How to Build an Award-Winning Work Team

Key Takeaways

• Know what you are looking for
• Have an effective interview process
• Key elements of the decision-making process

One of the most critical challenges encountered by an early-stage company is found in building the right team and “getting the right people” on the bus (1).  Having the best possible mix of talent, attitude and competency within your group will have as much to do with your probability of success as will any other facet of successfully building your business.

This is a tall order, and even for a highly experienced HR professional, results are often mediocre at best.  As with many such challenges, breaking the process down into a few of the core elements and staying focused on the subject at hand, it is possible to succeed.

The first element to consider is what you envision as being the culture of the company you want to create.  Determining exactly what feel and look you want for your company and paying close attention to what you feel will deliver the best results; this will also help to better define the type of people you are looking for.

Once you have a sense for the type of person you are looking for, you can then better assess candidates as you go through the interview process.  Networking can be a big part of identifying the best candidates, and this is something that necessarily should always be a part of what you do.

Most people only tap into their network contacts and maintain connections with contacts when they are in the search mode for people.  It is a far better idea to actively maintain contacts with your network on a very regular and methodical basis.

Okay, let’s talk about the next step. You have done your homework; you have solicited good responses and you have a reasonably good number of people. Now this is where the rubber meets the road. How do you determine who is the best fit and who will bring the most value to your team?  As is often the case, the answers are quite simplistic.

Be thorough! Both in the interview of the candidate and in your follow up to validate.  I am constantly appalled at how many companies do very little in terms of reference checks and follow up to ensure what the candidate has on his or her resume is in fact a legitimate representation of reality.  Always, make the calls, always compare what is on the resume with what is on their LinkedIn page and always have them fill out an application.

When comparing the resume with the LinkedIn page, you are looking for consistency. When you don’t see it, there is often a reason and it is usually not a good one.  It is a good standard to have all candidates fill out an application as part of the interview process. People will often embellish on their resume, but when it comes to filling out an application and having to sign the document attesting to its validity, that places a more formal and higher level of accountability to the process.

How many times should you meet with a candidate before making an offer?  My personal experience is that I always meet in three face-to-face interviews. The logic is simple: When you call a person back for a second face-to-face interview, they are often more relaxed because they feel good that they have been called back. The fact that they are more relaxed will give you additional insight into who they really are. You tend to see more of the real person.

Sometimes this will make you feel better about them and sometimes it will beg the question “What did I see in this person?”  Always take this added step. I feel that the third face-to-face is generally to make the offer in person, welcome them onboard and set the stage for their start date.

One final question. You have thoroughly interviewed the candidate, you have compared their resume with their LinkedIn page and everything is OK there. You have completed reference checks and have not found any discrepancies. But for some unknown reason you’re still not quite sure this is the person you are looking for, but you can’t put your finger on why. You can’t articulate why something doesn’t feel right. What do you do?

Trust your instincts and do not make the offer. Instinct is the far better judge of such things than logic.

Another scenario to be careful of is the situation where you have a candidate that appears to walk on water. You and your team love everything about them, no one has identified any area of concern and they seem too good to be true. Do not hire them. They are probably very professional interviewers who have perfected the art of telling you what you want to hear.

Building the best possible team is a combination of both art and science. In the end, for the best results, learn to trust what your heart is telling you.

For more information on improving your results in building a great team, the following link may be helpful: Leaders of great companies ask: First Who, Then What?