Executive Briefing (Part1)

“Have you ever made a conscious decision to hire a non-performer?”

Of course, the answer is “no,” so how, then, do so many poor performers get hired?

To answer THAT question, let’s begin with an examination of the traditional hiring process as practiced by most employers today.

This is a process that has from one to three components:

The first component is Historical Information. It consists of resume, past employment, education, personal references, and – maybe – a background check for verification. I highly recommend background checks before making a formal offer of employment. It helps create a legal safety net that protects you and your company

To help prevent this from happening, most companies add the second component, The Interview, which deals with the present. The information gathered in the interview revolves around the first impression a candidate presents, and our judgement are generally based on gut feeling, appearance, and personality. Unfortunately, we try to get all of this information in a very short period of time.

The biggest cause of bad hiring decisions is when those decisions are made.

That’s right – according to a study conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management, as reported in USA TODAY, 63% of all hiring decisions are made in the first 4.3 minutes of an interview.

That means that too many people are hired solely on their ability to make a good first impression. Let me suggest that when you are hiring, you are not trying to find a friend – you are selecting an employee. You might want to make a note of that… You are not trying to find a friend – you are selecting an employee.

JOB MATCH, the THIRD COMPONENT, is the most important, but least understood, element of the hiring process, and can only be achieved by assessing both the job and the individual.

Remember, the only way we can make our best hiring decisions is to consistently use ALL THREE COMPONENTS.