It’s time to hire another person into your business. Maybe you’re growing and need to add another person to your team, or maybe it is simply time to replace someone in the organization. Whatever the case may be, you have to go out and find someone new. You are busy growing and running your business and certainly don’t have the time to take on this task yourself, and even if you did have the time, you don’t know where to begin.
So, you assign the job to one of your direct reports whose judgment you trust. Lets call her Mary. Mary is a loyal and dedicated employee who knows your business and has been with you for years. She has a lot on her plate, but not so much that she can’t take on this additional task. How hard can it be, right? So, you sit Mary down and tell her what type of position you need to hire for, and since Mary knows the company, you don’t have to go into too much detail about the position or what you’re looking for. Mary, as always, accepts her assignment with professionalism and a positive attitude.
A week goes by and you decide to check in with Mary on the status of her hiring project. You stick your head into Mary’s office and ask her how the hiring is going. Mary smiles and says, “Great, I will have someone for you to look at early next week.” Early next week comes and goes with no report from Mary, but you have been so swamped with work that you don’t notice until Friday. When you ask her about it on Friday, Mary promises to have someone for you by Tuesday. Tuesday comes and goes with no word from Mary. Finally, on Thursday, she brings you the resume of a candidate to interview on Friday. The resume is not great, but maybe there is something she sees in this person that’s not on paper. Sitting in the interview on Friday you know after five minutes that this person is a terrible fit for your company. How did Mary get this SO wrong?!
Mary fell victim to human nature. Mary has her own agenda in mind and her job security to think of. As a leader, you may clearly envision the perfect candidate for the position you need to fill, but your direct reports are not necessarily on the same page. Even the most dedicated and loyal employees, very often especially the most dedicated and loyal employees, have their own agenda and their own interest in mind when it comes to hiring. Employees will more often than not put their personal interests ahead of organizational interests.
Here are some of Mary’s thoughts as she goes through the resumes:
“Wow, this person has a great background, but they have more experience than me, I’d better pass”
“His background is a lot like mine, but look how polished and professional he is, the boss might pick him for a promotion over me, I’d better pass.”
“Wow, she has the perfect background, but she is a lot prettier than me, I’d better pass.”
“Her background is ok, she’s not very motivated or smart and is certainly someone I can boss around. She won’t be after my job any time soon. She is perfect!”
Mary is not a bad person. Mary is human, and like all people, will put her own needs first. She does not want to hire someone bad for the company. She wants the company to be successful, but she doesn't want to jeopardize her place in the organization. Mary has her own agenda and it conflicts with yours.
The My People Person customized search and high-touch service helps you avoid just this type of situation. My Right Fit SM Process is designed to find the best candidates for your business using the latest quantitative assessment tools that most small and mid-size business don’t have access to so that you can evaluate every aspect of a candidate. Starting with a Rainmaker Interview SM to identify what makes your company unique and what type of person will be successful in your organization, I customize your search to fit the needs of your company as you see them without the inevitable agenda conflict that comes from delegating hiring to direct reports.
Don’t waste your valuable time and resources and the time of your employees by delegating important hiring decisions to your direct reports. Call me today to discuss how I can be your people person.
Sincerely,
Martha
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