They traveled near, they traveled far — goofing off with my KW family members in RS class.
Hiring the right person for a position on your team is THE. WORST. JOB. EVER! One of the biggest mistakes I ever made was rushing to hire, simply wanting someone in the role, not ensuring that the candidate was a star. How much time did I waste cleaning up that absolute disaster?
Keller Williams Realty has this AMAZING hiring process called Recruit Select (RS). As a corporate recruiter, I engage in pieces of this process each and every day. Recently, I took a class taught by Keller Williams CEO Mark Willis, the expert on RS. More than two hundred Keller Williams associates from around the world attended this class and I quickly realized that this is another example of how Keller Williams’ models and systems are as valuable as my MBA education. (I apologize to my father who paid for my education and was my first blog subscriber.)
Here’s a quick glance at this magical process that contributes to Keller Williams’ tremendous success in hiring like-minded individuals who are perfectly suited for their positions.
Step 1: The Phone Screen
Such a simple step, just a casual conversation with the candidate. Curious about what nuggets of information to capture during the phone screen? I love the example of the WEIGH acronym: Work Education Interests Goals Habits.
Step 2: DISC
Many companies use a DISC assessment to identify communication and behavioral preferences. What does DISC stand for?
D: Dominance I: Influence S: Steadiness C: Compliance
Candidates take a computer-generated assessment and then meet with a hiring manager to discuss the results. After showing a candidate what the assessment identifies as their dominant behaviors, an easy conversation starts by asking the candidate to share professional examples validating why or why not the assessment is accurate. Through this, you learn more about their leadership, professionalism, and communications style.
Step 3: AVA
I LOVE the AVA, Activity Vector Analysis. This is only for Keller Williams and I am fascinated by the accuracy and depth of the assessment. The AVA is also a computer-generated test. The consultants review the assessment and the results show expected behaviors, leadership style, how one gains commitment, ideal working environments, weaknesses, and coaching tips. The conversation to validate the AVA can last a few hours. By the end of the AVA validation, the candidate and manager know each other well.
Step 4: Comprehensive Interview or Life Story
But wait, there is more! The comprehensive or life story interview is an in-depth conversation about the highs and lows in ones life. A certain level of trust develops during this process. It further validates the previous behavioral assessments and hopefully shows a track record of success. After the life story, the candidate and the hiring manager should be quite comfortable with one another and have a strong rapport.
Step 5: References
We like references at Keller Williams! We ask for quite a few: people you have worked with, people in the same industry, and personal. Each time we talk to a reference, we ask for that person to refer us to another reference. The goal is to go “three deep.” I must say, there is some friendly competition and the record, that I am aware of, is seven deep! That’s a lot of friends of a friend of a friend!
Step 6: Commitment Interview: Setting Mutual Expectations
By this point, you have the perfect candidate. Defining mutual expectations is important before entering into business with someone. Keller Williams provides the tools to do this professionally and with heart.
The process works. Don’t learn the hard way, commit the time to hire the right candidate. Shoot for the stars, don’t settle. Hear it from the best by watching Mark Willis describe the Recruit Select process to Inman News.
Tags: Austin, heart, Hiring, Keller Williams Realty, Recruit Select
