The following blog post is from HBS Resources President and Massimo Group coach, Blaine Strickland. I am thrilled to share that Blaine has just launched his first book, Thrive: Ten Prescriptions for Exceptional Performance as a Commercial Real Estate Agent.
In today’s post, Blaine shares the 3 essential steps in hiring the right person for your commercial real estate team.
It’s usually fairly evident when a CRE team needs a new team member. It’s not nearly as easy to add that new player.
Most of us know the Jim Collins’ (‘Good to Great’) mantra that we have to “get the right people on the bus.” But – how would we know if we have the right person for the job?
Start by defining the job in clear terms. This means creating a job description in three parts: what the team does, how the new role fits into the team’s mission, and what activities are part of the typical week. Then, take a minute to describe the attributes that would have to be present for a candidate to succeed in the role.
Next, create a scorecard that will act as a sieve as you interview candidates. This scorecard has two main benefits: it increases the chances that every interview will be on point, and it enables you to rank the candidates on an apples-to-apples basis when the interviews are complete.
Third, in addition to the interviews, use other “inputs” in the process. You can have other team members interview the candidate, check references, conduct third party evaluations and have the candidate complete a skills test. (If you need some serious Excel skills in this role, asking the candidate to rate themselves on a scale of 1-10 is not sufficient!).
When you work this process, you have greatly enhanced your ability to discern whether the candidate in front of you is a good fit for the role you have designed – which means you can get the right person on the bus AND in the right seat.
If you would like to read more about this idea, please check out Blaine’s new book, Thrive: 10 Prescriptions for Exceptional Performance as a Commercial Real Estate Agent.
