Build a Championship Office Team
March Madness is the season of buzzer-beaters, surprise upsets, and highlight-reel wins. But when it comes to building a great office team, hiring managers are all too often left with the last candidate standing, not the number one recruit.
In the real world, a championship office team is built the same way successful teams are built on the court and it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes clearly-defined roles, smart evaluation, fast (but disciplined) decision-making, and strong coaching once the season starts. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to track steady movement in hires and separations through its JOLTS reports, reminding employers that turnover is an ongoing factor in today’s workforce. Gallup has also reported that replacement costs can range from roughly 40% of salary for frontline roles to 200% for leadership positions. Clearly, it’s still a competitive workplace out there!
Whether you’re a hiring manager trying to stabilize your front office, or an administrative professional aiming to level up your career, these four pro tips are your playbook for building something that lasts.
Pro Tip #1: Recruit Like a Coach
For Hiring Managers, many hiring upsets start before the job is even posted. If the role is vague, you’ll attract mismatched applicants—and interviews become opinion-based instead of performance-based. A championship approach starts with clarity:
🏀 What does success look like in 30/60/90 days?
🏀 How will the role stretch and grow the candidate?
🏀 What is the measurable performance that will be needed on the job?
🏀 Where are you negotiable on what you can offer?
For Job Seekers, your questions will help clarify expectations for the role and the team. There is no need to ask about facts that could be found on the company website. Instead, you need to know:
🏀What are the top priorities in the first 60 days?
🏀What does success look like in this role?
🏀Which systems or processes will be my responsibility?
Pro Tip #2: Use a Structured Interview Process (and maybe add a skills scrimmage)
For Hiring Managers, structured interviews create consistency and fairness. Harvard Business Review has highlighted the advantages of structured interviews and the importance of using work samples or assignments to evaluate true ability. Effective methods include:
🏀Consistent core questions related to the performance of the job
🏀 Simple evaluation scorecards rating the motivation and ability to do the work required
🏀 Short work samples (email drafting, Excel tasks, scheduling scenarios)
For Job Seekers, you can help yourself stand out from the field if you take the time to:
🏀Prepare examples of your workflow, templates you've built, or processes you've improved. Work samples are an opportunity to show traits like accuracy, organization, and professionalism.
Pro Tip #3: Move Fast on Top Talent (But Keep Your Standards)
Hiring Managers must assume that strong candidates often have multiple options. Delays can cost you your top choice. You can keep candidates interested and engaged as you go through your process if you will:
🏀 Schedule interviews quickly
🏀 Clarify decision-makers
🏀 Communicate next steps promptly; consider sending interesting industry information between conversations
🏀 Make sure that information on your company is readily accessible on your website
Job Seekers can help make it easier for hiring managers to stay in touch by:
🏀 Confirming your availability clearly
🏀 Responding quickly to all communication (professional follow-through demonstrates reliability)
🏀 Coming right out and asking about timelines
Pro Tip #4: The Offer and the Onboarding are the Preseason that Determines Whether You Win
For Hiring Managers, the offer negotiation itself can be a way to help close the sale properly. It’s actually fine to test out an offer by saying, “We were thinking of this; how would that look to you?” Testing an offer allows you to discover objections the candidate might have, or competing offers, so that you can put together your final offer knowing exactly what you both want to see happen.
Then it’s important to remember that even the best hire wants structured onboarding. Gallup has reported declines in employee engagement in recent years, making intentional onboarding even more critical. Strong onboarding includes:
🏀 A clear first-two-week plan
🏀 Defined performance expectations
🏀 A go-to resource for questions
🏀 Early check-ins (10-day, 30-day)
The new recruit has a role in making the onboarding successful as well. As the new hire, you can and should:
🏀 Ask about the training structure and key contacts for yourself
🏀 Make sure you understand the measurable early success metrics
🏀 Treat your first 30 days like a season opener—a chance to prove you are organized, proactive, and dependable.
The March Madness Takeaway
A championship office team isn’t built overnight, and it’s not down to luck. For hiring that’s done with intention, ask our Certified Staffing Professionals to join your coaching staff and do all the legwork to put the best recruits in the right places.