Thursday, March 7, 2013

Why Chase the Purple Squirrel?



Where to start in our reflections about the current hiring paralysis that affects organizations?  With the manager who will not hire anyone who does not bring a pen to the interview? (He is in the food industry). Or with a company that was unable to fill a standard engineering position despite having 25,000 applicants*? Or, maybe with the stubborn reliance on gut-decisions that often run against better knowledge and – job descriptions in general?

I start with the hiring manager and their mental schema of a prototypical dream candidate, the “purple squirrel”. One who thinks and acts the way they expect, require and desire. In short: their "Ideal Employee", who embodies a plethora of (often) unrealistic expectations towards real people. People who might never be perfect, but who could become pretty close to perfect. If they only let them.

 Don't chase the purple squirrel


Every single manager I have ever asked admitted that they have a certain ideal image of a perfect employee. While there is nothing wrong with high expectations and a sense of perfection, it becomes a problem if it hinders our judgment about others. I strongly believe that today’s hiring problems such as the perceived lack of qualified candidates and the use of exhaustive interview processes are in part due to the way hiring managers consider applicants. 

Sure, if we look for a purple squirrel in a hoard of brown squirrels, our search will be unsuccessful. Our response to this initial frustration is to want to make them all purple. We either reject the brown ones, or torture them with (ridiculous) questions just to make sure we get the candidate closest to purple. But what if we never find it?

4 steps for a better hiring process

If you find yourself with unrealistic expectations towards new job applicants or existing employees, try this:

     1.      Functional aspects test:  What do you actually need from your employee?

Focus on the business objectives at hand and define the skill set and required qualifications of employees as precisely as possible. Leave out all unnecessary qualities that are not absolutely crucial. Write a short and well-thought-out job description. Be reasonable. (For example, does a head chef really need a pen to be a great cook?)

     2.      Reality Check: What is the potential impact of your Ideal Employee image on applicants?

Be aware of your Ideal Employee image. Do not allow your real candidate pale beside your imaginary creative-and-efficient-and-independent-and-team-working imagined superhero/heroine. (Remember, none of the 25,000 applicants in our above example ever had a chance).    

     3.      Re-Adjust Focus: What is the goal that you want to accomplish?

Put the emotional aspect on the back burner. Don’t wait for the magical buzz between yourself and the applicant but focus on the things you want to accomplish through and with them (see point 1.). Do not get carried away with personal traits too much (you don’t want to make friends but need a great business associate).

      4.     Create the right context for Your Real-Ideal Employee

People can be made into great employees: in an amazing work place they will thrive, in a healthy organizational culture they will grow, through your leadership style and management skills they will become what you need. 

Bottom line: if your old strategies didn't help you find great employees, try to change your mind. Think forward, not backward: allow future employees to be molded into your vision instead of forcing them into something they don't even know yet. It will make your work relationships and - hiring processes - easier.


References:

* Cappelli, P. (2012). Why Good People Can’t Get Jobs: The Skills Gap and What Companies Can Do About It. Wharton Digital Press.

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