l Need To Recruit Someone - Help!
There have been a number of recent reports in the media that the new Labour government in the UK is considering changes to employment law. Reports suggest that one possible proposal is to eliminate the current two-year probationary period and grant employees full employment rights immediately upon hire.
Other recent articles have highlighted how post-Brexit, banks moved senior employees into EU financial centres like Paris or Frankfurt, only to find that local, stricter employment rules mean it is much harder, or more expensive, for them to dismiss poor performing staff than in the UK currently.
Not just anybody
This has prompted us at AIPS to think more deeply about recruitment processes and how senior managers can ensure that they are hiring a person that will perform well within the chosen organisation. In our coaching and consultancy work, our clients often tell us that they are struggling with people issues, specifically in terms of succession, promotion or poor performance. In many instances, these difficulties began at the initial hiring stage and therefore companies are searching for more effective methods to identify and recruit the ideal candidate.
Most organisations have established formal processes for recruitment ranging from one on one or panel interviews, right through to psychometric tests and in one case, handwriting analysis. Despite the formality, many “selectors” make simple mistakes such as unconscious biases about appearance, accents, physical gestures and language. Coupled with this is that we have been made aware that many job applicants are now pre-screened by AI in order to reduce the time spent on selection and hopefully avoid some of these mistakes.
Is it time for a radical rethink about how people are selected, especially for senior roles? We think so.
When I was younger, so much younger than today
When I was recruited to a major Wall Street firm 40 years ago, part of the selection process was to give a urine sample. This baffled me, but the firm was screening for drug use as they did not want traders risking millions of dollars whilst high or inebriated. This may now seem a personal intrusion but I felt it was entirely legitimate for the firm to seek such information. Readers will be reassured to know my test was negative.
The above experience is a great example of the natural tension between an employer wanting to know as much as possible about a candidate and that person’s rights to privacy.
Help! You know I need someone
How can a business reconcile such a problem?
One area is reference checking. This is often treated as a box ticking process in many firms, as many previous employers will only testify that a person did indeed work for them. They will not provide any qualitative information for fear of creating a legal liability to both the ex-employee and the new employer.
Effective reference checking however is about finding out information that is not on a person’s CV.
There have been many surveys over time that show that people massage their CV’s in order to claim achievements which they did not make.This also applies to interviews, where any good interviewer is trying to get behind the formal information or the LinkedIn profile to discover the ‘real’ person.
Assuming a candidate has been truthful about their accomplishments, what is the most effective method to determine their suitability for a role, considering the significant costs associated with hiring the wrong person? Read on to find out:
The Hirer: Any interview process should not be too complex. A ten stage interview process may satisfy internal requirements but it is very off putting for good candidates. Be sure to make use of a person in your organisation who has an excellent track record in hiring great people. And if your organisation does not have such a person, it is good business sense to employ an external consultant to effectively screen candidates.
Keep it simple: Many job descriptions carry far too many key criteria which are either boilerplate or just confusing. It is therefore vital you keep it simple. Someone I know who used to work at Shell had three criteria which served the business well for many years when selecting executives all over the world:
Initiative. Can they demonstrate creative thinking to solve complex problems? Can they do the right thing without being asked?
Humility. Do they ask questions? Do they give credit to others for their achievements? It is well known that the best leaders often exhibit humility in their work.
Humour. Can they create a sense of fun and excitement? Can they raise a laugh and a smile when things get tough in the business? Can they lift team morale?
Don’t hope. When making a hiring decision it is important to process it quickly, but not impulsively. Most entrepreneurial businesses will not deliberate for weeks on making a hire but if there are some issues of concern, don’t ‘hope’ it might work out. Do not make the hire. There are plenty more fish in the job market.
Diversity. This is an important factor in recruitment. However real diversity is more than ticking boxes; it is about diversity of thinking. There is plenty of research which shows how diversity of thinking and approaches creates better outcomes for companies but it requires a corporate ‘growth mindset’ to reap those benefits. Does your company have the capacity (and the right culture) to foster diversity to improve performance? As a manager, you have an important role to play in influencing this.
Although hiring the right person remains somewhat of an art, carefully planned and efficient recruitment practices can achieve favourable results through a combination of document analysis and interviews.
Won’t you please, please help me!
Yes we can.
At AIPS, we’ve spent the last 30 years hiring and helping hire some of the best senior executives and sales professionals. We are not recruitment consultants. However, we are ideally suited to help support you and your organisation during the interview process and guide you in hiring the right candidate so your business will continue to thrive.
Get in contact if you want us to cast our eye over a CV, or speak to someone you’re thinking of hiring.