6 Steps to Hiring Your Forever Team

Are you ready to create a team that is going to work hard and stick around for the long haul? Do you want to work with dynamic, hardworking people every day? Have you reevaluated your hiring and retention processes lately? These processes might just be the key to your “dream team”!

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, it may be time to sit down and revamp how you hire to get the most optimal team together for your company.  Let us help you find your FOREVER team with these 6 considerations!

 1)     Establish Team Structure & Company Culture 

When it comes to hiring your forever team, having company culture and a team structure in place are crucial.  An established team structure ensures there is a hierarchy in place and minimalizes unnecessary problems like power struggles and chain of command confusion.  The team structure also guarantees a cohesive workflow amongst team members where everyone understands their roles and responsibilities.[1] 

Company culture is important for establishing a forever team because it ensures everyone’s core values are inline not only with one another, but with the company as well.  The company culture sets the tone for respect, office norms, and expectations in the workplace.  Key steps to establishing company culture are:

1-     Define or Re-define your company’s mission statement and core values

2-     Understand and embrace diversity

3-     Show care for employees

4-     Consistency in practices

For more tips and explanations on establishing company culture, please check out REVEX’s blog, 5 Ways to Revamp Communication in Your Workplace!

2)     Consider Outsourcing and In-house Options

It is important to contemplate all options when you are beginning to expand your team.  This means considering hiring a third-party company for either staffing your new team or to take on the tasks of the position you need fulfilled.[5]  You must also consider in-house options such as promoting employees to fill positions or combining/distributing the tasks of the position you need filled amongst employees already in the company.[5]   

When it comes to outsourcing, you must consider utilizing a staffing agency depending on the position you need filled.  If you have a position that is high-turnover, this may be a feasible option so your valuable time is not spent on interviews for a position you know you will just continue to refill in the future.  However, high turnover positions are not great for a company when it comes to return on investment, so putting in effort to invest in a long-term employee is well worth it.  Stay tuned for our blog next week on lowering employee turnover where we will expand on this topic!

Outsourcing a third-party company may also be valuable to fill a position due to labor costs, efficiency, and expertise.  For example, if you were to outsource your medical billing needs, rather than hire an on-site biller, you could save money on labor, benefits, turnover, and human error.  Outsourced companies, like REVEX, often have experts on hand and automate many of their processes to lower the room for errors.  There is also opportunity to save money on PTO, benefits, workman’s comp, and so on because the third-party company is managing its own employees.  Check out our blog, In-House or Out-House? …I Mean, Outsource!, for more benefits on both hiring in-house and outsourcing!

 

3)     Establish A Hiring Process

The structure behind a company’s hiring process can make or break how well the hiring committee can read a candidate’s potential fit into a company.  A multi-step interview process that fosters a high-touch rapport, dynamic questions, and multiple people on the hiring committee has proven to be very successful when it comes to hiring a forever employee.[3]

For example, Pro Athlete Inc., is an ecommerce company which sells baseball gear online, with only around 50 or so employees, they compete with big names in the sporting goods industry.  Pro Athlete Inc. employs a 10-step interview process which includes an aptitude test, video interview submission, video-conference interview, in-person interviews, task challenge, hiring committee meeting, and more.  They do this to ensure they get a well-rounded understanding of the person.  With so many different methods of communicating with their candidates, Pro Athlete Inc. makes certain they can recognize the candidates strengths incase they communicate more effectively through various methods.  This is an extremely thorough hiring process and because of it, Pro Athlete Inc. has an extremely low turnover rate and is incredibly competitive in the labor market.

As I was researching the hiring process and best ways to find the optimal employee for a position, there was one point that popped up no matter what article I read.  HIRE FOR ATTITUDE, CHEMISTRY, & POTENTIONAL OVER APTITUDE.[2]  Obviously, some job position are going to require a certain level of knowledge or training, but for the most part, if a person meets the basic requirements, their attitude, chemistry, and potential are going to carry them much further than someone who exceeds the requirements but is not a good personality fit.  An employee who can be a team player, communicate effectively and be coached is extremely valuable to the growth of a company.

There are also some other small things that may help you to get better insight into candidates during interviews such as assigning them a job-related task, asking very open-ended questions, and asking about their passion.  Sometimes questions not directly related to the job position can give understanding to the thought process of the candidate in a more veiled manner.[4]

4)     Know What You Want

Flexibility in the hiring process is a must because as you meet candidates, they may express qualities you find valuable that were not necessarily on your “must-haves” list.  However, it is necessary to understand what you want out of a new employee.  If you have specific qualifications such as experience, education, and characteristics then have a checklist of important qualities as well as deal-breakers.[5]  This will help you to not forget some key elements that may get lost in the interview process, help you keep your candidates straight, and also help you to prioritize what you are looking for in a candidate.  Priorities are important when hiring because you will have different applicants with differing qualities and you need to know which are most important to your team.  You can’t just go into the interview all Willy-Nilly!

5)     Be Fair & Maintain Consistency

Be fair in the job description you are posting.  Many times, employers will try to mislead employees with a job description because they are having are hard time hiring for that position and want it to seem more appealing to applicants.[2]  Although they will get a higher turnout, they will also have higher turnover because the individual hired was misled into a position they did not want.  This also diminishes trust in the employer immediately.

Be sure to post an accurate job description, even though some duties may not seem favorable, in the long run the employee will know what they are getting into from the beginning.[2]  Also, be sure to answer any questions as honest as possible because sugar-coating things will eventually come to light and build frustration within the hired candidate as well. 

Consistency is also important when it comes to the interview and hiring process.  Be sure to maintain the same behavior and attitude in the interview as you do in the office.  The more transparency and consistency present on your end, the more you will see consistencies and discrepancies in the candidate’s behavior as well.  If you are making formal phone calls to follow up with candidates, but sending informal emails, and then a mix of both for in-person interviews, this will confuse the applicant on how to conduct themselves.  They will then be confused on the atmosphere of the office before they even make it into the company.

6)     Transition, Transition, Transition

Transitioning your new employee can make or break their success in their new position.  If there is not a smooth transition, the employee may not ever be fully confident nor comfortable in the workplace.  A smooth transition into a new job entails the supervisor giving them a proper introduction to their coworkers and others in the office.  This will set the tone for their interaction with colleagues for the foreseeable future.  Try to make introductions personal or one-on-one rather than bringing the new employee in front of a large group.  This will help them to remember names and connect personally rather than feel the pressure of an “audience”.[2]

Training is also crucial to transitioning a new employee.  A proper training program is well organized, efficient, and makes the employee comfortable asking questions and for help.  When an employee must constantly second-guess their work and what is expected of them, they are much less likely to stay in a job.  Make sure processes and expectations are clear.  We highly recommend a training manual the employee can take notes in and refer to for help.

 

In conclusion, creating your forever team is a process which does not simply rely on just a good interview and decision, it is an active and lasting effort that must be nurtured through the search, hiring, and retention of employees.  You cannot simply hire a great employee and expect them to stay forever without lasting support from you and your company.

 

Also, don’t forget to subscribe for email updates on the left-hand side of this article!

Thanks so much for reading!

Dani Barry 

Marketing Manager 

REVEX

REVEX is a Medical Billing Service & Software Company serving the Healthcare Industry. 

(Specifically, Skilled Nursing Facilities)

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^[1] Dyck, B. (2017, September 18). How To Hire Your 'Forever' Team. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/09/18/how-to-hire-your-forever-team/#375cf5b01e67

^[2] How to Attract Candidates Who Will Become Long-Term Employees: Part II. (2019, October 21). Retrieved August 20, 2020, from https://www.celarity.com/blog/how-to-attract-long-term-employees-part-2/

^[3] Ternynck, J. (2014, September 29). Hire for the Long Haul: 6 Tips to Find Candidates Who Will Stay. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from https://www.inc.com/jerome-ternynck/hire-for-the-long-haul-6-tips-to-find-candidates-who-will-stay.html

^[4] Wofford, M. (n.d.). Tips to hire employees who'll stay longer, complain less, produce more. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from https://www.reliableplant.com/Read/7231/hire-employees-produce

^[5] Zipkin, N. (2019, April 23). Use These Steps to Hire the Best Team Every Time. Retrieved August 20, 2020, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/332606

Coach & Be Coachable!

A Harvard poll revealed that 3 out of every 4 adults played a sport at one point in their life. Yes, this includes soccer when you were just 4 years old.[4] This means 75% of people have experience with coaching.

The workplace is a great opportunity to cross-reference this foundation of being coachable with your employees.  On the transverse, it is also important to know how to be a great coach so your employees can be optimally coachable!  

My personal experience in writing this blog comes from my experience as a collegiate athlete, a former coach, as well as a professional in the medical billing industry working mainly with skilled nursing facilities as well as other healthcare entities.  

I have separated the blog into Coach and Coachable. I believe it’s important to see both perspectives of being the coach and being coachable to create understanding and empathy on both sides.  I hope you enjoy reading my blog and feel free to comment any questions or additions you may have to the content!

Be Aware & Receptive

Coach: When it comes to coaching, not only does the “player” need to be receptive, but the coach does as well.  While coaching, pay attention to your employees’ reactions, body language, and feedback.  Being a team is all about working together and though you may be the coach, paying attention to your employees’ needs and how they learn best is going to benefit you in the long run.[3]  Some people work best when their coach gives them “tough love” and tells them how it is, while others need more coddling and positive interaction.  Now, I’m not saying you need to coach every single person completely different and change your style to match each individual on a personal level, but noticing what works best for them and making an effort will go a long way.

Coachable: When your superior is coaching you in the workplace, be open to their feedback, delegation, and constructive criticism.  Understand that they are not personally attacking you, rather pushing you to be the best at your duties for the success of the team.  It is important to acknowledge (by nodding or gesturing) that you understand the feedback your coach is providing. If you do not understand, don’t be afraid to ask questions and continue to build communication with your boss.[1]  

Both: Being aware and receptive also entails being cognizant of your own body language, verbal responses, and other behaviors you may be projecting. Interpersonal communication is all about reciprocity. Therefore, the person you interact with, whether you are the coach or the coached, feeds off your behavior just as much as you feed off theirs.

If you are coaching with a smile, eye contact, and friendliness the employee will perceive your words differently than if you have a stern brow, closed arms, lack of eye contact, and shortness in conversation.  Of course, these are both extreme but you can see how a simple conversation can be perceived very differently with both.[1]

Be Proactive

Coach: If you are only pointing out when your employees are doing something wrong, coaching moments are going to continually be in retrospect and have a negative association that you always point out “what they did wrong.”  Instead, try to be proactive and coach employees in tasks and responsibilities before they “mess it up.”  This means having a great training program in place for new hires to feel confident in their duties and lower needs for corrections is crucial.  If employees understand and execute duties most efficiently because of great training, a coach can then focus on facilitating collaboration and process/product improvements.[2]  

Coachable: The best way to be proactive when it comes to being coachable is to ASK QUESTIONS![1]  Do not wait for a supervisor to have to correct you, try not to guess at something you don’t know how to do, just ask!  Another way to be proactive is to do something before you are told.  If you see something that is incomplete, a mistake someone made, or something nobody considered doing- jump on it!  Not only will this make life easier on the team, but it will make you stand out as a hard-working employee and your “coach” will account for this when it comes time for review. 

Both: Be proactive in communicating conflict, if there is anything going on behind the scenes that one party is unaware of, talk about it.  A lot of times when there is conflict, one party may be oblivious, and it can continue to build and anger the other party.  Communication, especially before something blows up into a major issue, is huge in a team and helps build trust and foster cohesiveness.[3]

Build

Coach: Develop a “coaching” culture in your workplace.[2]   This means be consistent in giving feedback, being open to receiving feedback, positivity, constructive criticism, collaboration, and the importance of teamwork.  When you instill a coaching culture in the office and maintain a consistent and healthy coaching method, your employees will know what to expect and will feel supported.

Also, build up your employees.  Offer resources for expanding their toolbox, to improve skills for their responsibilities, gain certifications, anything that will support their growth.  When you support the growth of your employees, they will support the company’s productivity and grow for their personal professional future as well.  Offering your team valuable growth resources shows you care as a coach and fosters a great team relationship in the long run.[2]  Check out the REVEX Blog, 4 New Training Programs to Help You Unlock Your Team’s Potential, for some great training ideas!

Coachable:  Just as your supervisor, or coach, is investing in growing your skillset, invest back in them with effort, positive energy, and a willingness to learn.  Be open to growth opportunities presented to you and get the most out of resources your coach provides.  

Additionally, as a supervisor is working to instill a coaching culture in the workplace, support that with a coachable attitude.  Teams are all about collaboration and support, and the more cohesiveness there is in the workplace, the higher the morale and easier it is to show up to work every day! 

Make Change Stick

Coach: Making change last is going to rely tremendously on the coach’s role in the workplace.  The coach is the source of authority who is instilling the company culture by remaining consistent and providing standards of what is expected.  This does mean discipline is a big factor in coaching as well.[3]  When you implement change, such as a new method to procedures, and train your employees on the change, you must maintain these changes and sometimes that requires discipline of both yourself and your employees.  Discipline needs to be fair and consistent with what behavior is being punished across employees.  On the contrary, there must also be positive reinforcement and rewards.  As your employees are making changes and being coachable, the positive reinforcement will carry these changes on, so they don’t get lost in translation![2]

Coachable: Keeping the change is reliant on the team! The employees! THE COACHABLE!  When your coach is teaching and guiding, it is imperative that you take that guidance in and maintain the changes necessary.[1]  If there are issues with changes or coaching, communication needs to be an open channel, conflicts resolved, and the appropriate changes need to be implemented from resolution on out.  A cohesive and dedicated team is invaluable and will undoubtedly be rewarded by a coach when they see their changes are being maintained.

In conclusion, learning to be a great coach and to be coachable is an ongoing process involving a lot of open communication, effort, and consistency.  Both parties rely on one another to perform their duties optimally and for expectations to be clear.  Coach and Be Coachable!

Also, don’t forget to subscribe for email updates right above this article!

Thanks so much for reading!

Dani Barry

Marketing Manager

REVEX

_____________________________________________________________________

^[1] Anderson, D., & Frey, A. (2018, February 12). Seven Ways to Become More Coachable. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://www.digitaldealer.com/dealer-ops-leadership/dealer-management/seven-ways-become-coachable/

^[2] Hoppen, D. (n.d.). Coaching to Engage: 12 Rules to Effective, Ongoing Employee Coaching. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/12-rules-for-effective-employee-coaching

^[3] Hunt, J. M., & Weintraub, J. R. (2007). The Coaching Organization. The Coaching Organization: A Strategy for Developing Leaders, 1-26. doi:10.4135/9781483329062.n1

^[4] Poll: Three in four adults played sports when they were younger, but only one in four still play. (2015, June 15). Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/poll-many-adults-played-sports-when-young-but-few-still-play/

Why Your Office Needs THESE Pickles ASAP!

You would never guess that dill pickles, fried pickles, sweet pickles, homemade pickles, even pickle juice are all crucial to your company, but they are!  Pickles ARE the core of your company.  This variety of pickles will keep your company operating efficiently, boost employee morale, and brings a sense of balance to the office. 

 

Okay, I’ll confess I’m not really talking about pickles here.  Though, I am not opposed to having pickles in the office as they can be quite delicious… It’s a metaphor for how to consider personalities when hiring your team. If you happen to want to bring the pickles into the workplace as well- because lets face it, pickles will probably still boost morale- then so be it!

 

Let’s get down to the juicy stuff! What “pickles” DO you need in the office?

 

The Real “Dill”

 

The Dill pickle is recognized as the most popular pickle you’ll find in a refrigerator, on a sandwich, or in a big glass jar at the gas station.  Why are Dill pickles the most popular? They are reliably good!  The first type of pickles you NEED in your workplace are reliable pickles without a doubt. 

 

The office “dills” are going to be the people you know will get the job done and done well.  They are employees you can turn to for help with tasks that may not even be their responsibility simply because they want to do their best work possible and genuinely care.  This type of person is resourceful, often collaborative, and consistently productive.  The “dill” employees are also generally likely by their coworkers due to their amiability, work ethic, and reliability. 

 

Eatin’ Sweet!

 

Bread and butter pickles, or sweet flavored pickles, are our next necessity in the office.  Though not highly favored like the reliable dill pickles, the sweet pickles soften up what can sometimes be a tense environment.

 

An employee who is considered sweet, sympathetic, and thoughtful can bring a sense of home to the workplace.  This is the person always checking on how your family is doing, bringing baked goods to the workplace, checking to see if anyone needs help, organizing office parties, remembering birthdays, and so on. 

 

Do not let the sweetness fool you, this person does still need to be a hard worker and due to their level of care, likely will be.  Bringing this sense of hospitality and warmth to the workplace does make it a little bit easier for coworkers to come in every day which is why sweet pickles are a necessity in your office!

 

Fried?!

 

If you haven’t tried a fried pickle, let me tell you, you are missing out big time!  Lucky for you, I can draw up a nice comparison for what a fried pickle experience might entail.  Fried pickles have a lovely contrast in textures from first the cream ranch you dip it in, to the soft, greasy crunch of the fried breading encrusting them, and finally the thorough chomp-crunch of the actual pickle itself.  This pickle experience is multifaceted, highly enjoyable, full of smiles, and a solid go-to for a great time!

 

In the office, the fried pickle is going to be somebody known for their light-heartedness, constant smile, and who cannot be serious for 8 straight work hours.  With their complex texture, the fried pickle knows when its time to have fun, be focused, and crack the right joke without compromising professionalism or productivity. 

 

Sometimes, when tensions are high in the office, people may look to this person to lighten things up with some humor or even just a well-timed smile.  The fried pickle brings the belly laughs and leaves the drama at the door which makes them well-liked by coworkers and keeps the air in the office light!

 

Homemade > Store Bought

 

Yes, people home-make pickles.  Homemade is one of the best types of pickles of all for the workplace!  Homemade pickles are fairly simple requiring about 8 ingredients and a jar.  However, this is still more time consuming than just going to the store and buying pre-made pickles, and it may not taste like the mainstream pickles we are used to.  However, on the health and hard work scale, these persevere.

 

Homemade pickles are vital to the workplace because they are a solid foundation of great work ethic, ingenuity, perseverance, self-starting, and punctuality.  As homemade pickles do not come easy, these employees worked their butts off to get where they are and have a solid skills base as well a strong commitment to the company.  These individuals are focused and highly motivated due to their sense of pride in their work.  When employees have pride in their work, the company is going to reap the benefits of high quality and high productivity.

 

Pickle Juice, Pickle Juice, Pickle Juice!

 

Okay, I know this is “technically” not a pickle, but it is the whole soul and essence of the pickle besides the cucumber element itself.  Pickle juice is the entire driving force behind creating, maintaining, and the enjoyment of the pickles.  Pickle juice offer many benefits: it hydrates, relieves muscle cramps, enhances gut health, and even contains antioxidants.  There are so many benefits to pickle juice and even more to having “pickle juice” in your workplace!

 

Regarding the workplace, I consider the culture and core values the “pickle juice” of a company.  Just as pickle juice is the core to creating and maintaining the pickles, the culture and values of a company being in line with employees is especially important to the company’s success.  Take a look at REVEX’s blog post on the 5 Ways to Revamp Communication on Your Workplace which touches on the importance of establishing a company culture and core values.

 

When a company culture and values are embraced by employees, there is a cohesiveness to the workplace which promotes higher levels of productivity and morale.  Setting a company culture of quality, trust, innovation, family, systems, resourcefulness, and so on will guide employees to live out positive values every day in the workplace.  The culture and value “pickle juice” must be present in all employees which makes EVERY employee a pickle!

 

 

To conclude, you NEED this variety of pickles (and pickle juice) in your workplace!  If all of your employees were the same type of people, your company might lack innovation, creativity, collaboration, and fun!  The strategic combination of reliable, nurturing, energetic, hardworking, and cultured employees will help your company and your employees to thrive.

 

 

Also, don’t forget to subscribe for email updates on the left-hand side of this article!

Thanks so much for reading!

 

Dani Barry 

Marketing Manager 

REVEX

REVEX is a Medical Billing Service & Software Company catering  to the Healthcare Industry. 

(Specifically Skilled Nursing Facilities)