According to writer Simon Sinek: 100% of customers, suppliers, employees and business owners are people. Therefore, if you don't understand people, you won't understand business.
Managing a business necessarily means managing people. Seeking a greater understanding of human behavior is one of the most valuable tools for any company.
To ensure the sustainability of a business and achieve satisfactory results, companies deal with the management of resources, tools, people, customers, suppliers and all areas involved, directly or indirectly.
There are many disciplines and many factors, thus forming a complex equation, with uncontrollable variables. Regardless of the market, company size, revenue or goals, one common point remains: people.
Managing human capital is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges today, especially in markets with high demand, growth and continuous and abrupt changes. And, as if that were not enough, there are generational changes, where the relationship between the youngest and the most experienced adds another layer of complexity to this mix.
To master this complex game, dividing the issues and establishing priorities is essential. Divide and conquer: with specific strategies for the stages, creating groupings and segmenting.
When it comes to people management, the topic can be divided into three main pillars: Recruit and Hire; Retain and Engage; Promote and Fire. Each pillar has its own particularities and requires a unique approach, with technical knowledge, data and, most importantly, dedicated action plans. In this article, we will explore some of the main problems faced by companies in light of these three pillars, listing errors and risks in operational routines.
Recruit and Hire
Starting with the first pillar: developing an assertive hiring process is a huge challenge, ranking high among managers' complaints. The problem is so big that many companies, even with the market, resources and knowledge, simply don't move forward because of the difficulty in hiring.
And here begins the first mistake: what does it mean to hire right? What are good professionals? What is a good hire?
If a manager believes that he or she can hire highly qualified professionals in record time and still save money, he or she is setting himself up for frustration. To make good hires, it is essential to have a well-defined process, led by qualified professionals.
This process requires time and resources, and there are no shortcuts. It is necessary to start with a detailed job description, considering not only technical qualifications but also the appropriate behavioral profile, aligned with the organization's code of conduct and company culture.
Then, you need to diversify your candidate prospecting tools (as well as customer acquisition in the sales area): databases, social networks, paid traffic, publications, active search by phone and messages, as well as referrals. Is this really done in your process? Combining these efforts increases the chances of attracting a greater volume of qualified candidates.
It is also essential to align the requirements of the position with market information, conducting research on positions and salaries. Many managers still believe that they can pay salaries according to their financial planning, but this is a gross mistake. In fact, it is the market itself that regulates salaries.
The manager needs to decide what characteristics he needs and then do his research. If salaries are higher than the company can afford, he needs to reduce requirements. There is no other way around it: it will always be a “short blanket”. Recruiting well is, above all, knowing where to be flexible.
Next, candidates are assessed based on their experiences and skills, technical and behavioral aspects, suitability for the position and compatibility with the company. Specific tests can (and should) be applied at these stages, aiming to improve the accuracy of the results.
Are you really evaluating enough? The recruitment funnel can have more than 100 candidates for a vacancy, and the best ones are selected for the final phase, where the direct manager, preferably with the of a human behavior professional, chooses the most suitable one.
Complaining about the lack of qualifications of professionals, without following a rigorous process like this, is naive. Where is it written that the company needs ready, qualified professionals who deliver immediate results at a low cost?
If strategic planning was based on this premise, the error lies in the planning, not in the supply of labor. A low ability to understand the facts generates unrealistic expectations and, consequently, failures in the process.
Retain and Engage
The second pillar is retaining and engaging employees. Many managers still believe that engagement is something that should “come from the factory”, hiring only people who are already naturally engaged.
And when this doesn’t happen, the problem is blamed on the current generation, on professionals who “don’t want to make an effort” or on HR who “doesn’t know how to hire”. Another big step towards failure. Working with people management means understanding that you’ll never get it right every time, even with the best processes in the world.
And this happens because people are unique and change their minds, desires and goals frequently. And the sooner companies learn this lesson, the better they will be able to face these challenges naturally.
Retaining good professionals requires continuous effort, specific techniques and, above all, honesty in relationships.
This includes meetings, which should be ongoing, with the aim of offering help so that the person can improve what they did wrong and expand on what they did right. Always using data and facts, judging the act and not just the person, thinking about what is best for the company and for each professional's career.
Furthermore, individual meetings with direct leaders (the famous “one-on-ones”) are essential to align expectations and prepare the ground for evolution. Another essential point is to understand each employee’s goals and establish attractive, documented and clearly communicated career plans. Climate surveys and behavioral assessments are useful tools for this understanding.
Engagement also involves understanding the motivations of professionals, which can be of many types: promotions, higher salaries, flexible hours, work style, direct leadership, corporate environment, among many others.
Have you ever asked your employees what really motivates them? Each person has their own priorities and the only way to understand them is by asking them. It may seem obvious, but it is not. Managers often assume that employees have the same motivations as they do, which is a mistake.
Motivation and engagement happen when people feel safe, are able to be vulnerable and show their flaws, have the courage to discuss mistakes, seek learning and finally share a common purpose.
Teams that are in tune deliver better results, just as happier people are more resilient and learn more. Managing stress levels, balancing challenges with each person’s capabilities, is essential. Employees under constant pressure tend to fail. And what about those who are bored? Boredom is just as harmful as overload.
In this regard, the middle path is the best solution. Managing daily stress and frustrations helps with emotional management, an essential aspect for an employee to be at the peak of their cognitive and activity-performing capacity.
Promote and Fire
Finally, the third pillar: Promote and Fire. A company reveals its culture in three moments: when it hires, promotes or fires. Everything that is written on the wall or in beautiful phrases is tested in these three moments.
To decide who and when to promote or fire, the most important tool is the performance evaluation, as long as it is done in a complete and technical manner. Most companies use a single criterion: achieving goals.
Those who meet their targets are in good standing, those who don't are out. Working with only this criterion is another path to failure. The ideal is to carry out periodic assessments that consider two pillars: performance results and compatibility with the company's culture.
No one wants (or should want) an employee who meets targets every month but doesn’t contribute positively, generates conflicts, follows their own rules and doesn’t work collaboratively. This type of behavior can be harmful, even if it brings some financial return in the short term.
Likewise, there is no point in having someone who is fully aligned with the company's culture and values, but who does not deliver results. Therefore, performance evaluation must be based on two pillars: results and behavior.
Furthermore, it is essential to create personalized action and improvement plans, according to the needs of each employee. Promotions and dismissals, by concept, should never be surprises.
Assertive work in people management involves these strategic pillars:
- Recruit and hire with solid processes, adequate investments and necessary time;
- Motivate teams and create favorable environments with appropriate tools and career plans; pay adequately and retain talent;
- Continuously evaluate and develop; and,
- Maintain healthy turnover by clearly communicating the reasons for promotions and dismissals.
Regardless of the size of the company and the market, following these steps will place the business at a level of greater maturity, sustainability and lasting results, in the search for better performance and evolution.
The opinions and information expressed are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the author. Canal Solar.
