We all know that your employees are critical to the success of your company. To have a great company, you need to hire the right people and get them into their ideal roles.
In the past, it was assumed that a new hire would be able to perform well in a new role if they had strong work experience and qualifications. Nowadays, however, there are many other factors that determine how well someone will do at a job.
This article will explore some of these factors and discuss what you can do as an employer or manager to identify whether this person will make a great addition to your finance team.
The Traditional Onboarding Path
The traditional path in assessing a new hire’s capabilities is typically as follows:
- The first step is usually to assess an applicant’s qualifications is by checking for relevant certifications or education.
- A second step usually involves evaluating their level of experience. A person’s work history is usually indicative of performance in future roles.
- Finally, managers also take note of the person’s attitude and personality – are they patient, flexible, and willing to work hard for the company?
- If the manager is still unsure about whether or not this candidate will be a good fit for the company, they’d consider putting them on a trial period before committing fully.
While these are all good exercises to use in testing how well someone will perform at a job, there are some more things that can be done to tell whether or not they will add value to the finance team.
Steps in Assessing a New Finance Employee
The following steps can be taken to determine how well a new finance employee will do at the job:
1. Test for Team Fit
One of the most important aspects to consider when hiring a new employee is whether they will fit in with other members of the team.
The interview process is a crucial opportunity to ask questions about how well they work with other people.
A good test would be to give them an exercise in which they have to work with other employees in a group to complete a task.
You can assess how well they work together by evaluating whether or not they were considerate of other people’s ideas and whether or not they were able to compromise.
2. The Early Days Benchmark
Did you know the onboarding phase is a crucial element in both individual and organisational development? It is key in establishing a foundation for future success.
In fact, a report on Inc shows that up to 20% of employee turnover occurs within the first 45 days of employment. This is why it’s critical to check in with the new finance team member especially through the 45-day benchmark.
Why 45 days? Because that’s the time it takes for a new employee to get fully acclimated and acquainted with their new company, according to the same report.
This is a great opportunity to get down with the new hire and see where they’re at in terms of their knowledge of the firm, their role and also to see how happy they are.
You can assess their performance to this point on some of the shorter projects you assigned while also figuring out where their mind is regarding the bigger picture projects you hired them for.
3. Run the “Why” Test
It’s enough to ask the typical interview question: “Where do you see yourself in the next 5 to 10 years?”
Make sure to run the “Why” test – get to the bottom of what your employees’ motivations are.
A new hire will be more likely to perform well if they are enthusiastic about the company and want to work for it.
People who are just working to pay the bills or because it is what they have done in the past may not be able to bring the same level of motivation to their work.
Conclusion
The bottom line is there are certain things you can do to assess how well a new finance employee will perform at the job.
By running the above tests with your new finance employee, you’d be able to know for sure if they’d bring value and drive success in their role.
These assessments should help determine whether or not a candidate will make a great addition to your finance team!
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