The A-Team Delivers #119

Today Alex and Amber talk about making new hires and how to make sure that the new member on a team is as good a fit as possible.

The Episode: The A-Team Delivers

Hiring the right staff is one of the most important parts of scaling a business and many things need to be considered when it is time to engage in this process. With this in mind, we dedicated this episode to the subject of hiring new coaches and other team members. Joining us for this discussion is our very own Alex Cartmill who has a lot of experience in this area as he is the former head coach for OTA level 1 and is currently running our OTC program. We get into the whole process of making a new hire, covering how to know when you need somebody new, what skills to look for, the qualities they should inherently display, the application process, training, and more.

In This Episode

How to know when it is time to start looking for new team members [0:07:14]
Different types of new hires and when to hire which [0:13:00]
How to find the right person for a position you are hiring for [0:18:15]
Qualities that are tough to teach new hires through training [0:21:09]
The best way to set up an application process [0:24:32]
Keeping a new coach in check versus giving them freedom [0:30:51]
Final tips for hiring and managing coaching staff [0:30:51]

“I will take someone with a good attitude and the right mindset and have to teach them the skills any day of the week before someone who happens to have all the skills.” — Amber Reynolds

How to Know When It is Time to Hire A New Coach

Even before you start looking for employees you should understand where your strengths and weaknesses lie. This way, when you look for new people, you know what to hire for. As far as knowing when to hire somebody new, the time will be right when one of two things happens: you either want help with scaling or with handling the business you already have. When it is time to make a new hire it is important to understand which roles you can afford to fill with new talent and which ones you need to keep doing yourself. By all means, hire people that allow you to focus on your zone of genius, but do not just outsource for roles you can’t stand doing even though you should be the one doing them.

What Qualities to Look For In New Candidates

When it comes to hiring new coaches, you will find that candidates will fall into two main categories, complementary and supplementary. Supplementary coaches will have a similar approach as your own and can be hired to fill roles you used to occupy yourself. Complimentary coaches on the other hand think differently than you and these types of candidates can be used to help grow the business by expanding the range of services you offer. Knowing which of these two types is right for your business at any particular phase goes back to self-awareness. If you understand where your strengths and weaknesses lie it will make it easier to know which type you need. That being said, often the first hire people will make is a supplementary one. Regardless of which type of coach you need, we recommend looking for people who are empathetic, curious, and display naturally good interpersonal skills because it is hard to teach these qualities.

How to Find the Right Person and How to Train Them

Once you know who you are looking for the next step is finding them. Here at the OTS, we often don’t need to look much further than our preexisting network. Once you have a team that you can trust the chances are they will know somebody right for the position and you can build a shortlist in this way. If you are still in the beginning phases, the question you need to ask is how can you make the application posting appealing enough to grab the attention of the talent you are looking for. Posting the salary you aim to offer is one good way to do it. On the topic of salary, you need to be willing to reimburse a person for the value they will be adding to your team. You can assess how much to pay based on how replaceable a new hire will be. Once you have made your hire and are in the process of training them there is a fine line that needs to be towed between giving them the freedom to be their authentic selves and keeping them in check with the branding of your company. Giving them freedom is important but it means they will make mistakes, and it is important to have systems in place to handle this.

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