As a hiring manager, it’s great to find an employee that checks all the boxes on your list of practical skills and experience required to do a job, but there is still value in finding that person who may not have the ideal experience yet, but can handle the challenge of navigating the position.
New employees that are less experienced can bring a lot of creative and innovative ideas to the workplace. They are also ready to soak up everything they can learn and develop good work habits within your organization.
Complacency in a role can really prevent growth and severely diminish enthusiasm in work. There are certainly times when it is valuable to think about someone’s potential when bringing on new hires versus relying solely on his or her level of experience in a particular role.
Of course, basic skills are necessary to effectively complete required tasks, but giving an employee the ability to take chances and learn in their role will help them grow as a professional and increase their loyalty to the company. The earlier you can give someone a chance in his or her career, the more loyal they will be to both the company and their colleagues.
An employee’s motivation to do good work is related to challenges that they face in their role. Most less experienced employees understand that they are walking into an organization with something to prove.
That being said, you want to ensure that you create a work environment that allows employees to take on a reasonable amount of responsibility, motivates employees and promotes learning.
It can also be incredibly rewarding to help new hires reach their full potential. There is value in promoting continual growth, and learning and challenging someone within their scope of work when they first enter your organization.
So evaluate someone’s potential in a job rather than ensuring that they currently have all the skills and work experience you can imagine would be required for that specific role. Don’t be scared to challenge your employees and find that diamond in the rough!
