By Laurie Drummond, Certified Two-Brain Business Mentor
As business owners, we tend to spend a lot of time on the client journey. However, we also need to focus on the staff journey within the business.
You can use a staff journey map to better understand role requirements. By this, I mean the real expectations for a position, not just the things listed on the job description.
What does a day in the life of your soon-to-be employee look like? What time do they start work? What time do they finish? Do they have flexible hours?
One of the best ways to gain a better idea of what is needed is to actually perform the role’s daily duties and tasks for a week. You could also map out a longer period if you like by laying out a 90-day journey that includes onboarding, staff evaluations and other elements.
Designing a staff journey map accomplishes many things. The map:
- Establishes a clear view of a staff person’s experience in your business.
- Creates a framework to better understand your current operations and how staff members handle the tasks in a particular role.
- Allows you to create interview questions so you can learn if a potential staff member would respond to certain issues in a way that reflects your vision.
- Helps you define the persona needed to find success in a role.
Defining the Right Persona for the Role
After you’ve laid out a position’s specific roles and tasks and mapped the staff person’s journey in your business, you’ll have a clear understanding of the types of situations an employee will face in a role. You can then determine what type of persona is needed in the role.
“Persona” refers to the personality a person projects in public. What mask is put on for a particular situation? No one is going to be upbeat and cheery every moment of the day, but does the role require the ability to project cheerfulness? If the role is client success manager (CSM) or coach, the answer is “yes.” If the role is after-hours cleaner, cheerfulness is less important than diligence. That’s what I mean by “persona.”
Another example: If you map out the staff journey, you’ll know an admin person might get a call from a client who’s angry about an accidental double billing. The admin must be understanding, helpful, supportive and caring but not angry, defensive or too sensitive.
When defining the persona required in a role, consider these things:
- What skills does the new hire need to have?
- What personality traits will bring success? Which ones will cause issues?
- How does the successful candidate need to think and act? For example, sales roles often suit gregarious people who like to talk, but you don’t want an overly social cleaner to get pulled off task by chatting.
Think, Then Hire
The key to hiring is developing a realistic understanding of the position and the type of persona that will thrive in the position.
As you increase your understanding of your staff journey, it will be much easier to identify a candidate’s core strengths and determine compatibility with the role and your business. After an interview, you’ll know if the candidate has the persona needed to perform the role and ultimately help you grow the business.
I have used this process to develop an amazing team that has allowed me to travel the world. The strength of the team has also allowed team members to take three months off to do university placements or take holidays. When the right people are in the right roles, they support each other, they teach each other and they create a successful, profitable business.
What would hiring right mean for you and your business?
Other Media in This Series
“Hiring Right Starts With Creating a Vision”
“How to Pay Your Staff: Task Rate Vs. Hourly Rate”
“Recruiting and Retaining Coaches: Beating the ‘Great Resignation’”
