Hiring Without Firing

Hiring Without Firing

Summary:

This article by Claudio Fernandez-Araoz deals with the problems which are existing in the hiring process and provides a framework for hiring process. Today 30%-50% of all executive-level appointments result in firing or resignation. today’s work success depends increasingly on intangible competencies like flexibility and cross-cultural literacy rarely found on résumés. And as demand for talent is sharply increasing, supply is steadily shrinking. There is a need of systematic approach to the hiring process so that the problem of hiring and resignation could be taken care of.  It has been clear to outside observers that a systematic approach to key appointments has had a quantifiable effect on the successful expansion of those companies.

1. for success even if they don’t meet some of the specifications.
2. Evaluating people in absolute terms: During the interview process, executives often have a favorite set of questions that they ask regardless of the particulars of the situation.  The answers to absolute questions are opinions rendered in a vacuum and should be understood as such. 
3. Accepting people at face value: Candidates are almost always taken at face value. he hiring process isn’t very conducive to complete candor
4. Believing references: It has been found that references, especially those provided by the candidate, are of extremely limited value. These are not honest and are biased ones.
5. Delegation gaffes: Most often, Executives ask their direct reports or members of the human resources department to create the job description. Such delegation would not be bad if the people creating the description were properly briefed on the nature of the job opening and if top managers remained involved in the hiring process along the way. Another delegation gaffe is that executives allow first-round interviews to be conducted by staffers who are either ill prepared for the evaluation or who don’t have the right motivation.
6. Unstructured interviews: The key to a right hiring process is structured interviews. the interviewer has a list of well-prepared questions designed to reveal the candidate’s competencies relevant knowledge, skills, and general abilities. Such interviews, which often include difficult or uncomfortable questions, must be carefully planned and executed. The costs of unstructured interviews are many, but perhaps the most damaging one is invisible: rejecting a highly qualified candidate who simply didn’t excel at chitchat.
7. Ignoring emotional intelligence: Most companies look primarily, and even exclusively, at a candidate’s hard data i.e education, IQ, job history, and the like. They rarely look at the soft data-  the candidate’s emotional intelligence. emotional intelligence is a critical predictor of professional success. The components of emotional intelligence are twice as important for excellent performance as pure intellect and expertise.
8. Political pressure: People like to hire friends or reject those competent one with who they do not have a good past record. This politics is so common in hiring that its more than just a trap.
9. The just like me bias: People happen to like and hire those candidates who closely resemble them. This bias of just like me is more pervasive than other biases.

The fundamental of getting a hiring right is a systematic approach. There are broadly three steps involved in it.

1. What are the problems we expect to solve through this hiring? It is very necessary that company should prepare a list of priorities based on the requirements and listing up critical incidents. This also helps in putting up a good job description. Every job description should include the emotional intelligence competencies critical to getting the work done.
2. What is the best strategy for generating a group of worthy people to consider? It is suggested to hire through high leveraged source. We should hire through those who know strong candidates.
3. Evaluating the candidate: We conduct structured interviews in which we assess candidates’ competencies through behavior-based questions. Checking references is the next part of the systematic process of hiring.

Even though this looks very promising, this systematic approach can also fall apart when expediency gets in the way. Nevertheless, This surely clears a lot of problems out of hiring process.

Critiques: