A Rockstar team is necessary for any business that desires to achieve its goals, scale, and provide an infrastructure upon which long-term success will be achieved. Like anything important, it requires a lot of planning, intention, and execution.
It starts with the owner, who creates the business plan based on their personal, professional, and financial goals. Then the owner should, perhaps along with upper management staff, create the mission, vision, and values that best suit the company. These ideals must be the culture of the company, and the time to introduce them to new team members begins during the interview stages.
A six-month staffing plan is necessary, which takes into account the company’s marketing plan and growth goals. Specific growth plans, vulnerable staff areas, and office space all need to be considered.
There are multiple sources of team candidates, all of which should be used in combination to find the absolute best candidates. A tracking system is good to use to keep organized. Recruiters may be expensive, but the value they bring can far exceed the cost. All communications should be written as advertisements for the company with the goal of attracting top talent.
An interviewing plan is necessary, which should be standardized. This way, potential team members are evaluated evenly so as to objectively select the best candidates. Beware of the Halo effect when one thing stands out, which blinds the decision maker from other very important areas where there may be deficiencies. Understanding and ensuring the company can meet the team member’s personal, professional, and financial (PPF) goals is important at this stage and before the hire.
A well-thought-out onboarding and training plan is critical, which begins before the candidate arrives (pre-boarding) and lasts for at least the first three months. There are many great benefits, including the decrease in time to proficiency and the increase in time to profitability.
The team must be managed with goals set to measure their performance. Key performance indicators (KPI) must be used that best reflect the profitability potential that each role brings to the team. Departments must have KPIs as well. Rockstar team members must have goals to achieve; otherwise, they are the ones dictating the level of performance of your company. These goals should be tied to the success of the business plan. Metrics should be reported at least every month and evaluated with the team member at least every quarter.
One-on-one meetings between direct supervisors and team members must be conducted regularly. Management should always seek to fulfill the team member’s PPF while providing opportunities for feedback.
Finally, for underperforming team members, there should be performance improvement plans, and quick decisions to separate is appropriate. Keeping people in roles that are not good for them is bad for them and the company. Hire slow, fire fast.
