This project was carried out at the request of the People and Culture department with the aim of creating one or two personas to facilitate the hiring and internal promotion process for leadership positions. We then began to seek a general understanding of the ideal leader profile for the current stage of Vortigo, which has experienced rapid growth and increasingly requires professionals with certain characteristics. Additionally, we explored related points to understand the overall scenario and break down the problem at hand.
Abstract
Like in any project, we started with the phase of research and real understanding of the problem, which revealed itself to be deeper and in need of attention: Do we need leaders like the ones we have today, or are we just replicating a model that has worked so far? Are we hiring the right talents, or is something hindering the shift to meet the current needs? Does a leader need the same profile for every position, or are there different categories of leadership? These are just a few of the many questions that arose. Starting the process, we began to identify the potential gaps and opportunities to explore.
Proccess
Understanding the proposal
After consulting with the People and Culture leadership, we proceeded to structure a CSD matrix to document our insights and data in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the whole. Additionally, we started exploring various paths and tools to gather the necessary information we would need.
Research
The research stage included a conversation with a recruitment professional from a large company who had faced similar challenges to ours (such as identifying the ideal professional), which provided valuable insights for our search. We studied several behavioral methodologies, hiring frameworks, and interview types, carefully considering their advantages and disadvantages.
Redefining the scope
Based on this alignment of knowledge, we came to the realization that merely creating one or two personas would not be enough, as the problem goes beyond defining the desired profile and extends to how the hiring process is conducted.
Going beyond to find a solution
The change in objective became evident and definitive when the concept of “hiring bias” emerged, indicating that we tend to hire individuals who are similar to us in thinking and working style. If we have leaders who do not meet the ideal requirements of the company, how can they effectively hire what they themselves lack? Furthermore, as we embraced this perspective, we adjusted our approach to the stakeholders, ensuring that we did not expose our thought process and create additional biases in the process.
Action Plan
Based on the gathered information, we developed an interview script and selected participants, including leaders and the people and culture team, to align their perspectives and current thinking with the future direction. We then structured a Focus Group script and identified additional actions to complement the persona, aiming to guide the process during this transition in approach.
Interviews
At this stage, we had gathered a considerable amount of information about the path to be followed and had individuals available for discussions to gather insights. Additionally, we scheduled a Focus Group to identify the key characteristics of the ideal leader, which would aid us in structuring the personas and validating the supplementary stages.
Supplementary Actions
Considering the delivery of the personas, we recognized the need for a hiring guide based on the characteristics identified in the Focus Group. This is because many of the individuals responsible for hiring lack expertise in the hiring process, as they are more technically oriented leaders. Furthermore, the guide will assist in crafting questions and serve as a foundation for analyzing responses. It provides guidance on how to ask questions indirectly to obtain more organic and insightful responses.
Delivery of the Ideation
After aligning all the points, we delivered two personas, along with support in creating the hiring guide and conducting training sessions for individuals involved in the hiring process but not exclusively focused on it. The personas fulfill the needs of two leadership roles: one more people-oriented and focused on management, with a deeper understanding of the business, and the other more technically oriented, providing support to the teams and acting as a point of reference for the entire team.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, this was a comprehensive project where teamwork was the best approach. Such collaboration requires extensive information exchange and also facilitates the exploration of the points raised, reducing the chances of overlooking important aspects during analysis. The project was divided between myself and another professional, who changed during the course of the project. Currently, we are in the implementation stage and closely monitoring the initial metrics for the new hires.
