If you’ve just invested time and money to get a contractor on board, chances are that you and the team are already under the pump.This makes it vitally important that the contractor is the right cultural fit so that they gel with the team and “hit the ground running”.
In order to make sure you pick the right person who will integrate properly and quickly into the team, and work as efficiently as possible straight away, consider the following as essential elements to your “cultural” fitness test:
Is your recruitment process open & transparent?
Keep your recruitment processes open and transparent with your recruiter. If your recruiter has been properly briefed on the role and tasks that need to be delivered on, the candidate/s they put forward should already be able to do the specific tasks involved within the job. You can then spend more of the actual interview time getting to know the candidate and whether they are the right cultural fit properly.
Have you invested in quality recruitment?
In order to keep recruitment processes simple and painless, invest in building a relationship with a specialist contract recruiter you trust and allow them to deliver without getting involved in “resume races”. Allow them to come and visit the office and get to know your team. If they have seen the office dynamics and personalities for themselves, they will more accurately be able to assess the right contractors to put forward when time is of the essence.
Are your team’s values being communicated?
Most companies will have a set of values that they require employees to abide by. But what about your individual team’s values? If you as a hiring manager are clear on what your team values are and how they like to work together, you can more clearly articulate this to a recruiter when it matters and get the recruit right, first time.
Are you asking the right questions?
Contract processes move quickly and often HR don’t have the time to get involved. As a hiring manager, you may need to ask the behavioural questions usually reserved for an HR representative yourself. Questions such as, “How do you define success?” “Describe yourself in three words?” or “Describe a work culture/environment where you would/would not be happy” can get a candidate talking and will quickly show more of their personality and work behaviours.
Do you know their track record?
Get as much value as you can out of the recruiter. Ask questions like, “Have you placed this contractor before and how did they integrate with other teams?” Get the recruiter to do a quick reference check with the contractor’s previous employer with specific, detailed questions targeted around how they got on with the team.
Can they do a “working start”?
A working start – the best way to see whether the candidate will gel with the team and company is to see them in action! Agree with your recruiter that the candidate can do a full day’s paid work as part of the interview process to really see if they can fit with the team.
Are you testing enough?
The screening process in recruitment is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Ask your recruiter if they offer any psychometric or personality testing as part of their service that the contractor can complete as part of the interview process.
With this “cultural” fitness test, if you put in the prep work and put the new recruits through their paces you will be making the right call on whether a contractor is fit to perform every time.
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