Articles - Recruiting and Candidate Dev

Trained as a psychologist and professional mediation, I often see one of the biggest general problems in the hiring process as a natural tendency is to hire

People We Like, or
People who are like us

Certainly we want to work with people who we think would be easy to get along with.

We are unlikely to go looking for perceived conflict.

At one firm I consulted with, they had an internal policy of bringing a candidate to the team to “interview” to see if they felt they were a good addition. The result of this process—and, when well informed, it can be useful—in this case was that the particular department was filled with folks whose primary interest was each other! They could talk for hours about things that had no bearing on the mission of the company or the tasks at hand. They really liked each other! But, work was left waiting and money was left on the table—repeatedly.

We come into this world with tendencies and preferences in our make-up. They are innate. Great news because there will always be someone who loves to do what you hate doing. When creating high-performance teams, this is essential information. Thinking of the average small business or team, here are some thoughts on what attributes we require, keeping in mind that the focus of the business will skew this somewhat.  We need at least one someone who:

• Likes to talk to people and put a pleasant face on the company
• Can sell
• Builds systems
• Problem solves and troubleshoots
• Maintains systems
• Holds the long-term vision
• Manages people
• Is vigilant about finance
• Builds and maintains customer relations
• Is very detailed
• Sees the big picture
• Sparks new ideas
• Recognizes and/or creates opportunities
• Can make a decision in a timely manner
• Brings projects in on time and budget
• Motivates people
• Holds the history of the company to refer to

And, that is not a definitive list.  So, you can clearly see that it is impossible to find those qualities in a single candidate. In fact, you will likely need at least four people to optimize these qualities…and they may not necessarily ever become friends!

HIRE PEOPLE FOR WHO THEY ARE

Think of the way people advertise openings. Would you ever expect to read this ad?

Wanted: Person who likes financial detail, is vigilant to a fault (persistent and picky even), is not particularly interested in people or relationships, can always find things in a heartbeat,  and is willing to work long hours in a windowless room alone for minimum wage.

Not likely. Yet, there are people who fit that bill perfectly and will be superb for that set of tasks you have in mind.

No, it is more likely that you want that person and write this ad:

Wanted: Bright person, self-motivated, experienced with accounting practices and reports, team-player, highly disciplined, responsible and looking for an entry level position.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?  The number of nebulous terms in the second ad—and, of course, that’s the one that would be placed—leads to the requirement for a very strong interview and testing process. Why? Because we’re really looking for the person in the first ad—except, due to the problem at the top of the article, we also think we have to like them!

This is the crazy-making world of hiring. It’s crazy-making for both the human resources side and the candidate side. Both sides have agendas and both are trying to ferret out what is really wanted. This leads to hiring mistakes that everyone regrets. Couple this with the “putting the best foot forward” and “tell them what they want to hear” and we’ve got a pervasive issue that consumes thousands of dollars with a poor result.

That is why it is essential to HIRE PEOPLE FOR WHO THEY ARE AS WELL AS FOR WHAT THEY DO.

As a trained psychologist, I’ve used many instruments, assessments, tools and inventories to assist in the hiring process, as well as in the personal development and mediation processes.  Most have value for increasing self-awareness and can be personally instructive. Not many are valuable in the workplace to build teams, predict suitability, fit and success. Some ask you to think about yourself in a certain situation, say, at work. Then, the result suggests that you are somehow bifurcated—you’re one person at work and another elsewhere.  That’s problematic because what if that person you are somewhere else escapes into the workplace.  And, that’s not the person they hired!

People have innate preferences for tasks. They approach those tasks differently. We have varying degrees of willingness to engage in certain ways. Some like people, others like papers. Some make decisions, some run from them. Some contribute, others withhold.  Some are best on teams, others independent. Some create, some practical. The list of discrepancies is very long.

When we use an accurate instrument with high validity that was created in and for the workplace, we begin to bring the wisdom of our understanding of individual differences into our hiring and team-building processes. Understanding is the key word. When an employee understands themselves in new, deeper and helpful ways, he or she can speak with clarity about what they can bring to the workplace…and, what is difficult for them, too.  When a manager can understand their team with this valuable information, they can do what managers do best: capitalize on the strengths of their individual team members.  It allows for seeing where the gaps are for adding team-members or hiring in general. As well, it clearly shows where team composition may be working against team mission.

WE ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN OUR EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE

Hiring people for who they are increases job satisfaction and retention. When a person feels valued at that level—seen, heard and appreciated—they give their best to the position and the company. When we hire for expertise and experience, it becomes an auction. “I’ll sell you my skills because you give me the highest bid in terms of salary, benefits and perks. But, beware, if I get a better offer, I’m out of here.”  Hiring on the basis of skills and experience alone can create a revolving door. You know how costly that is.

Recently I was invited to consult with a company who had hired an executive for what they thought were all the right reasons. He had done good things for other firms, had a sparkling resume with important key words, and, he was available. Seemed a good fit.  But, it wasn’t working. My task was to assess the situation and make recommendations regarding his retaining his position, or, finding a way to move the team towards greater collaboration, productivity and profitability with his leadership.

Frankly, he was burning bridges far faster than I could put out fires!  Using the instrument that I have come to rely on for team-building, hiring and conflict management, it became clear why the issues were arising. As much time, energy and money had been invested in this person, and he now had history with clients and projects, we did our best to ameliorate the situation and massage tasks and team to see if it could possible work. It couldn’t. That process took three months. Without that process, the company could have ground to a halt with staff fleeing like rats on the Titanic!  It was a very cost-effective step and a lot of learning resulted for the staff once he was released. We all know of companies where everyone is pussy-footing around a few rhinos* and, they’ve been doing it for years.

Whether you are an entrepreneur looking to hire an assistant or a web designer, or, a high-level HR person looking for a way to optimize your hiring and team-building, it is imperative to know much more about a person than their resume offers. Our intuition and experience may be very helpful, however, we do like to hire folks we like, or folks like us. Using an instrument that cuts through that to get you the optimal candidate with the greatest chance of succeeding and getting you the results you want makes sense and saves time, talent, tears and money.

BIOGRAPHY

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD, is a peace catalyst.  She makes it easier to talk about difficult things. Founder of Sow Peace™ International, she focuses on empowering individuals, leaders and teams with solutions and skills that get to the heart of communication, conflict and conscious collaboration.  A popular keynote speaker, Dr. Shaler has shared her light-hearted approach and value-packed content with audiences, teams and readers for more than twenty-five years. Author of over two dozen books and audio programs, including her most recent books, Wrestling Rhinos: Conquering Conflict in the Wilds of Work and Soul Solitude: Taking Time for Our Souls to Catch Up, Dr. Shaler teaches people to express themselves in ways that are totally kind and totally honest at the same time. That sows peace. Trained as a psychologist and professional mediator, she shares her insights through her blog at http://SowPeace.com
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