Hiring the right people can make or break a business, especially in industries like land surveying where both technical skills and interpersonal dynamics are crucial. When expanding your team, you may face the dilemma of choosing between hiring someone based on their technical skills alone or focusing on their character and fit within your company culture. In this blog post, we’ll explore the benefits and drawbacks of both approaches and help you determine the best hiring strategy for your land surveying business.
Hiring someone who is highly skilled has obvious advantages, especially in a technical field like land surveying where precise knowledge and expertise are key to success:
Pros of Hiring for Skills:
Immediate Contribution: A highly skilled candidate can start contributing to projects quickly, which can be a significant advantage if your team is short-staffed or facing tight deadlines.
Reduced Training Costs: When you hire someone with the specific skills you need, you save time and resources on training. They already know how to use the tools and software, and they understand the complexities of surveying work.
Technical Excellence: Hiring for skills ensures that your team has the technical ability to handle complex projects and deliver quality results.
Cons of Hiring for Skills:
Limited Adaptability: Sometimes, a candidate with strong technical skills might not be as adaptable to changing environments or new technologies.
Cultural Misalignment: Skills alone don’t guarantee a good fit within your team. A technically proficient person who doesn’t mesh well with your company culture can negatively impact team dynamics and overall morale.
Hiring based on character means focusing on an individual’s personality, values, and soft skills. This approach looks at a person’s work ethic, attitude, and how they fit within your existing team:
Pros of Hiring for Character:
Cultural Fit: Hiring someone whose values align with your company’s ensures a harmonious work environment. A good cultural fit leads to better teamwork and overall satisfaction.
Adaptability and Growth Potential: Employees with the right character traits, such as a positive attitude, curiosity, and a willingness to learn, are often more adaptable. They’re open to training and can develop the technical skills needed for the role over time.
Long-Term Commitment: Hiring for character often leads to higher retention rates. Employees who fit well with the company culture are more likely to feel connected to the business, leading to greater job satisfaction and loyalty.
Cons of Hiring for Character:
Training Investment: If a candidate lacks technical skills, you may need to invest significant time and resources in training before they can contribute fully to projects.
Slower Onboarding: Someone who is hired based on character rather than skill might take longer to ramp up to full productivity, which can be a drawback if you need to fill a role urgently.
For most businesses, the ideal hiring approach is to find a balance between skills and character. Here’s how you can achieve this:
Assess Core Skills First: When hiring for a land surveying role, ensure that the candidate has at least a foundational understanding of the technical aspects of the job. They don’t need to be an expert from day one, but they should have the capacity to learn.
Emphasize Cultural Fit: During the interview process, assess how well a candidate aligns with your company values. Ask questions that reveal their work ethic, adaptability, and problem-solving skills.
Consider Growth Potential: Hiring someone who may not have all the technical skills but shows potential for growth can be an investment in the future of your business. With the right training and mentorship, they may become an invaluable part of your team.
Consider a land surveying company that faced high employee turnover due to a focus on hiring based solely on technical skills. They realized that, while these employees could do the work, they often didn’t stay long or didn’t fit well with the rest of the team. By shifting their hiring approach to focus more on character—bringing in people who were motivated, curious, and aligned with the company’s values—they saw a significant improvement in employee morale, teamwork, and retention. The result was a more cohesive and productive team, ultimately leading to better client satisfaction.
Hiring for skills and hiring for character both have their advantages, but neither approach alone is a perfect solution. In the land surveying industry, where both technical expertise and teamwork are crucial, finding a balance between skills and character is the key to building a strong, successful team. Consider the needs of your business, the existing dynamics of your team, and the growth potential of candidates when making hiring decisions. By doing so, you can create a team that is not only highly skilled but also motivated, cohesive, and aligned with your business goals.