The past few months my consulting has leaned more towards the creative side however discussions I’ve had lately and experiences with businesses and organizations throughout the city, have me anxious to get back to the recruiting, training, development and diversity side of things. I know what it takes to develop a top performing team that is diverse, knowledgeable and exceeds expectations. It takes a lot. It’s starts with hiring the right employee, then proper on boarding and continued training. Maybe it’s all of the growth happening in our fine city but it seems like companies are missing the mark in either finding the right employees, creating diversity, keeping good employees and performance development. In order for us the handle the growth our city is facing without imploding, our workforce and the productivity of that workforce must be top notch. My advice to every organization, both small and large in any sector is:

Take a good look at your team…

1. Is there diversity? True diversity. One person of another race among an all white team does not diversity make. Neither does one woman in a room full of men. But rather, a diverse group of people working in various roles throughout the organization, including management or leadership.

2. Are your managers knowledgeable of the organizations goals and held accountable to achieving all aspects of their position? This is where job descriptions become important. I know many organizations that post very detailed (almost impossible to meet) job descriptions when hiring but when it comes to daily performance, the job description and role responsibilities become obsolete. Employees are great employees when they are exceeding in each area of their role and capable of taking on aspects of the positions above them. 

3. Is there regular training occurring and development/growth plans in place for individual employees? Regular discussions and performance reviews make for an easier time in the long run. Managers and employees should be on the same page when it comes to what the employee does well and their areas of opportunity. Areas of development are not secrets to keep but an opportunity for discussions about performance and growth.
I don’t like to call myself a recruiter, I am as much an advocate for the candidate as I am for the organization hiring. It’s about building great team that work hard, think like owners and exceed goals. To achieve this, it’s vital to fill open positions with good candidates but it’s equally important to organically and systematically support growth and manage performance. 
  
my current team…