According to a recent survey published by Harvard Business Review, 41 percent of board members recognise their biggest challenge is attracting and retaining top talent.

We also know that with good leadership, talent does not come and go – rather talent comes and grows.

Effective leaders focus on ways of developing talent within their teams and organisations. Retaining and growing talented teams to reach their potential grows fulfilment, effectiveness, productivity, and profitability.

However, this all starts from recruiting the right type of people to your organisation. Selecting the right person to your team can be a challenging task. Having interviewed and hired numerous people for over 25 years, I fully understand the importance of getting this right.

The hiring of people to join your team can have a huge impact upon the company one way or the other. Therefore, the interview procedure must be carefully planned out. Strategic coaching questions should be crafted in order to get inside the heart and mind of the person you are interviewing.

The 7 C’s Strategic Approach for Successful Recruiting I am about to share with you will provide a solid process, which will enable greater success for you in hiring the right person to your team.

It is a process I have used and added to over the years. As a business consultant, I know that the process for selecting the initial interviews, the questions asked in the interview, and the process to the appointment can be weak and needs to be addressed.

I often say that in order to develop a company, develop the team – however for this to be successful you must have the right team members on board.

So be honest with yourself as you answer the following question:

• On a scale of 1-10 how effective would you describe your recruitment process?

Which areas need to be up levelled in order to attract the very best to your company, and to ensure you are saving on recruitment fees?

It can often be said that when someone joins your team, they are one day closer to leaving. However, the aim and intention is that you attract the very best in the marketplace and that you both enjoy a long-term and very successful business relationship.

What should you be looking out for when recruiting someone to join your company? 

This is a key question that must be given great consideration before the interviews start. So where do you make a start?

Always have an agreed established process in place to ensure that you are making a wise judgement when offering someone an opportunity to join your team. Don’t rush this, think into this well. 

What will your process look like?

As I have previously mentioned, the interview process for some companies and teams may not be as robust as they could be, which can lead to the wrong person being offered a job as well as costing the company a large amount of time and money.

Too much money is being wasted when it comes to recruiting. Successful recruiting allows you to reinvest in your own business. Making the wrong choice when it comes to increasing your team can have huge financial implications for the company. 

For small companies with less than five people, this can even lead to the company failing. Don’t let this happen to you – the pain is far too great and not needed!

So, first, recognise that hiring the best staff is an art. It takes time and wisdom as you seek to determine who could be the best candidate to fill a function or role you have available.

Good employers ask great questions – at the interview stage, well-crafted, well-thought questions will help to determine the quality of answer that you are looking for. Never rush this process; consider in advance the questions you want to be asking.

Don’t just think of questions during the interview. If there is a panel interview, decide in advance which questions each of you will be asking. Don’t put yourself in the position that you say after the interview has finished thinking to yourself I forgot to ask a good question!

Prepare in advance for the interviewing process. Always use a personality profile approach as this will help to reveal the strengths and limitations of an individual, but will also reveal how they respond to being part of a team.

As a Business Consultant I would highly recommend for you The Seven C’s Strategic Approach for Successful Recruiting:

1. Character

A member of staff with a good attitude, who is able to learn, and with skills that can be developed will have huge positive effect on your team, productivity, and profitability. Character is often described as what are we like when no one is watching.

Good character will ensure you have someone working not just for you but with you, someone who is honest with you, the customer, and themselves. They will not be compromised.

2. Coachable

Are they coachable or do they think they know everything there is to know?

Are they open to change? When you employ coachable people on your team, you can be assured they will have a great attitude. A coachable person will always go far within a team. You can see this in business as well as in sport.

A team member with a very pleasant attitude is a great person to be working with. It will be easier to work with someone with a good coachable attitude than with a poor one.

3. Care

Do they care?

It is so important to have team members who care – about the vision, mission, fellow team members, and values of the company. Caring team members know how to care for their customers.

Caring team members will go the extra mile. They care about the work they do. Ask them to share with you some examples of how they have displayed a caring approach in their work situation. You want to hear their stories about this.

4. Conscientious

You can always spot conscientious team members; they are often good listeners.

They will always look out for what is best for the company, team, and customers. They can often be great thinkers.

You want these types of people on your team. They won’t be looking to cut corners. They have high standards and will always seek to do their best.

5. Can-do attitude

Do they have a can-do attitude? Do they see the possibilities, or do they just see the problems? 

A can-do attitude is very contagious; it spreads well within a team and causes it to become very courageous. Are they prepared to have a go and take on new responsibility?

When you have a can-do attitude amongst your team, when it becomes part of the team DNA, it inspires everyone to step up. Ask leading questions to find out if they have this approach and if they do, ask them for a few specific examples and the difference it made.

6. Competent

Do they have the competency to fulfil the position you are offering? Can they do this role today and are they someone you can develop for a wider role in the future?

Do they have the skills and talents you could develop as you look to grow your business? A good leader will look to develop the talents in each member of their team, both for now and the future.

Therefore, it’s important to see if they have the capacity for growth as you grow your business.

As I mentioned earlier, with good leadership talent does not come and go – rather it comes and grows. It’s important never to despise a small acorn when it comes to talents. If you want to grow your company, grow the talents within your team.

7. Chemistry

Can I really work with this person? Can they work with me? Is there a personality clash? Can they work with the team? Are they a good team player? Will they be accountable?

Get this one wrong and it can spoil your entire team. Just because someone is competent does not mean they are a right match for your team! 

There have been times when I have not appointed someone to join my team, not because they lacked the competency –  in fact they could do the role very well – however they were simply not the right match for the others.

The chemistry just did not fit. Team to me is more important than just one person.

You need to be asking tough questions such as: will this person not just work for me, but will they work with me?

Is it all about them or is it about working towards the vision and mission of the company? There is a huge difference between someone just working for you (pay cheque) and someone working with you (loyalty).

Don’t be tempted just to take someone on because of their reputation or record achievements alone; you are interested in the future success of your team and company.

Get this one right and you are doing your best in building a great team. This is so important, please read this part again! I really want you to succeed with this.

So, when recruiting, consider The Seven C’s Strategic Approach for Successful Recruiting. 

You may be a manager, or in HR, or maybe it’s your job to lead the interview process. Ensure you have a solid process and plan ahead to stay ahead when it comes to recruiting.

Your ability to recruit well will determine the success of your team and company. These effective recruitment strategies and practices will save you time and money so that you continue to build a successful and sustainable business.

Some final questions to consider:

• How will you upgrade your process for successful recruiting?

• What could the impact be on the company once you make those changes in the next 12 months?

• What could the impact be on the company in the next 12 months if you did not actively change your recruiting process?

Tony Lynch has authored a white paper, Developing and Growing a Team for Optimal Performance: A Close Up Look at a Team Development Model That has Stood the Test of Time, which is available to download for free from Keep Thinking Big.