Nothing is more frustrating or deflating than investing months and years in training a new colleague for success, only to learn they lack the passion for the work and will seek an opportunity in another discipline elsewhere. All of the time, resources, and energy invested in the colleague are instantly wiped away with no tangible benefits going forward. What a waste!
As this happens with multiple new colleagues over time, the willingness for others to mentor new team members becomes severely diminished. Team morale suffers as well as newly skilled team members leave the organization without concern for the people who invested in them.
In some organizations, the revolving door of new hires who leave after a short time to pursue entirely new disciplines undermines the desire to invest in anyone new. While this problem is not new, it seems to have become even more common in recent years.
What can leaders and recruiters do about this dilemma?
It’s nearly impossible during the recruiting process to discern whether a prospective team member has the passion, commitment, and interest to build their skills and engage in the work of the enterprise over the long term. After all, passions can shift as life experiences alter what is most important to people.
Others, such as more junior team members, have yet to conclude what really excites them or where they want to invest their time. Some won’t admit it during the interview process, but they never intend to stay more than a few years. They see the role as simply a job and they intend to explore new ones as they present themselves.
While there are no surefire ways to guarantee that a prospective team member has or will sustain the passion necessary for a long-term commitment to the work, one question offers a lens into how the candidate sees themselves relative to the discipline and the work. Asking prospective team members what they see themselves doing in 5-10 years will often reveal where their true passions lie. Fascinatingly, most people are very honest when addressing this question.
Answers will range from “I have no idea” to “I can see myself doing something entirely different in 5 to 10 years.” Because prospective hires typically can’t see why an honest answer to the question would cause concern, they are commonly very open in their expression. While the answer should not be a final litmus test, it is a valuable piece of data as interviewers explore whether a commitment and passion for the work exists.
Of course, the answer leaders hope for goes something like this: “I hope I’m still in this organization, doing amazing work, and enjoying great personal and team success.” While some candidates will be savvy enough to read between the lines and offer this answer even if it’s not genuine, they would be the exception.
Ask people what work they see themselves engaged in or doing in the distant future, and you are likely to catch a glimpse of whether they have any degree of real passion for what the enterprise is all about.
Recruiting new colleagues who lack a passion and commitment for the work is a big miss that can destroy the morale of the team as they depart after a huge investment in them. When it comes to passion for the work, the fewer misses the better.
Well….. The cat’s out of the proverbial bag!😉😉
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years is to know your leaders company vision. Not their (the persons)vision but the company’s vision.
What is the lineage of the company as a whole?
What’s their history been?
What has been the succession plan since the conception of the organization?
I find it hard to believe that the question is even in anyone’s short or long term planning anymore. Why?
The change in today’s culture has not presented itself to support that thought process any longer. The roadmap of what the company is doing is so observable today that candidates see through the “smoke and mirrors”.
I guess I could use Tesla as an example they’ve laid off thousands of young talented employees and expect another 7 thousand through August.
The candidates today need to look at the history of the company, its employee enrollment trends and then, maybe you can look at, is this my future?
Finding that candidate and their passion for what you do is beyond difficult in what WE have created.
Think of it this way….
You (Tesla) are laying off over 7K employees.
How long have they been there?
What role did they play?
What solid succession planning did you have in place?
Here’s the best question…
Why did you even hire them? (Whole other topic)👀
As thousands of adults have graduated from college (my daughter included) this year, what planning has the college had in teaching and the new workforce era folks in finding their niche?
I’m not saying it’s on them to do so, but who is it on AMERICA?
I get why it’s frustrating for an employer to sift through the passion finds, but at the same time what am I offering as an employer to convince them to be that Leader?
As always GREAT topic!!
As much as I agree with the writer, my opinion is this.
It's good to know whether the candidate is passionate about the job, either by knowing his/her short or long time goals are aligning with the company's or the said role.
This may not produce the desired results as the candidate focuses on how to get the job!
Some hiring managers also focus on SKILLS rather than the RIGHT ATTITUDE/CHARACTER Skills can be learnt on the job, but you can't learn the right attitude.