So, you’ve had a resignation in your team, “Mary”, she’s been there for the last 5 years. So, you get her Position Description (PD) out and start the recruitment process. Stop! You will miss a valuable opportunity. You need to take stock of where your team is at. What work is Mary currently doing? How is that work being done? Does it need to be done the same way? Is the work still relevant? What skills do you have in your team right now without Mary? What skill set do you need for your team to be future ready?
You now have a very valuable opportunity to review the skills and knowledge you need in your team not just right here right now but in the future and how the work that “Mary’’ was doing should or could be done. The problem when people resign is that a lot of managers hire like for like. They want another “Mary.” It’s either because they don’t know where to start and it’s just easier to get the recruitment process started without reviewing the PD and breaking down the jobs and reviewing the skills set required. The problem with this approach is it’s not analytical nor strategic. In the majority of cases when hiring a new employee, especially when the last employee had been in the role for a number of years, is they may not even be doing the role as initially intended. People like doing the “fun” stuff or things they are good at. And the tasks they aren’t so good at or aren’t as fun don’t get as much attention. This is why it’s the perfect time to take stock of where you and the team are at and what you need so get creative and so you have the right skills in your team!
So, where to start, you will need to get that PD, sit down with “Mary” and look at the purpose of that role. In other words, why does this job exist? Then ask yourself is that still important? Does it still serve its purpose? What would “Mary” do differently? Why does she think this role is important? Who interacts with this role? Think about the team, internal customers and external stakeholders. You could go further afield and just ask them for feedback what’s working well and what improvements they would make? At the end of this discussion do you feel the position should stay the same? Does it need altering? Could parts of the role be added or combined with another position?

Once you know what the role should look like, you can then develop the revised PD before beginning the recruitment process.
So, you now have an idea of what the role is, you now need to review the skillset required. Think about what skills can be taught and what skills can’t. In other words, what is innate to a person, for example I believe emotional intelligence is innate, some are born with it and some aren’t. Teaching someone to be emotionally intelligent is very hard. Whereas teaching someone to use Microsoft Excel is a lot easier. When hiring you need to focus on finding someone that has the skills and experience that is hard to teach. I then would look at what skillset you would like to bring in the team, do you need someone in your team who is more creative? More analytical? More of a team player?
You now have enough information to get your team future ready. You should have a clear understanding of the position and the jobs that need to be done and the skillsets you are looking for. You are now ready to go to market and start hiring! Good Luck!