Our country was very excited about the change of presidency. Some people were more agitated than excited, but either way, there was a lot of hype, hope, and expectation.
It’s interesting to now see how things are changing or not, progressing or not, and how people are reacting to this.
Satisfied, or Not…
I’m a fan of Gallup because of the research that goes behind their surveys, and because of how the information can be provided to benefit businesses.
The latest satisfaction survey from Gallup says “public satisfaction with the state of the nation remains in short supply.”
Look at this information:
Prior to President Obama’s swearing in, satisfaction was very low. At the time of the inauguration, satisfaction spiked up a little. I presume this was in anticipation of the “change” that was part of the platform Mr. Obama ran on.
Now, we see the level of satisfaction back down. Everyone is familiar with the concept of “the honeymoon period.” You’ve probably experienced this in your own relationships. This is what we are seeing in the satisfaction of people in the country. What appeared to be good and exciting turns out to have problems, flaws, or fulfills the need less than desired.
What About When You Hire?
How often does this happen in work? How often do you find someone you want to hire – someone you think is qualified, capable, and willing – and you get excited about bringing them on board? Like the satisfaction survey, you could rate your sense of satisfaction with this candidate.
How often do you have an uplift in energy, enthusiasm, and excitement? Or you get a sense of relief when you have made the offer because you now have someone who will take care of the problems in your team by not having the person you need?
And then the job performance doesn’t materialize. And the energy, enthusiasm, excitement, and relief all disappear only to be replaced with the nagging feelings of needing to deal with a different problem.
You Were Right!
You did all your work right. You asked the right questions. You checked into the right concerns. This isn’t about what you did – you did your work right.
It’s about what you didn’t do. While you can ask about a candidate’s background, you can’t really get a picture of how they will perform in your position. While you can learn about a candidate’s achievements, you can’t really get a high confidence level of how they will do in your position.
Unless you use tools beyond an interview, reference checks, and background checks.
You Can Be Satisfied
You don’t need to have a fall-off in satisfaction after you hire someone, like Americans are now experiencing with the state of the country.
You can learn enough about a person, and make the best decisions, so your satisfaction increases as time goes on.
Workforce Expertise:
When you look for a person, when you are focused on your hiring, step back and be very clear on what the position requires.
When you find a person you are excited about hiring, pause and take a moment to assess the individual’s ability to succeed in your specific position.
When your information and the “job match” both give you positive information about the candidate, then move forward in confidence.
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