Think your employees suck? Think again, it may be your recruitment

The objective of any business is to make profits. This is achieved by formulating a good plan, and then executing it. Both these activities presuppose the availability of a competent workforce which is not merely skilled, but also very adept. Since businesses almost always need to communicate well with their customers, the workforce needs to have very effective and, in some cases (the marketing role comes to mind), extraordinary, communication skills. Recruitment is the activity by which this workforce is built.

Recruiting people may be only one of the functions of any firm’s Human Resources Department, but it’s one of the most critical. It has a direct bearing on the organization’s ability to become, and remain, profitable. Let’s look at a scenario in which the recruitment process is not only ill-structured, but also badly executed, leading to the employment of people who are not actually qualified for their jobs, but who’re assumed to be. This may have come about because the interviewing process could not separate the mediocre from the really brilliant. Unfortunately, I know from personal experience that this could happen if the HR department applies pressure on the interviewers to select as many candidates as possible, even if the candidates are not really top-notch. Sad, but true nevertheless.

What would a good recruitment process be like? This is a difficult question to answer, and is perhaps the reason why so many companies don’t have effective recruitment practices. However, by looking at how really successful companies hire people, we begin to get an idea. Most obvious is the fact that these companies hire some really bright people. How do they do that? Asking questions that are straight from the textbook, for all its usefulness in clearing exams, is perhaps not always indicative of a person’s intelligence; testing the person’s problem-solving ability by observing their skills in solving a real-world problem might well be, which is why interviews at companies like Google appear to be a series of puzzle-solving sessions. Of course, this is not the only way to gauge a person’s intelligence. Knowledge of, and an ability to discuss deep, intricate theories could be another indication, as would be other factors.

You might have noticed that the focus in the preceding paragraph is entirely on intellectual ability. While this is a necessary facet, it’s definitely not sufficient. There are other qualities, like being able to work in a team, ability to communicate clearly with colleagues and, in the case of client engagement roles, sociability. Moreover, a company looking to hire a smart person must also ensure that the person would fit in with the company’s work culture. Along with all these is another important quality, right attitude. Small and fast-paced companies would clearly want people who are quick on their feet, not opposed to taking risks, and approach problems with a can-do attitude. In other words, people who might be called strongly optimistic. Bigger, more conservative establishments might want to look for more conservative people. No doubt a positive approach would help, but in such companies, optimism would be expected to be tempered with cautiousness.

Knowing whom to consider for prospective employment is one thing; going about selecting them is something else altogether. It’s this process that makes a potential employee decide to either take up employment, or to look elsewhere. Companies must remember that they’re not the only ones trying to hire people; there are lots of other similar companies with a similar objective in mind, so they must take care to treat candidates with respect and courtesy. After all, this initial treatment would be seen as a reflection of how they, the employees, would be treated later on, and a good first impression never hurts. Secondly, the interviews must themselves be clear and focussed on finding out the extent of a candidate’s knowledge and suitability for the job. One or two telephonic interviews followed by a face-to-face meeting would probably be ideal. Throughout it all, it would also be best to not say or do anything that may raise false hopes in the candidate’s mind. Remember, people get rejected all the time, but it’s what they perceive about the process that sticks in their minds (and percolates to their friends and colleagues), and raising hopes only to shatter them later is likely to make a candidate bitter. Lastly, ensure that the final decision, whatever it may be, is communicated to the candidates. Though it’s hard to tell people that they weren’t selected, it certainly helps in establishing trust and directness. This can only help in building a reputation of an honest, courteous and no-nonsense recruitment process, which in turn would attract more people.

In order for an organisation to be successful, it’s necessary to find the right people who will put it on the road to success, and take it there. The selection of the right people for the right job can be done by an effective recruitment process, which must be able to attract people with the right set of skills. Treating prospective employees with courtesy, respect, fairness and professionalism is crucial since these are the same qualities that they’d expect the organization to treat them with during their employment. It’s by no means a certainty that picking good people will automatically lead to success, but as they say, the journey of a thousand miles begins but with a single step; if that step is right, it can only mean that the organization is on the right track.

Written by Mahesh Jagadeesan. Mahesh is an experienced IT professional with 10+ years of experience. If you need a hand with anything related to Javascript, HTML or any computer problem, drop him a line (maheshj at gmx dot net) or through his website at The Practical Idealist.