Edition

How to Identify and Hire Creative, Problem-Solving Employees

By Lori Weyuker

The Stepping Stone, January 2022

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As the demand for workers increases, hiring practices are likely to evolve. Companies will be competing for talent. For a hiring manager to be successful in the quest for consummate talent, they need to be able to identify the best talent. One trait which sets these highly sought-after individuals apart from the rest is creative problem-solving ability.

Why is hiring creative employees highly desirable?

  • Creative people think outside-the-box, which can lead to new methods of accomplishing things.
  • They can lead the company to new ways to grow.
  • Creative thinking can lead to new opportunities.
  • This type of team member can think of situations from a completely different perspective which may improve customer experience.
  • Bringing creative team members can also bring fresh ideas to your company.

How can a hiring manager identify and hire a creative problem-solver during the interview process?

Asking the right questions is one of the keys to identify a potential employee who has creativity, can think on his/her feet, and can think outside-of-the-box. Here are some examples of relevant questions a hiring manager might ask of a candidate in order to ferret out this trait:

  1. Describe a situation in which you applied “out of the box” thinking in order to solve a (business) problem. What specifically was the atypical thinking used?
  2. Tell me about a time in which you observed that a “traditional approach” to a situation wouldn’t work, then discovered a successful alternate approach.
  3. If I (hypothetically) gave you $100,000 to build a business, tell me about this business, why there is a market for it, and why this is the time for this particular business. Convince me that your business makes sense.
  4. If you were asked to re-brand this company, what would the headline be in the press release?
  5. In a few minutes, teach me something about which you consider yourself an expert.

In question 1, we can glean several things. We can see the ability to use “out of the box” thinking. We will hear their ability to clearly communicate and explain a situation. We will understand how they identify an atypical approach as compared to a more standard approach to solve a problem. This can provide insight into whether and how much creative problem-solving the candidate can do.

Their answer to question 2 can discern whether the candidate observes details and uses their life-experience and creative thought to solve a problem. If they don’t have an answer to this question, they may be inexperienced in creative problem solving.

In question 3, you may glean whether the candidate has business acumen and can think on their feet. It may provide insight into their ability to persuade.

Question 4 can exhibit the candidate’s creativity as well as thinking off-the-cuff. (It also shows whether they have really done their research into the company.)

The way the candidate responds to question 5 can reveal their ability to articulate as well as adeptness to think on-one’s-feet. Effective communication skills are another highly desirable quality in top talent.

There are other interview questions one can use in order to identify a creative problem solver, but this gives you the flavor of a practical approach.

Once you’ve identified a great candidate who is a creative problem solver, you’d like to have success in the job-offer stage. Creative types are likely to have some atypical needs on the job. To meet some of these needs, the following are desirable:

  • Explain that they will have a personal development plan that will continue to develop them and grow their skills.
  • These employees will need to continue to feel challenged. Provide a mentoring program for them.
  • As much as possible within the scope of the job, give them the right roles. When a person’s skills are matched with the job, performance can be maximized because it’s the right fit.
  • This requires ascertaining, within the scope of the job, the skills and areas of interest of the employee.

Obviously, these things need to be something which can successfully be delivered to the candidate when they are an employee. If you don’t think you can deliver on them, then perhaps you aren’t yet prepared to take on the most creative, problem-solving employees!

Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries, the editors, or the respective authors’ employers.

Lori Weyuker, ASA, is an independent consultant. She is currently on the SOA’s Leadership & Development Section Council. She can be reached at InnovationLW@gmail.com. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-w-5276603/