There’s a show on Netflix called The Longest Third Date. Basically, a young couple decided to go to Costa Rica for their third date and got stuck there because of the COVID shutdown.
One of them happened to be an aspiring influencer and documented much of what happened, thus the show. For some this seems like a nightmare scenario. For them it appears to have worked out, at least for now. As of April 2023, they were living together in New York with their dog, Banks.
This relationship happened by chance. I mean they liked each other enough to go on a third date and make it a trip to Costa Rica. But they weren’t thinking they were entering into a long-term relationship where they would be spending every moment together.
But this is essentially the same process many of us use for hiring and job hunting. We go on one or two short dates and then we commit. We don’t stop to think that what we’re actually committing to is about one third of our waking hours for the next 2 to 5 years.
Now the research shows this method does work about 25% of the time. Again, we basically get lucky. So, what about the other 75%? What happens when we don’t get lucky? We’ve set ourselves up in a long-term relationship where we are not happy. It’s the Gallup employee engagement survey, where 70% of employees in the US (and 80% globally) are disengaged at work. And, by the way, these numbers remain essentially unchanged since Gallup started the survey in 1987.
Candidates need a process, as do employers.
Now the research shows that when employers have a thorough process, the right process, they can flip the script and get it right about 75% of the time. They are able to facilitate fit and hire people who align with their cultures and fit on their teams. To do this, though, they’ve got to interview a lot of candidates. And they reject most of them, because the candidates are almost all looking for a job, not for a long-term relationship.
It’s time we all started looking at this challenge differently. I’ve mentioned long-term relationships several times. And that’s what I mean. Most of us would not intentionally enter into a long-term relationship after 2 dates and a web search. But we do this with our work. We basically swipe right, go meet the other party, go on another date, and hope for the best.
Instead, we all need better ways to assess fit.
Our focus right now is often set on credentials, experience, and skills. Kind of like profile pics and a brief bio.
Well, skills can be transferred. In other words, you can teach them, and you can acquire them. Sometimes that takes a while. Sometimes it’s pretty quick. And some people will be better than others, but practice and training can improve our skills.
So, why the focus on skills? Because it’s easy. We can easily look at skills and experience. It’s why the resume exists. Getting to really know someone is way harder.
It’s hard investing the time and learning to assess someone’s fit with your organizational culture. It’s even harder for someone on the outside to assess that culture. But finding this fit, the right bus to get on for the next 2 to 5 years, that makes all the difference.
For Employers
For employers, start by articulating your values. What do you expect from each other? How do people in your organization behave, toward each other, toward customers, and toward the world? Write that stuff down. And create processes to reinforce and acknowledge these desired behaviors.
Tell stories and share them when people go above and beyond to exemplify these behaviors. And do something about those who don’t.
Finally, ask questions throughout your recruiting and hiring process to attract those who align and weed out those who don’t. You will be happier. Your team will be happier. And your new hires will be happier.
For Candidates
For candidates, start by looking at the organization’s values. Not just what they profess, but what they do. How do they behave, interact, prioritize? How do they treat you, on the phone, in person, and with any follow ups? How do they treat each other?
What stories can they tell around who they are and what is important to them? Are these stories easy for them, or hard to think of? Do their actions follow what they profess — do they practice what they preach? And ultimately, do they align with where you will be happy for the next 2 to 5 years?
For All
This is the solution to the Gallup employee engagement survey. Not just the suggestions that come out with the survey every year.
Those suggestions are important. The first one for 2023 is to “Focus on clarifying expectations”. I mean, I wrote a book on that. It’s not wrong. It’s just that it doesn’t matter if you don’t have the right fit in the first place. So, focus on fit first.
Focus on Fit First
Start with the tips on finding fit above. And shift your mindset and expectations around hiring to embrace the idea that you, whether you are the employer or employee, are looking for your next long-term relationship.
Then, when you’ve matched with the right people and their engagement is waning, get serious about the Gallup survey and suggestions. Grab my book if you want. It’ll help. But it will help a lot more if you’re in the right relationship to begin with.
This is what I’m working on now, helping people, employers and employees, find their best fit. We’re starting with Physical Therapy at PTMatch.io. But we’ll see where it goes. If I’m right about fit being the most important thing, we have the potential to make a whole lot of lives better and really move the needle on that employee engagement number.
What am I missing? What has worked for you and not worked around hiring? Do you think this will make the world a better place?
Let me know what you think. — Sturdy
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
