The Consistent Risks Inherent in All Hiring Decisions
To errors in hiring is human - and is considered to be very expensive. Many "standard" hiring procedures are actually common mistakes, so to choose more competent candidate, you need to be prepared to revise your hiring methods. Learn the consequences of the hiring errors managers often make, and then eliminate them from your hiring practices to help you choose only the cream of the crop. Most, if not all managers would agree that there are always risks when hiring new employees. These risks exist whether the new hire is a fresh-out-of-school Field sales rep. or a new chief executive officer.
Some concerns are rather low-level risk issues. "Does this candidate always dress like that?" Other questions are more qualitative. "Does this candidate's education and experience truly 'fit' the requirements of this open position?" Another important category is mostly subjective. "Does this candidate have the best personality and demeanor to provide positive 'chemistry' to the team on which he or she will work?" or to answer the biggest question, "does this candidate thinks and acts like the way we want him to do?". In most of the hiring decisions, the line Managers and the H.R tends to think if they can get the 'white elephant' out of the candidate that best suits their purpose.
Most of the hiring decisions are hardly based on a complete availability of information on the candidates and there is no much information available to carry out a full proof investigation on the candidature. Although it is argued that the real need of a 360 degree investigation is actually needed for an entry level or junior position and most of the senior hiring are through referrals and market knowledge but still their has been a dire need to re calculate the actual risk of hiring an wrong candidate at the senior management level than a junior management level. Hiring a wrong CEO can get the organization into doldrums of never ending problems or annihilate the corporation.
It is the most critical decision of a human resource professional, department head or a line manager to understand the sensitivity of a hiring decision. It is not expected that every time one makes the right hiring decision and every hire turns out to be a superstar in the organization, yet the damage can be controlled better if precautions have been proactively taken in every organization.
1. Too much of dependency on interview techniques to evaluate a candidate.
2. Managers sometimes use too many criteria for selection
3. The "I need someone right now" or the Emergency syndrome.
4. The "I hired this person because I got a great referral from her sister, father, or close friend who works for our organization" or the Neighbor syndrome.
5. The "I hired this person because they said they liked to do the work I hate to do" or the Action Leader syndrome.
6. The "I must hire this candidate because he/she is just like me" or the 'Halo Effect'.
7. Evaluating "Personality" instead of the required Job Skills.
8. Lend an ear to the candidate. Hear him loud and test his emotional intelligence.
9. Failure to have a sales mentality and obvious enthusiasm about your organization when speaking with a candidate.
10. And finally, hiring a candidate who is a good "job" fit, but not a team or organization match.
Recruiting and hiring the best candidates for your organization is a challenging responsibility. One or more of these hiring errors are often made by even the most experienced HR professionals unknowingly. Avoiding these mistakes is not really difficult and can make a measurable positive improvement in your organization operations. The personal "star rating" of HR professionals, who avoid these errors, may also rise noticeably.
Hiring is both an art and science and its root is embedded in the field of behavioral and social sciences. Hiring is an on going process and is considered to be a pivotal and strategic part of the H.R function in an organization. Although the list of common hiring mistakes is exhaustive and several studies have been conducted in this regard. The risks will always exist, but being aware of them should greatly improve your managerial scorecard and the ability to recruit the right talent. With the discovery of hiring mistakes comes the opportunity to make positive change. Even if you are content with most of the people you have hired so far, remember that continuous improvement is key to success. (An article by Mayuk S Dasgupta)
If you like the articles from this blog subscribe to RSS Feed or via email
No comments:
Post a Comment