Poor interpersonal skills are why there are so many hiring failures today!
The #1 reason? They are uncoachable.
Here are shocking stats:
- Almost 90% of the time, it’s due to the new hires’ attitudes and poor interpersonal skills.
- Only 11% of failures are due to technical skills.
- Almost half of new employees today will fail within 18 months of hire. (Leadership IQ)
Why is being coachable important? It reflects the ability to accept and put in place feedback from bosses, team members, customers, and others! (Leadership IQ) Being coachable is why leaders and teams succeed in business!
Many hiring managers admit overlooking or explaining away flaws they saw during interviews. But they were unsure what to do with these insights or biases. Moreover, they lacked objective data from qualified job fit assessments that would provide the boss critical on how to coach these new hires for success. (See Chapter 9, Using Qualified Assessments and Skill Testing in the newly released: Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!)
So, they default to selecting job candidates based on technical and other hard skills. But, then, these new hires are fired due to poor interpersonal skills! So, it’s time to improve your selection system and use your interview time effectively.
How to Hire Coachable Employees
- Job Fit Is #1. According to a Harvard Business Review study, job fit is why people succeed! Use a qualified job fit assessment to ensure you’re seeing the whole person objectively. When using real and consistent data, you can delve deeper and learn more about the person before hiring them! This avoids surprises!
- Ask These Two Very Important Interview Questions. A coachable person is looking to improve and is willing to ask for help.
Ask: “When was the last time you made a mistake?” and “How did you handle it?”
Then, listen for:
- “What did s/he learn?”
- “Who did s/he talk with?”
- “Why did the mistake happen?”
- “What were the results?”
This is perhaps the most critical and revealing part of the interview.
- Gain Additional Insight During Reference Checks with Previous Co-Workers. Ask this question: “Would you work for this person? Why?” Listen. I’ve found this question to be a good indicator of a person’s on-the-job interpersonal skills.
- Focus on Results Required for the Position. Put together a 180-Day Success Plan. Share it during the final interviews with the job candidate and listen. The person’s reactions may change over time, so it’s essential to address any change of attitude asap. Remember, you’re not hiring lone rangers that want to do it their way! You need team players with the attitude of, “I’m open to learning from my mistakes and contributing to the success of everyone.”
©Jeannette Seibly 2021-2022 All Rights Reserved
Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.
A note from Jeannette about how to hire coachable employees: One of the top reasons new hires fail is being uncoachable! During the hiring process, ask the job candidates about mistakes they’ve made and how they were handled. Want to improve your hiring success rate? Grab your copy of the newly published book, Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results! Have questions? Most do! Let’s chat now!
Did you know your interview questions are costing you top candidates? How do you ask job-related questions? What are useless interview questions? Why should you only use the interview as 1/3 of the hiring decision? Get your answers, suggested interview questions, and so much more! Grab your copy of the newly released Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!