I recently came across a piece on Medium that says that A+ content should be “intentional, personal, concise, authentic and valuable”, so let’s see how this piece pans out.
Lets make the assumption that you see the other humans in your workplace as a resource. Our people are probably the single biggest outlay under the “expenses” column in the balance sheet, and hence the single biggest opportunity for many businesses. So, if you see your employees as the single biggest resource, expense, opportunity or asset in your business, this deserves our attention.
This is a subject close to my heart having experienced significant learning, and trauma, here over the years as a business owner, manager, coach, mentor and recruitment consultant. We’ve come to realize that in the vast majority of cases, a measured “win-win or no deal” for a person to be hired into a job position, is both a healthy and reasonable aspiration for any company. We, as the ones recruiting, just need to organise it that way.
Recruitment Consulting and Selection
We invest time in this to prevent trouble down the line. A bad hire can be hugely costly to your business in time, productivity, stress and money. A good hire on the other hand, is a fantastic asset that will make for a healthy workplace, and even healthier balance sheet. Best not leave it to luck.
So if we take it that better players make a better team, then it’s firstly the team requirements which determine what type of player we need to bolster the ranks. You’ll likely not want a full back in playing centre field, or indeed full forward, given their knowledge, skills and attitudes. There are reasons why some people work best in a back office role, which would be a disaster at the counter for numerous reasons, some obvious, and some perhaps not as obvious.
Your businesses organizational structure will determine the roles (the way you decide to play the game), and the job description and person specification will determine what type of person is going to be your team’s best asset in that role.
Your advertising and selection – based around thorough and weighted position requirements, and following targeted advertising of the position – directs the initial selection and short-listing of candidates, e.g. the candidate who wants a summer job, or indeed “any job.” On top of this you’re recruiting a full time asset.
The best selection process can include psychometric testing for ability, skills and attitudes; competency based interviewing, sometimes assessment centres and testing of ability (e.g. an on the job trial or probationary period).
See the meta analysis in Diagram 1. below showing prediction accuracy of candidate success in a role.
Diagram 1. Prediction based on method of employee selection
We use Hogan profiling as part of our process, and for clients where we may be getting a large number of CVs and need to be sensible about who we bring to interview. See an example in Diagram 2. of one of the profiles that could be appropriate in your hiring process depending on the position and person specifications.
Diagram 2. An example of a Hogan Assessment profile used in candidate selection
Compliance with relevant NERA requirements and workplace regulations when hiring is a given of course. There’s a useful handbook available here to download.
The better recruitment process, and our opportunity here:
To summarise, in the better recruitment process, the requirements for the role, its associated responsibilities, and the person specification, objectively determine the best candidate for the job. A robust recruitment consulting process then determines the best people in that role, and the best people will be the most aligned, happy and motivated to do a good job. Competency and behavioural based interviews are just part of this process given their exposure to unhelpful biases such as “the halo effect” or “the pitchfork effect”.
This robust process stacks the cards in your favour and helps remove personal bias… the “I like them over them” because of x, y or z. You’ll have done your due diligence at the start, and won’t have to deal with disharmony or workplace toxicity weeks, months or indeed years down the road because of a bad hire. There is a time to trust your gut, and it’s at the end of this process when you can make an objective decision, and not the outset.
The opportunity is here to avoid loss of your time, money, stress and lost productivity by getting the best people for the role. A thorough, objective and systematic recruitment consulting process will help provide you with your best candidate recruited at the outset.