How a company hires is something we all should pay more attention to…
If you are like me and most others out there, a company showing interest in you is a flattering experience… let’s be honest, we love it! Nothing wrong with that, but it should not blind us to what a company is saying by its approach and process of hiring new talent.
On the company side, how you approach new talent does say allot about you and what you expect them to be in your employ. It is a challenge to get it right but difficulty should not stop any company from trying to reach that hallowed state of becoming effective in employee engagement, which stems from hiring the right people in the right jobs.
For candidate and employer, the first thing I would say is “convenience is your enemy”. I have as a hiring manager made the mistake of overlooking deficits in employees because of convenience. My ‘easy street‘ time leaving the office early/on time has been offset on 2 particular occasions with these new hires proving disruptive and disastrous over 12 years of people management experience. Needless to say, my lesson is learnt, but at a price. Convenience is not your friend, it is your enemy! Never sacrifice standards for convenience, stick to your standards even if performance suffers in the short term. If your boss looks disapproving, let him know how a bad hire will come back to haunt him as performance excellence starts with maintenance of standards in hiring, which affects everything the team does from that point onwards.
As a candidate, I have seen employers over a number of interviews show a preference for control rather than for competence. The focus on acceptance of “what is” does not affect me as the employee, it affects the the company who effectively sacrifices competitiveness in back office for the appearance of competence and efficiency. If that truly was a the case, I would have not have being needed in my prior career and they would not have to spent money on hiring somebody like me (in theory). Be mindful as a candidate of what you are actually being asked to do and what environment you are being asked to do it in. If independent thought is not tolerated, then don’t tolerate its suppression, shake their hand and move on. There is an employer out there who will use your passion and skill to better their business and bring you with them on the journey. Keep on looking and you will find them. Don’t sell short and deny your happiness, find your place in this world with those who are of like mind! I guarantee they are out there!
In terms of how to do it right, let’s remember companies can get it right and then stray from the path. Twitter have been the latest in the Social Media world to get it right and then go wrong! So if you are hiring or looking for a job, here are some points to consider:
Approach - What am I as a person looking or a company hiring? What does my approach say about me? Do I care about a quality hire or not? Is my approach direct or indirect? What does this say about me? If I employ 3rd parties to hire for me, do I really know how I am been portrayed and do I really know what is being turned away? Am I happy that my approach is an optimized approach to hiring talent suitable for the company or being hired by a company?? I can tell you from experience, great talent will and has walked away from sloppy, half hearted recruiting efforts by HR folks who should know better. As a hiring manager, I have had roles open far longer than they should because of a well connected HR Manager who thought he knew better when he didn’t. His silo mentality and arrogance along with my overworked apathy cost the company dearly in finding new hires in a timely manner. It is very easy for this to happen so keeping a solid focus on the above questions will at least flag an issue in approach, which can cost you good hires. It is an easily avoided scenario if you are aware of it.
Culture - Is the employee profile defined and a good fit for the company culture. Are company HR practices being deployed effectively supporting development of a coherent organisational structure that supports the company’s business development and growth trajectory? Are non financial risk indicators being deployed in the hiring process through things like self governing processes of aptitude testing, checking of details and competence based interviewing?? Also, is the personality profile of the candidate being checked for suitability to the company culture and role? Is the company and candidate sure that as an employee, the candidate can identify and belong to the company, joined at the hip with company culture through shared values? Can the candidate be engaged in a meaningful manner whilst in the employ of the company? You would be shocked at how many cannot become engaged due to simple incompatibility with the company’s practices and culture. e.g. Type X personality who likes to be micromanaged in a Type Y company, which measures performance on outcomes that have minimum supervision and expectations of self direction and motivation. The clash is as obvious as it is avoidable.
There are more elements to creating an effective hire to retire process but as you can see, the essence is in being true to yourself! If you know what you are, then you can find out what you want! As employer and employee, the goal is to find common ground between skill and passion that gives purpose to one’s role and life. Do it right, and the benefits for company and employee will resonate over the years in a beautiful and mutually supportive relationship that never goes out of style!
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