Hiring for Motivation – Investing in People

Have you ever hired someone who you thought was under qualified, and subsequently became happily surprised by how quickly they learned the job and became a star?

Enthusiasm, and the joy of feeling like we are growing is the fuel behind great performers. Great performers work with the deep understanding that every job is a stepping stone. They know that they are on a path to a new, more exciting stage in their career. They are "juiced" and excited, feeling like they are making progress toward an exciting new lifestyle. When we hire based only on past performance, we are loosing the benefit of tapping into this powerful motivating force.

So, how do we determine a candidate's true motivating force? The first step is to seriously consider candidates who at first appear to be under qualified. Many of the best candidates are never seriously considered for the role, because the corporate culture does not encourage that amount of on the job learning. The candidate is labeled as under qualified, and is not viewed as a potential candidate. This is a deep component of corporate culture. The best companies see themselves as institutions of learning, and have incorporated this on the job learning as a part of their normal processes.

Once the company begins to seriously consider these marginally qualified candidates, then the underlying motivation must be uncovered during the interview. This is accomplished by getting the candidate to relax and start talking about future dreams and aspirations. Ambition. Where do they want to go, and why do they want to get there? By listening carefully to their answers and reading between the lines, the truth will come out. You want to tap into the excitement of learning something new, of growing on the job and really going somewhere. People will surprise you.

There have been many studies that demonstrate that academic achievement is an imperfect predictor of future success. One very successful way to predict future success is to look for an example of passion being expressed at some point in the candidate’s past. Look to see if they became focused on one project and really “blew it out of the water.” This would be an example of their tapping into their passion and working diligently for a future goal. This is a better predictor of future achievement that a consistent stream of successful cooperation with the institutional powers that are governing their behavior during that time.

Another benefit to employing this cultural norm is an increased focus on quality control. Giving a task to an employee with the knowledge that their may be some deficiency in the work they perform obviously requires a heightened attention to supervision and quality control. Conversely, assuming that the person who has performed this task a thousands times before will continue to deliver is a dangerous assumption. With financial reality acting as a sword of Damocles hanging over their head, they probably will. But things happen and individual motivation can sometimes change dramatically. Companies who take the safe path and only hire those with the exact experience needed often end up with a group of people who are boring and simply going through the motions. Their is little excitement and very little innovation. The group lacks power. The best long term strategy is to create a learning organization, and not depend on a collection of pros.