Recapping The Last Post
In my last post I kicked off a series that discusses how instincts and emotions can get in the way when it comes to hiring or getting hired. In the intro post I gave you a broad overview of how fear, greed, pride, and hope can impact both the employer and the job seeker during the hiring process. Today, we’re going to dig deeper into greed and pride!
Greed Is Good
In this post we’ll dig into how greed and pride can be an advantage. Let’s start with some tips and tricks for employers. Here are 3 ways in which you can use greed to your advantage!
- When a position pays well, you’re going to attract top level talent as a result. This is especially important with supervisory positions like superintendents or project managers so make sure you know exactly what the position should pay before you start your search for a candidate.
- Each pay level comes with certain performance expectations so make sure you’re setting the right tone during the interview process.
- If there are tight deadlines or budgets with your projects, be open and honest about that when interviewing candidates. How they react to that news will give you a clue about their work ethic.
- Also, ask them to tell you a story about a past project that didn’t work out as originally planned. How did they adapt? What did they bring to the table that ultimately got the job done?
- The most important thing is to set clear expectations from the very beginning and make sure that your candidate is on board.
- Pay is the most obvious way for you to demonstrate how valuable an employee is to your operation. Most employees will admit that pay isn’t even their main concern in the work place. They want to feel that their contributions matter and that their opinions carry weight. The bottom line is that when do your part to make sure that pay isn’t a source of worry for a critical employee, they are free to excel in all of the ways you want!
Pride Can Be a Tool
Now let’s turn our attention to the work force. There are a number of ways for all of us to get better at what we do but here are 3 ways to turn pride into another tool in your toolkit.
- Take pride in your work! This may seem obvious but the importance can’t be overstated. Showing others that you’re detail oriented will ensure that you stand out in a good way.
- Pride of ownership matters, so when a project is presented, allow yourself to gravitate to the things you’re best at. Worried about being micromanaged? If you take ownership of your tasks and execute at a high level, your boss will leave you alone. Not only that, you’ll be handed more responsibility and your name will come up when management talks about growth opportunities.
- If you are in a supervisory role, understand the effect you can have on your team.
- Identify a member (or members) of your team that are starting to show some real promise. Take on the role of being a mentor to them. Share your wisdom and experience for their benefit.
- One unique aspect of the construction industry is that there is a long standing history of master and apprentice relationships within each trade – and it’s easy to see why.
- Pass on the positives of pride so that when you have an opportunity to grow, you can be confident that you’ve trained up a solid replacement.
I hope these quick tips prove helpful for you! Stay tuned for the next post in the series where we will examine fear and hope and how they can drive your decision making.
Tyson Conrad