Nov 29, 2017
Scott Wintrip, author of High Velocity Hiring, discusses a
range of hiring and cultural issues around creating a high
performance team. He explains that instead of hiring when an
opening occurs, leaders should know their ideal candidate profile,
and interview ideal candidates continually. This builds
relationships and keeps high potentials in a hiring inventory
pipeline, and ready for a position when it comes open.
Key Takeaways
[2:25] In our fast-paced world,
the adage about being slow to hire is wrong. An empty seat is an
open wound. The manager has to do their own role, the work of the
empty seat, and the work of hiring someone to fill it. A manager
doing three jobs is hiring while distracted. We need people readily
available to power companies. The first job of leadership is hiring
a quality team to lead.
[5:51] Build an inventory over
time by seeking referrals, having conversations, interviewing the
best, and using them to fill positions in a continuing process to
stockpile people who are ready as you need them. This takes half
the time of rushing to fill an open spot.
[11:00] Scott suggests using a
hands-on interview where real sample work is completed. This
circumvents the ‘tell, sell, and swell,’ of a normal interview and
it begins the assessment process. Top talented candidates don’t
enjoy a drawn-out multiple-interview process. They appreciate this
process of looking ahead and being ready to work together when the
time is right. It’s cultivating a relationship.
[15:14] Start with a ‘hire-right profile,’ of a
list of deal makers, deal breakers, boosts, and blocks. Know the
candidate you want, before you start looking. Then talk to and
interview people who fit the profile and do some hands-on work with
them, looking ahead to future openings. Candidates will last for
months or years in your inventory if they think you will be the
right company for them.
[19:27] Companies with a great brand can afford
a grueling hiring experience, for a while, but turnover is high at
those companies. Loyalty is earned through culture. Recruit from
those companies whose employees are looking around.
[29:26] Scott has always looked
for things he wasn’t doing well to try to find a way to do them
better. Early in Scott’s hiring career, he found he was a bad
interviewer, so he decided to do the exact opposite of what he was
doing, as a starting point. That started Scott on the path to
hands-on interviewing. His passion comes from improving himself on
his entrepreneurial journey. His transparency is
relatable.
[36:21] Find your hire-right
profile in a four-quadrant grid. Upper left is Must Haves. Upper
right is Must Not Haves. Lower left is Boosts. Lower right is
Blocks. Think of people who have succeeded in the role. List their
commonalities as Must Haves. Think of people who were unfit for the
role. List their commonalities as Deal Breakers. Then add ideal
qualities and negative aspects in the bottom quadrants.
Website: HighVelocityHiring.com
Twitter: @ScottWintrip
LinkedIn: Scott Wintrip
Email: Scott@ScottWintrip.com
Website: Wintrip Consulting Group
Book:
High Velocity Hiring: How to
Hire Top Talent in an Instant, by Scott Wintrip
SHRM:
“6 Steps to Move Hiring Out of the
Slow Lane,” by Scott Wintrip
Top 100 on
Amazon:
High Velocity Hiring: How to
Hire Top Talent in an Instant, by Scott Wintrip
Fast Company:
“The Deceptively Simple Type of
Question Every Interviewer Needs to Know,”
by
Scott Wintrip
Forbes:
“You’re Hired: High Velocity Hiring
Techniques,” by Kevin Kruse
ABC:
“How to nail down the job of your
dreams without breaking a sweat, with Scott Wintrip”
Fox:
“High Velocity Hiring”
Quotable Quotes
“Adages are called old adages
for a reason — because they’re old and they’re tired and they often
don’t work.”
“We need people readily
available because people power companies.”
“All great leadership starts
with picking the right people with whom you surround
yourself.”
A couple hours of calling and
interviewing a month allow you to stockpile people who are
ready-to-hire.
“Building inventories takes half
the time, compared to conventional ways of reacting to an open
job.”
A sales pipeline and a hiring
pipeline are really the same. You want to nurture and progress the
prospect along the way.
“We sell the best parts of
ourselves. ... That’s not a very good indicator of whether or not
somebody’s a fit.”
“Candidates love a ‘red carpet’
experience; they loathe the ‘Survivor-like’ interviewing
experience.”
Good leaders want career seekers
who look ahead, not job hunters focused on the present.
“Companies can live on their
brand for a while when it comes to hiring, but it doesn’t last
forever.”
“Our best lessons come from our
mistakes and how we respond to those mistakes.”
Engage with people instead of
imposing upon them. Say, this is what we going to do, and this is
why. How will we do it?
“Every day I find something new
about myself that I didn’t know and that’s pretty doggone
cool.”
“I’m a recovering perfectionist,
as a lot of the leaders are.”
Bio
Scott Wintrip eliminates hiring delays by helping
organizations across the globe implement a process to fill jobs the
moment they become open. He’s the author of High Velocity Hiring:
How to Hire Top Talent in an Instant (McGraw-Hill).
Books mentioned in this episode
High Velocity Hiring: How to
Hire Top Talent in an Instant, by Scott Wintrip
Wool Omnibus Edition (Silo
Series Book 1), by Hugh
Howey