee is going to be working on a specific project, and that project has a repeatable process or involves other skills, such as client interfacing, then you want to identify the capacity required in the process and work with HR in qualifying candidates accordingly.
You do not hire titles; you hire fit.
Action: The next time you hire, consider what is expected beyond the typical skills for the position, and work with HR to build that into their interview and candidate process.
Offload Your Onboarding
Onboarding systems attempt to accomplish too much in too short of a time. CIOs need to shed the weight when it comes to onboarding their staff.
Work with HR to determine what standard onboarding practices must remain. Inform them of what onboarding investment you need so that you and HR can reprioritize the scheduling of the onboarding process.
Your priorities for onboarding are directly related to the skill sets you requested HR to hire for. Of course, HR must meet compliance requirements. And, you must have your new employee learning early the critical functions related to the success of their role. All other traditional onboarding is secondary.
Compliance first (serves employee rights). Capacity second (serves employee success).
Action: Work with HR to reprioritize an onboarding schedule so that your skill development needs come first.
Retrain Your Training
Cookie cutter training doesn’t cut it. Neither IT nor HR can afford to put employees through training that isn’t addressing the gaps a new employee must fill. Other training can follow, but first training is focused on what is missing to satisfy the unique skills or capabilities of the role you brought them in for.
The enemy of acquisition, engagement and retention is unexamined routine. We post for the same role and expect a different result without adapting an existing process to a critical business need.
Action: HR needs you to teach them how to better serve you. Expectation without communication results in disappointment. Be clear on your need to give employees customized training.
Your best employees are hired for fit, onboarded with skill focus, and trained for actual need. Keep your team HOT.
Turn up the heat.