Words of wisdom for this week.
“Technological progress is like an ax in the hands of a pathological criminal.” – Albert Einstein
Hiring under pressure.
When you hire under pressure because you have an opening or a territory that needs to be filled now, you will tend to hire beneath your standards and make a hiring mistake. Ever done it? Most managers have at some point whether it was due to an open position, a salesperson who suddenly quit or the result of a new client that required additional staff to service them.
Many managers do not have a hiring template or process and therefore often tend to make hiring decisions and often mistakes based on the “Halo Effect” or their emotional state at the time of the interview. Both of these can lead to a poor organizational fit. Not that the person is necessarily a bad potential employee, it’s just that they may not be right for your organization at this particular time.
When you hire under pressure you will overlook the lack of necessary experience, skills or attitudes and try to force a fit. It is a far better policy to not rush or deviate from the process that you normally follow than to get someone in a job quickly.
This is one of the reasons it is important to hire everyone on a 90 day probationary basis. If you do discover that during the early period of employment that a hiring mistake was made you can fix it quickly without adding stress to your HR department or setting yourself up for a wrongful termination claim or suit.
Hiring under pressure is a common mistake many managers make when they are in a hurry to get am employee in place or a decision made.
Hiring skills and not attitudes.
It is easier to teach a new employee the specific skills needed than to change their attitudes.
Many managers feel that finding the right skill or experience combination in a new employee is the best philosophy to have when recruiting. Many of these same managers have learned the hard way that just because someone has the skills, it doesn’t mean they will use them.
Years ago when I was hiring an administrative assistant, I interviewed several qualified candidates. Each of them possessed the required typing ability, computer knowledge, administrative skills, etc. The one I selected actually had the slowest typing speed, but the best attitude.
I have discovered an employee who can type 120 wpm, but who has a bit of an attitude, will hardly ever achieve that speed while working. By the same token, someone with a great attitude who can type only 50 wpm will always be trying to improve his/her speed.
Call it what you want – arrogance, ego, pride, insecurity, low self-esteem, no self-confidence – I don’t care, sooner or later these people with emotional or mental issues will become un-trainable from a skill standpoint.
Attitudes are developed over a lifetime, and neither you nor I are going to change them in the short time this employee might be with us. By the same token, hire a great attitude, and I guarantee this employee will push you, make you look good and, before you know it, will outgrow the position and want, as well as need, to move up or on. Everyone wins in the process.
Avoiding a hiring mistake can save you lots of grief, wasted training time, negative impact on other employees and/or customers, not to mention the possibility of a legal or financial fiasco when you need to terminate them. Don’t risk it. The price is too high.