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Hiring for ‘Fit’ Prevents Problems Later
By Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden
Every business on the planet has burdened itself with the well worn expression "Our people are our most valuable asset."
Wrong. People are not your most valuable asset! The RIGHT people, yes, but not people in general. If you think we're joking, just go hire a few of the wrong people and see how quickly those assets move to the other side of the balance sheet.
There is simply no managerial task of greater importance than getting the right people for the job, and the organization. Few (if any) of a leader's regular duties have more substantive or lasting impact than the decisions they make about who does and does not wind up on the payroll.
We're not talking about an unending quest for clones who will march in time to the unquestioned beat of the ``message of the month", but we are talking about being clear up front about what it takes to make it in your organization.
The most successful leaders (and companies) are those who make it a point to hire people who are competent to be sure, but first (and foremost), people who fit the organization. That's right. We're suggesting (no, we're willing to bet all our chips) that, as important as talent is, finding folks who fit the organization is infinitely more important.
Now, before you call the EEO police on us, understand this. We are not (repeat NOT) suggesting that your fit requirements can or should take into account any sort of racial, ethnic, gender, or age-based profiling. Not at all! If they do, you're using the wrong filter. You'll bypass talent that doesn't fit the profile. But the “fit" should (and must) take into account the real requirements for success at your place, and not just those educational and experience requirements some compensation analyst put on the job description twenty years ago. Oh, and another thing... For those of you in the service sector, it's perfectly OK to discriminate against grouches!
Contented Cow companies are great places to work, but they're not necessarily easy places to work, and they're certainly not for everyone.
FedEx's customers have told the company in countless focus groups and surveys, that they prefer well-groomed, clean-cut couriers, and so the company creates no delusions that a courier will ever be able to come to work sporting a beard. Nordstrom hires people with a spirit to serve. Those without it need not apply. They won't be able to meet the high customer service standards.
Hiring for fit is especially important if turnover is a concern of yours. Unlike the old saying about love, when it comes to hiring, it is better to have never hired, than to have hired and lost.
So just exactly what do we mean by “fit"? Simple. Just as individuals have personalities, values, goals, styles, and temperaments, so do organizations, both large and small. After all, an organization is nothing more than a collection of individuals, right? Some organizations, and indeed some industries are by nature slow, stodgy, and deliberate. We're not being mean-spirited when we say this. It's a fact. Often they are very polite, collegial places. They really don't want their people going out on a limb, or reinventing the workplace and business model every afternoon. Banks tend to be that way, and, since we still keep a little money in one of them, that's perfectly OK with us.
Other places are hyperkinetic... they operate at a frenzied pace in an atmosphere with few rules, procedures, or established methods. Everything is wet paint. To their way of thinking, slow and steady doesn't even start the race. Seen any slow moving dot.com's lately? If you have, they won't be around long. These organizations demand people who not only are able to tolerate, but thrive in the absence of order. These are great people, and fun to be around, but you don't want them doing your bank statement or controlling your aircraft in flight over crowded airspace.
Speaking of aircraft, the folks at Southwest Airlines have got this one absolutely figured out. It's been said that they hire attitudes (specifically good ones,) and if you've ever been on one of their flights, you've probably noticed. Their fit requirements reportedly include things such as a propensity for Listening, Caring, Smiling, and Saying Thank You.
It's the same at Marriott, where their people - all of them, are unfailingly polite. If they've got any rude employees, they must be hiding them down in the basement somewhere on the 3rd shift, because we stay in a Marriott hotel just about every week, and we haven't run into them... ever.
All we're trying to put forward is that it's absolutely imperative that you understand what your business stands for (really), and what kind of people have a better than average shot at being happy, productive, and successful working there. And, since there are fewer people who are going to meet your organization's fit requirements than have the talent to perform your work, worry about the fit thing first. Please, trust us on this one!
Please print the following attribution for this article: Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden, co-authors of Contented Cows Give Better Milk, help clients clobber the competition by having a focused, fired up, and capably led workforce. They deliver powerful conference keynotes and leadership training. They can be reached at 800-940-7006 (+1-904-720-0870 from outside North America) or www.ContentedCows.com.