The Characteristics of a Successful Hire with Allan Jones of Bambee

2022-11-24

What are the common characteristics of every successful person at your company? Think of those characteristics and write them down as standard operating procedures. This is critically important because when we operate under the same frequency, pace, and purpose… growth happens. But this can change instantly when a new person is added to the team. Too often we hastily add a person to the mix without understanding how they really operate on a daily basis. Assuming that they will be the answer to all of our current challenges because of the skills they are bringing to the table. There is nothing more critical to hiring success than aligning people first, and skills second. This means investing the tim...

What are the common characteristics of every successful person at your company?

Think of those characteristics and write them down as standard operating procedures. This is critically important because when we operate under the same frequency, pace, and purpose… growth happens. But this can change instantly when a new person is added to the team.

Too often we hastily add a person to the mix without understanding how they really operate on a daily basis. Assuming that they will be the answer to all of our current challenges because of the skills they are bringing to the table.

There is nothing more critical to hiring success than aligning people first, and skills second. This means investing the time to dig deeper into your interview process. Understanding not just what a person accomplished but the details of exactly how it was done and why it was approached in that manner.

Guest Bio:

Allan Jones is at the helm of Bambee, a new type of business built on the innovative premise that every small business should have a dedicated HR Manager. This concept was derived from Jones’ previous experiences working with—and growing up around—small business owners.

In 2021, Goldman Sachs celebrated Allan Jones as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs at its Builders + Innovators Summit. For three years running, Forbes has named Bambee a top startup employer in the U.S., and in 2022 it announced Bambee as a Top 5 Company in Los Angeles.

TODAY WE DISCUSS

Understanding your company's unique characteristics
How to implement critical characteristics into your interviewing & hiring process

Challenge?

Getting people who fit a special suite of characteristics
- Infinite characteristics that are valuable
- How do you narrow it down to 8?
- Being honest about who you are
- Characteristics of leadership values
  - Mastery of communication
  - Broad outcome objectivity: don't care where the right answer comes from
  - Urgency & greatness in tandem
- Separate leadership & team values
High potency friction
- Hired leader that doesn't fit,
- Courage to make a change
- Scoring system & scorecard

Why is this important to the company?

Looking at blemishes before celebrating wins
- Continuous loop of how can we be better
- Continuous improvement is just part o the game
  - 200+ employees
- Not afraid to say “not every person is right for the company”
- Companies are Olympic sports teams, not govt service agencies

Rick’s Nuggets:

How people operate within your company
Core values drive the operating characteristics
Adding a player to the game, not an ass to a seat

How do we solve the problem?

Identify that the problem exists
- Building leadership personas
- Hired multiple executives and 50% did not work out
- Right after fundraising
- Practices did not scale
CEO can not make hiring decisions for the company
- He is not the only sign-off anymore.
- Interview Structure
  - Hiring committees
  - Only leaders sit on the committee
  - Master of communication
    - Cliff notes version of who you are personally & professionally
    - Go to the resume
    - Listening skills along with speaking
Eliminated Leadership savior complex
- Problems would be solved by our next hire
- Company already had great people
- Never let a problem go unowned
Realization that already had an A+ executive team
- From savior to draft pick
- 90% success rate

Rick’s Nuggets:

Values drive characteristics
Interviewing process
- Structured & designed to gather evidence to support the correct decision
- Assign interview questions for people alignment
- Follow up with what & how questions

Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value):