Is there any job that could not use some innovation, a fresh look at the best way to do the job especially now with all the changes in technology? If you agree you should look at new ways to hire. While specific job skills can always be taught, skills associated with creativity can be harder to find. When you hire, instead of focusing solely on experience, focus on the soft skills: 1) Innovation, 2) Collaboration, and 3) Change management – all of which are needed to enhance the hiring process and bring innovation to life.
Favoring specialization over intelligence is exactly wrong. The world is changing so fast across every industry and endeavor that the role you are hiring for today is going to change. We suggest screening for intelligence as the first change you should make in your hiring process.
To discover candidates with the right skills, rethink the interview questions you are asking. You might want to do a job benchmark to look at the skills the job really needs if you are looking for innovators. Ask questions about whether they have ever come up with a great idea and what happened to that idea. One I like is could you teach me something complicated I don’t know?
People who ask good questions are curious, smarter, more flexible and interesting, and understand they don’t have all the answers -exactly the type of smart creative characteristics you want. Make sure you get them talking and asking you challenging questions.
Ask yourself, do I need innovation in this job (we say yes). If you do then train your people to look for the traits that will bring you the innovation not the skills to do a job which will be changing.
By Guest Blogger Jackie Gernaey, CEO and Founder of SevenStar HR
