Recruiting to build your perfect team – what is the missing link?
You might have read our most recent article, where we looked at two different companies and their respective teams. We broke down the characters within both, identified how they would impact the growth of their respective firms, and identified one as an example of a world-class team.
In other articles we have also outlined that a perfect team will have a mixture of three core elements, and have outlined examples such as President John F Kennedy’s ‘man on the moon’ goal to show these three elements at work. More than a decade of practical research into the formation of perfect teams though, has taught us that generally, organisations will be lacking one of the three elements.
SO, WHAT IS ‘THE MISSING LINK’, AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOUR TEAM?
In simple terms, the missing link is the missing element within a team. As an example, if we look at the following video we previously shared on LinkedIn, showing two teams that we have previously profiled, we can identify that team one lacks any green elements, whereas team two is dominated by green and red elements. The missing link in team one is therefore the green element, and in team two it is the blue element. With this in mind, a recent conversation with another of our clients, who was struggling to recruit the right people for their team, reminded us of some key learnings.
In this article we will highlight how you can identify any missing links in your team, and how to ensure you best plug those gaps.
HOW ARE YOU IDENTIFYING THE MISSING LINKS IN YOUR TEAM?
The best way to identify the gaps that exist within teams is to profile each member. Doing this provides a map, similar to the ones we highlighted in this previous article. The maps will then allow you to understand which elements dominate the team, and which elements you need to recruit for, within different teams.
If we look again at the city accountancy firm in our last article, and specifically at team map 3, by profiling all of their team members we identified that they lacked the red and green elements- which are their missing links.
As we highlighted in that article, in practice this meant that the team is focused on the technical, accountancy work. There was very little focus on creating and building new relationships (the red element) which would hinder the growth of the firm. Profiling the team then, allowed the leadership team to discuss how they could plug the gaps and hire the missing links.
WHICH BUSINESSES DO YOU KNOW THAT IDENTIFY WITH THIS?
As we highlighted earlier, during a recent conversation with another client, we identified that they were struggling to get their team to work together effectively, and that a mix of personalities was causing friction between them all.
We were also told that the existing team was struggling to grow the business, and that they were having issues recruiting the right people.
By profiling the team, we were able to identify the two elements that were missing, and our follow up workshop explained the issues.
Following the workshop, team members have been able to identify ways to work together better, and the business has integrated the Perfect Teams indicator into their recruitment process, so that they can hire their missing links.
HOW DO YOU RECRUIT THE RIGHT PEOPLE, AND HIRE THE MISSING LINK?
Turning to your recruitment of the missing links, we see two main avenues here, and we will now address both.
1) When you have a large volume of applications: Something our team has learned over years of working with CEOs and business owners, is to hire for attitude, and train for skills.
The question then comes, if you are hiring and need to deal with a huge volume of applications, you need an easy way to identify that missing element – the missing link. If you know what elements you are looking for, providing a Perfect Teams indicator would allow you to identify the most relevant candidates from the crowd.
2) When sourcing and headhunting: At the start of May, it was reported that UK job vacancies were at their highest for a year as lockdown restrictions started easing. Obviously this would depend on the industry, but as a general rule, in these circumstances you are more likely to use sourcing agents and headhunters to fill vacancies.
In that situation, the earlier you can identify the elements you are looking (and not looking) for, the better. In that case too, providing a Perfect Teams indicator would allow you to use any time you had, to source or headhunt, and speak to the most relevant candidates.
As Richard Branson has said, if you get the perfect mix of people working for your company, you have a far greater chance of success.
So, what is your missing link, and how are you going to recruit to fill the gaps and achieve that perfect mix? Perfect Teams identifies any missing links in your organisation, uncovers the hidden talents, and helps plug any gaps that exist.
To find out how we could help your organisation build the perfect team, please sign up to our next free workshop by clicking here.
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