Surround yourself with talent
In order to position the company to go to the next level, Ryan needed to find the people that had the necessary skills.
One of Ryan’s first steps on the job was finding a good human resources person who would challenge him and his decisions, because Ryan knows he has a strong personality.
“I am very zealous and energetic, and sometimes that can be overbearing to folks,” he says. “I basically embrace my human resources partner to ensure that we instill a level of balance within the organization, which is facilitated by communication at all levels.”
You should look for someone who will formulate their own opinion and won’t agree with you all the time and who also will be discreet and build relationships with people.
“One of the attributes that I needed was somebody that was extremely discreet,” he says. “Because I expect that human resources leader is going to have somewhat of a Chinese wall. She’s not going to walk in and dime out the employee that just gave her information.
“She’s able to communicate things within the company. I also want the ability for this person to be a coach and mentor to me in terms of my emotional intelligence and leadership style and overall effectiveness within the organization. That’s going to be a function of the ability to push back. I really want a strong business partner within the organization.”
Use the interview process to find that person who will give it to you straight.
In the case of the human resources person, Ryan wanted input about himself from the candidate after the interview was over.
“I asked that person for an assessment of me at the end and what kind of advice would they give me and what were their observations within the first hour and a half that we met,” he says. “So, I put them right on the spot.”
Ryan didn’t have any preconceived notions about what that candidate would say.
“I just knew that I wanted to get their read and how quick a study they were and how comfortable they were willing to be candid with me,” he says.
When interviewing potential hires, including for the human resources position, Ryan looks for qualities that show job candidates have thrived in a team environment in the past.
“I also want people that are extremely self-aware,” he says. “So, I will ask them questions, and it sounds a little trite, about what are their strengths and why are they strengths versus anyone else that I might be looking for in the job. At the same time, what are their development needs and what are they doing about it.”
Don’t settle for a canned answer that doesn’t give any insight into someone’s personality. If a candidate gives an answer such as, “I’m an overachiever,” Ryan will be blunt and tell that person he wants more information — he wants the skeletons in the closet.
He’ll ask, “If I were to pick up the phone and talk to one of your biggest adversaries or your spouse or significant other, what would they say are your development needs and what are the things you really need to do about it?”
“Folks that I find are very willing and candid to speak about some of their development needs are the ones I want on the team because I want people that are self-aware and have the ability to grow and the willingness to grow,” he says.
Ryan is also a big believer in situational-based interviewing. You want to put the person in a hypothetical situation to see how he or she will handle it. Ryan tells the candidate what the company strategy is and what the critical success factors of the position are and then sees if the person will fit in at PODS.
“I will ask them … questions around their background and how does their background coincide with and their successful track record coincide with what I’m expecting because I am a huge believer in history is the best indicator of future success,” he says.
“Then, to make sure that I triangulate, I will also give them an issue we are facing in the business and ask them how will they structure themselves in terms of how would they define the issue, where would they go to get data, where would they go in the organization to solve the problem. That scenario-based approach is going to allow me to see how they think.”
