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This Employee Has to Go…Or do They? The Underlying Impact of an Unhealthy Employee Experience Culture

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When I worked full-time in organizational development, I supported over 100 teams get back on track in times of overwhelming change, interpersonal tension, and incivility. In every one of those teams, there was someone (or a number of people) who were pointed out as “the problem”: “If only they left everything would be fine!” Sometimes they did…but things didn’t change magically overnight. Often times they weren’t going anywhere, and yet we had success turning things around.

Not only is it rare that an individual, as disruptive as their behaviour may be, cause all the problems. That they alone are the root of the issue. Are things in life usually that simple? (And if it was, I think we’d only have a few books on our shelves versus the 100+!)

Sure, employees engaging in disruptive behaviour require feedback and expectation clarification. Sometimes they were surprised (never having received direct feedback), other times they were defensive, other times saddened. Regardless, change on their part, 9.9 times out of 10, didn’t lead to an overnight turnaround.

So what else is going on? What we found was that in every team we needed to do an intervention with, there was an underlying problem with the employee experience.

By pointing fingers, we don’t address what is going to most help. And frankly, what likely contributed to the unhealthy behaviour in the first place.

We are starting to move away from talking about the (often) top-down theories of employee engagement to understanding the employee experience, which is a more holistic, employee-centred way of understanding the way an individual experiences the organization from before they onboard to when they exit (here is a great article to dig in further.) Just like we’re moving away from talking about customer service to the customer experience, we’re realizing the same is true for staff and leaders.

Companies that shift away from looking at micro problems, finger pointing, and top-down culture creation, to that of understanding how talent truly is their competitive advantage, in turn, co-create the ideal employee experience that retains the best people, fuels healthy collaborative cultures, sparks innovation and continuous improvement and better self-manages standards of behaviour.

What are some of the signs of how well your company or team is doing in the employee experience department? Here are four visible signs:

1.Quit or commit

Take stock of your revolving door. Discover how many people are getting a “refund” on their employee experience by quitting. Check out the positive flip side, how many are committing? How many give discretionary effort, time and ideas voluntarily for the betterment of their team, customers, projects and the long-term future of the organization?

2.Play games or play by the rules

People who do not play by the rules are telling you, “You know what, I don’t buy into it around here.” Or, “I have given more than I have gotten back so now I’m taking something back for me.” There are also people who say, “I want to improve things around here.” When they feel and experience that their ideas matter, their voice is heard and they are valued, they naturally want to make things better.

3.Complaints versus Compliments

A complaint is merely a poorly worded request. So, if folks are complaining, what are they asking you for? What is your culture lacking? Sure, some folks lean on the negativity side regardless, but if the employee experience was truly positive, there would be little to complain about and certainly, they wouldn’t have a captive audience or co-conspirators! Other teams, you’ll notice compliments and recognition are aplenty; individuals notice healthy, positive, helpful behaviours and aren’t hesitant to acknowledge it when they see it.

4.Early retirement or Lifer

Sure, we talk a lot about how many times we switch jobs in our lifetime (anywhere between 7 and 15 depending on the study), and how unlikely it is we’re going to retire from the first organization we join. However, it’s not the end of career retirement we’re worried about here’s. It’s folks being, “on the job retired”; you know, those individuals come in and do only the bare minimum. In contrast to employee experience individuals who feel so much love for the company, they go above and beyond without being asked or expected to. When people feel valued, visible and their efforts appreciated, of course, they’re more likely to give their job more “life”. The kind of Lifer you want around doesn’t just put in the time but gives the best of him or herself.

BTW, want a cool infographic? Grab it free on my website here. What are the other signs the employee experience needs work? Post below!

Four Overlooked Practices to Onboard Top Talent (So You Don’t Lose Them)

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Outside our house, they are replacing the road. One of the interesting things I’ve noticed is that there was very little attention to the foundation of it. I have to say, I don’t have high hopes that this road is going to last, but metaphorically, it occurred to me that this is often what I see in organizations; that some of the most important practices, such as recruiting and onboarding top talent, lacks a strong foundation.

New employees and even existing employees that don’t have a sufficient foundation in which to be successful may feel lost, confused and frustrated. We have a hard time recognizing their greatness when they’re struggling. We are at risk of losing them before they’ve even changed their LinkedIn status if we don’t do a better job of onboarding top talent well.

We already know there is a talent shortage that shows no signs of easing until 2030 (Deloitte), and yet we continue to ignore the little things we can do to ensure we retain our best staff. It costs thousands of dollars to recruit, retrain, and mentor new staff (to the tune of up to three times their annual salary) not to mention the burden it places on those having to do the recruiting, training and mentoring! Let’s not also forget that other people need to pick up the workload when there’s a vacancy or people are not performing to optimal capacity and ability.

When you give people the right foundation you keep them longer. The quality of their work is better and they feel a greater sense of pride in both their work and the organization they work for. So, what can an organization do to make sure that people have the right foundation?

Here are four often overlooked practices to onboard new talent well:

1.Give Information

Rarely, from the thousands of people I speak for in organizations in any given year, do I hear of job candidates receiving sufficient information; what are the unique challenges of the job, team and project, what will be the biggest priority, what skill or expertise is most needed that is currently lacking? Now you may be thinking that this isn’t information you release until after you make a hire, but isn’t it important for the candidate to ensure she or he feels good a fit? Couldn’t it make it easier to converse on what she or he would do differently, to fill a gap, to expedite the learning curve?

Instead, we treat the recruitment process as requiring candidates to go on a big hunt, that they need to go searching for all of the latest trends and research and what is the company about and what’s the history. That somehow this will prove how much they want the job. What about assuming they want the job, and that good research skills are not more important than their critical thinking skills to share what specifically they would do if they are the successful candidate. How about if they came to an interview with a 90-day plan based on what they knew? Might you be able to gauge commitment that way, and he or she can hit the ground running on day one!

Here’s the suggestion: give them some information that is normally only shared with folks within, show them you trust them and want them to be successful even before they get the job, and see how they leverage that intel. If you don’t have somebody that you can trust at the very beginning, it sets up the recruitment process to be an “us and them”. Why not start off on the same side?

If you have decided you’re going to give your precious time to interview them, don’t potentially waste it by finding out they’re a bad fit when they’re sitting across from you. Give them homework. Ask them to figure out what they would do in scenario X. List the top three biggest challenges you see and reflect on what strengths and expertise they’d bring with them. If they decline the interview as they don’t know how to answer the issues or they don’t want to put in the time, you’ve just gifted yourself at least an hour of your workday!

2. Provide a realistic job preview

When you have those people that you shortlisted, maybe you’ve got one or two superstars. Before you make the final decision, offer the opportunity for them to learn more about you by coming on site to the work environment. They can meet their colleagues, peers and boss. They can get a sense if there’s going to be a good fit. Show them their workspace, let them sit in on non-classified meetings, have them join someone for lunch. All too often, we bring somebody into the organization and then we make introductions, give tours, etc. We assume that an artificial environment of a job interview(s) is sufficient to figure out a fit. Sometimes it’s sufficient but it has a huge cost when it doesn’t work out.

You may be with a progressive company where you have tools and assessments and other checks and balances (and hopefully you don’t lose a good person along the way because there have been so many checks and balances that take so long they get stolen away from you). Let’s assume that you get the right person at the end of the recruitment process. Who’s to say though that they’re still going to be the right fit from a human standpoint when they’re actually with their colleagues and clients on the job?

3. The orientation system

Do you have an orientation system? Not just everybody getting into a conference room and hearing one speaker after the next deliver a series of slide decks (some content that people should know already) but an actual personalized orientation approach?

We need to ensure that your new talent is being oriented to what is most important from the very beginning, and that will be unique to the role, person, team and work context. Are they being oriented so they can create a clear 90-day plan by the end of the week? Do they know what help and resources are available, and who they can ask for help and direction? Do they know their most important priorities?

And let’s not forget the importance of the human touch factor. Can their boss, boss’s boss or the owner of the company meet with them for a half hour in the first week? Do they have their phone, email and extension set up? Do they know how to use them? You would not believe how many people need to struggle through without even the basic systems to do their job well. It also sends a poor message about how important (or unimportant) they are.

4. Recognition the very first day

Recognition the very first day will really set you apart. Do you recognize people that very first day? One of my clients celebrates new people on their first day by putting a card or a mini sign on their keyboard that communicates, “Welcome to the organization. We’re celebrating you!” My speaker’s bureau projects a welcome sign at reception, expressing how excited they are to have a new team member joining! Some write a handwritten note that says, “The things that impressed me most in your job interview are …”

Do something that’s really fun or meaningful. Something that’s reflective of your culture, that shows that person that they are already known, valued and appreciated. You know what the alternative is, so do the foundation work and be informed about the greatness of the person who’s coming into the organization.

It’s such a missed opportunity to onboard and support new talent. We need to know those folks before they even hit the ground running with us.

The ripple effect of their comfort, them being able to be part of a solid foundation, means that the individuals they work with are going to be able to rely on them, are going to be able to see their greatness and be supported by them so much faster than if they were spending time trying to get oriented to that on their own. If you give people a policy manual and have them sit on their first day locked in a room, is not creating a great first impression. Let’s turn the 30% satisfied and 70% dissatisfied, numbers around. A great onboarding experience can help in this quest.

Three Ways to Ensure an Inclusive Workplace Environment

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There’s an interesting question that’s been thrown around the business world today: Is it better to be an introvert or an extrovert in business today? Perhaps this is being fueled by a range of authors writing on the topic (or more often, about introversion specifically) and the uptake of their messages by being mainstage speakers at conferences coast-to-coast.

Whatever the reason for this increase in popularity of the topic, it’s a very interesting question. But first, let’s explore this with a few warnings:

  • It is not uncommon that individuals use the terms incorrectly (e.g., introverts are antisocial, extroverts are obnoxious); assumptions and misunderstandings ensue
  • We often label people as opposed to describe as it as a preference in how energy is used; people aren’t introverts but they have an introverted preference
  • It can be a powerful opportunity to open up our understanding of preference, sometimes there’s a polarization; I am either one or the other when in fact we’re a combination of both
  • The polarization of groups can sometimes lead to competition or resentment, neither of which help us in our teams and working relationships

Here’s where the opportunity lies; if we’re going to be talking about an introverted or extroverted preference, we need to start embracing the roots of this dialogue, which is about personality typing, and that these are traits. Traits on a continuum. You’re not all the way one, and not all the way another.

We’re not mutually exclusive categories and there is value at every spot on that continuum.

When the discussion about energy reference – introversion and extroversion – it allows us to better understand each other, value differences and fuels the broader discourse about inclusivity. If we consider it to be a part of that broader discourse about how everyone is valued and has a place, that’s where it’s more helpful, as opposed to putting people into camps.

Here are a few things that I’ve discovered in organizations, where it doesn’t become a polarizing conversation, and actually helps everyone to be at their best.

  1. Introversion and extroversion are about how to best harness energy.

Do you know your talents’ preference to these questions?

  • Do you get more energy by processing and having a bit of time reflecting and hearing what people are saying?
  • Or do you process information best, and you get the most energy from other people?

Can you see how knowing this would be helpful in a meeting context? Or even knowing that you have more people with one preference than another would be insightful? It impacts how you run meetings, how much time you need to give people when you identify an issue that needs resolving, even accurately reading peoples’ body language!

  1. Have a balanced conversation.

Understanding energy preferences is also about a balanced conversation. How you have meetings, celebrations, and process decisions likely lean toward one preference or another. How can you better balance it? For example, if you know that you have people of both preferences, provide information ahead of a meeting so the people with an introverted preference can process it. Leave room on the agenda for individuals with an extroverted preference to process it by talking it through and building on each other’s ideas. By having a discovery process that leverages the strengths of each preference, you are more likely to make the best decisions as well as leave people feeling heard, valued and engaged.

  1. Be inclusive.

Language needs to be inclusive. Perhaps you’ve noticed that I’ve shifted the language to Introvert or Extrovert. Instead, start describing versus labelling; Introverted becomes having an introverted preference. Also, give space for people to be able to describe their current preference. I know I can have more of an introverted preference some points in the day even if I’m normally on the far side of the extroverted preference. And similarly, if I’m a little bit grouchy, and maybe because I’ve only had myself to talk to all day, and as interesting as I’d like to think I am, it’s not as interesting as when I’m with other people.

How can you use this inclusive approach to make sure that every person feels valued and has a good environment to do their best work? What other suggestions do you have?  Pop them in the comments below.

For other free resources to help keep you strong as a leader, feel free to hop over to the Cool Stuff page and download many helpful tools to use.

Three Strategies to Lead your Team through Effective Coaching

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One of the common themes I see emerging in 2018 is the topic, “Leader as Coach.”  What we’re seeing is that as the coaching field continues to evolve and grow, more people are experiencing the benefits of having been coached and want employees to experience the same benefits. They are also realizing that they can begin that movement by being more coach-like in their leadership approach.

However, leader as a coach is not always a natural fit. For one thing, it’s not always the right approach. When we have a crisis situation, when there’s a very clear way of doing things and when it is the leading practice, being directive is often what is required. However, to assume that all leadership scenarios require a directive approach is shortchanging not only your employees but your peers and organization as well.

The world of business and our organizations is complex and competitive. It’s fast-moving and evolving. It requires innovative solutions, new approaches, and flexibility that a directional leadership style simply doesn’t utilize. In fact, our employees may have the best strategies to manage the challenges they face daily; they are closest to the work, the customer and the product. Organizations practicing continuous improvement and LEAN have known this for years and are light years ahead of their competition and they stay consistent in this method. Being more coach-like as a leader enables you to share the responsibility of creating new possibilities and products through to solving long-standing issues. Not only that, it allows you as a leader to demonstrate daily how you value your top talent, and authentically provide meaningful ways for individuals to contribute their expertise, ideas, and enthusiasm. In other words, stay engaged and contribute.

To be clear, this blog is not trying to profess that all leaders need to become coaches (you already have enough to do). Nor is it in fact ethical for you to officially be a coach to somebody who reports directly to you (according to guidelines set out by the governing body of coaches, the International Coach Federation). Rather, this blog is about exploring a few core coaching principles that helps to make any leader more effective and get out of firefighting mode; to enable you to harness, nurture and value the talent that you already have for the good of all.

Here are three key strategies that are essential to being more coach-like.

  1. Be Visible.

In terms of being more coach-like, you could certainly be more visible that only seeing employees in a meeting or the boardroom. And this applies to every level of leadership. It’s incredible the number of walk-throughs I’ve done with a new organization I’m working with and when I ask about leadership, people will tell me who has been around lately, how interested they were in what they had to say, and how valued they made them feel when they communicated with them. There’s nothing more powerful than when you’re physically where the value is created and you’re able to use inquiry rather than direction to be able to harness the best from your employees. Get out, get curious, and act on the good ideas or lines of thinking you hear. Circle back with folks what you learned and if there are some actions, ideas or opportunities you’re acting on. Now that’s a way to compliment your top talent…listen and utilize their wisdom…and watch them give you more of it!

  1. See Complaints as Opportunities.

My co-author Brenda Zalter-Minden used to say to leaders, a complaint is merely a poorly worded request. In other words, the individual’s greatness is in there, it’s just perhaps very well masked! But when you take a curious stance, you can listen past the complaint to the suggestion or opportunity. Inquiry allows you to learn rather than get on the defensive. Not easy to do if you’re tired and feeling burnt out, but all the more reason to do less firefighting so you aren’t as burdened. Perhaps after your line of inquiry to figure out the suggestion under the complaint you don’t change a thing, however, the person will feel valued and validated by you seeing them as resourceful rather than a problem.

  1. Ask Good Coaching Questions.

At risk of stating the obvious, being coach-like requires you to ask good coaching questions! In other words, open-ended questions as opposed to yes, no, maybe, sorts of answers. They allow the person to think differently to help you dig a little deeper. They deepen the understanding and assume the person is resourceful, rather than what we often do which is listen to speak (where we’re not really listening!)

If you would like to look at some examples of helpful coaching questions, here are some from our deck of coaching cards:

  • Suppose the issue that we’re focused on actually was disguised as a great opportunity, what could that be?
  • What value could you add without even trying?
  • Who would have a different perspective on this?
  • How do others describe you/the team/the organization at its best?
  • Imagine your ideal day or shift, what would be different?

The power of these questions is that you are opening up the possibility of what solutions you could find, as opposed to trying to have all the answers. It allows new leaders, or people who have less experience, to immerse themselves in their team and to get a good read on what’s going on, through the power of questions. You’re able to share the spotlight with your employees and peers, valuing them for their experience, wisdom, and engagement. You can have the same benefits by asking powerful questions of your customers as well, making them feel a part of your organization and learning what they most need from you.

One last thought. Why not consider bringing a more coach-like approach into your family life as well? I can tell you as the mother of two teenagers, they would much prefer that I ask them questions than telling them what to do! That this is a way of being and thinking that can help to build any relationship.

What other suggestions do you have to fuel a coach-like approach as leaders? Will you share them in the comments section below?

For other free resources to help keep you strong as a leader, feel free to hop over to my website for the Cool Stuff page and download many helpful, tools to use.

Five ways to retain top talent during fast-paced growth

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How do you keep up recognition of your top talent even when your business is growing at an exponential pace?

This is a question I have been asked by hundreds of individuals, leaders and business owners over the last few months. The assumption being: we don’t have time for recognition during growth cycles.

But I would question the assumption underlying the question.

Recognition needs to be front and centre all the MORE when your team, organization or industry are growing and the pace is exceedingly busy. This is when you need your best people the most, and it’s also one of the times you’re most at risk of losing them.

When your focus is not on recognition, it can lead to your most needed and valued people feeling like just a cog in the wheel of growth. They may feel like giving up and burning out. They may begin to wonder, “could the grass be greener on the other side?” The fallout: intention to leave.

Ironically, simple acts of recognition can help to insulate against fatigue and keep people motivated to do their best even during those exceedingly busy times. When your organization or industry is in a period of exponential growth, taking on more and more, that is exactly when you need your top talent the most, focused, implementing and performing. You cannot afford to lose your best people any time, and certainly not when you’re growing.

But leaders think they have no time. They cannot fit it in and certainly, can’t afford to not do it. And, the fallout (e.g., recruitment) is way more time consuming than simple acts of acknowledgement.

Recognition can help insulate against burnout and fatigue and provide an opportunity to see how scalable your recognition efforts are. Consider:

  • How committed are you to making sure that your best people know they’re appreciated and valued?
  • What is your people philosophy on the long-term?
  • What do you want your people to be saying about the organization on the other side of your current growth cycle?

It’s a great opportunity to ensure your vision for the future keeps your people at the forefront. And here are some ways to ensure recognition now helps retain them so they stay with you later.

  1. Provide the unexpected

When your best people go the extra mile, do something unexpected, surprising and personally meaningful. For example, you have a core team working late for a few weeks, sacrificing a lot. The surprise recognition gesture: send dinner home to their families.

Think about it. They miss dinner with their families. Someone has to pick up the slack at home. Many people don’t like cooking (or certainly the dishes that follow). When your top people go home to smiles versus upset kids and spouses, they’re less frustrated about the extra time. And the cost is pretty low in the grand scheme of things.

Dinner sent home sends a message to the employee that you recognize and appreciate the extra effort and commitment. It sends a message to the family that you understand the sacrifice they’re making and appreciate them too. It also sends a message throughout the company that even though sometimes you have to ask people to work longer hours, it doesn’t mean you expect people to be married to the job; when you have to take time away from family, that will be acknowledged versus expected.

  1. Have a milestone celebration!

As much as you may have this huge growth, stop and celebrate. It doesn’t have to be a long pause. The importance of that pause is remembering how far you’ve come since the last time you took a pause. It’s that sense of accomplishment, that hit of dopamine, that allows you to feel the sense of success. Otherwise, it just feels like there’s more to do, and you get overwhelmed; the path to burnout.

I spoke for a client at a milestone event, celebrating progress so far on a long, onerous project (where no wins were that visible yet) after a multi-company merger. The energy in the room and appreciation for taking the time to break bread together, hear a non-work motivational speech and get to know each other on a social level was appreciated by every person I spoke to. They all said, “They didn’t have to do this. But it matters that they did.”

I hope you’re doing shout-outs all the way along. That is not just for your leaders and the business owners, but it’s also for your colleagues as well. Peer-to-peer recognition is one of the easiest ways to keep recognition momentum going. When you have that, as you’re growing, it allows everybody to have an opportunity to keep that strong recognition culture afloat.

  1. Strategize using an employee think-tank

If you are finding that you’re growing so exponentially that you can barely keep on top of it, bring the employees together to strategize together. Ask things like:

  • What are we doing that’s working?
  • Is there anything that’s not efficient?
  • Is there anything we could be doing differently?

By asking for feedback (especially feedback that starts with an abundance mindset about what’s already working), you’re showing you value their feedback and they’re not just “worker bees”. Take the quick wins (even better encourage people most passionate about the quick wins to run with it) and put ideas into place right away. Keep that sense of ownership, that feeling of “I belong here despite the changes”, alive and well.

Something like this if not geared at being a complaints session. It’s not a passive “suggestion box” type of idea. Rather a strategy and opportunities generation session. What you’ll find is, there are things taking away good people’s time and attention that really aren’t important, and you can likely get much of that cleared away so they can stay focused on the most important work needed for growth.

  1. Strength discovery is critically important

There’s a free, really valuable tool called the VIA Signature Strength Survey, although maybe you have already done a strengths tool. Look at the results and map out their individual strengths. Consider if they are well aligned with the work being done. While you’re growing, the easiest, most efficient way to maximize people’s talents is to leverage the strengths and expertise they already have. When you’re trying to work outside of your strengths and push yourself, on top of having a huge volume of work and tight deadlines, it’s exhausting and not as rewarding. Map out the strengths and try as best as you can to match your growth strategy to how you already have strengths within the organization.

  1. Measuring matters

Finally, find a way to have those performance milestones. Are you measuring performance and progress as you’re growing? Are you still measuring the cultural variables that individuals feel most strongly about preserving? Are you measuring both process and outcome measures (usually we like to measure the final product – outcome – but that doesn’t keep people going, nor does it allow for quick course correction, when measured in isolation).

What you measure matters. As you’re measuring it, as you’re going through those milestones, I hope that you have some of those “people measures” as well. And pull them into the celebration!

I hope these tips have been helpful as you continue to embrace recognition. What other suggestions do you have?  Pop them in the comments below.

For other free resources to help you keep recognition strong in your culture, feel free to hop over to my website for the Cool Stuff page and download many helpful tools to use even when you’re growing.

Five Keys to Retaining Your Best Staff

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Recruiting your internal staff first is one of the most powerful recognition strategies right under our noses!

When we don’t provide our internal staff with the opportunity and treat them as the priority, then how can you expect them to feel valued and respected? Especially if they’ve been looking forward to these great assignments, stretch projects and promotions.  When suddenly, that new opportunity arrives and just like that they don’t get it and hope is dashed. Especially if they were never really taken seriously. It’s just so painful.

Here is what we know about how to best retain top talent by first looking seriously at our talent within.

  1. Make a decision: do we have a ‘first try to hire from within’ philosophy?

Sometimes people will tell me they cannot hire from within because there just isn’t the talent there. But do your people know that? If someone doesn’t know they’re not performing to the ability and the level that they could be to have access to an opportunity, that’s your first problem! And it needs fixing fast!

Let’s assume, however, that this is not your issue. Does your organization value external people more than internals? Do they take outsiders’ perspective to be wiser, more valuable, and more respected? Or is institutional knowledge, fit with the culture, and “better the devil you know” fit more with your approach? If it’s the former, what evidence do you have that outside is in fact better?

The other piece is that it’s going to take a lot more to onboard somebody who doesn’t know your organization and get them up to speed compared to somebody who does. One of the greatest opportunity for recruiting our internal folks first is that you know them already.

  1. Shift your thinking: what ripple effect does our hiring philosophy have on engagement?

What message does your philosophy about hiring from within have on engagement? If people feel they’re likely to get passed over, why would they give their discretionary effort, ideas and improvements? Or at least, they’re less likely to.

Your philosophy will also approach how you think about investing in developing people. If you want to hire your own, you’re more likely to grow them. The law of reciprocity kicks in and they want to do more for you as they know they’ve been invested in. See the cycle?

You also need to understand where development needs to happen. This may come out of your job evaluation process and your performance appraisal process, of knowing what talent you need and where that growth needs to happen.  Are people ready for those opportunities? If not, help them prepare. It can also impact what sort of training you do and what coaching and mentorship needs to be available in order to ensure the readiness of the next group of leaders or folks who move into those lynchpin positions that are so challenging to recruit to.

The other opportunity is it allows potentially your employees to get involved in the process. To be able to put up their hand and say, “Yes, I would like an opportunity if it became available.” You don’t want to ask them if, in fact, you have every plan to give it to somebody externally.

I’ve heard from a lot of business owners and leaders that they’re concerned and hesitant about making this their process and policy. You may or may not be one of them. Perhaps you already have a process where internal applicants are given the opportunity before external, which is great. My question to you is, is it consistent?

  1. Upping the Preparation: Have you clarified your intent in your People Plan?

If you don’t have a People/Human Resources Plan, well, that’s where you need to start. But let’s assume you do. This is where you build in your philosophy and operationalize your strategy. This is where you can clarify how and why your recruitment practices flow the way they do. This is how you ensure continuity and consistency – from job postings to interviews to hiring decisions and beyond.

Do you have a process of being able to look at your existing talent pool and seeing what kind of development they’re going to need to be ready for those positions you anticipate will come available? Consider your turnover patterns – your past is the best predictor of your future – is there a way to leverage an internal recruiting approach to ensure you don’t have big gaps and anticipate the external recruitment you’ll need to do? And of course, build in what you already know about natural attrition, i.e. people retiring, moving, and contracts renewing.

  1. Spreading the Communication: Do all stakeholders know your philosophy?

If you have external or internal stakeholders with a vested interest in certain candidates, bring them in sooner rather than later. It could be your union colleagues, a shared management agreement with another organization or individuals identified through succession planning and so on. Make stakeholder consultation a part of your recruitment process; even staff positions you can have a colleague sit on the interview panel. As much as possible, make hiring decisions a shared process (yes the buck stops at one person, however, if others are involved at all levels then when decisions about going outside must be made there’s confidence it’s because it was necessary).

Of course, adjust your policies and your approach, not all of this has to happen overnight. However keep your people and related stakeholders informed about your intent to recruit from within first, that you value the talent already in the organization, and you want to know how to support people until such time the right opportunity comes along.

If you’ve found these suggestions helpful, why not share them? Let’s have more intentional discussions about our “recruit from within” philosophy. And of course, share any suggestions or comments below.

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