As busy bosses, we often rely on our gut to determine who to hire and why. We falsely believe our intuitive abilities make us foolproof. Yet we are often wrong and our results suffer, clients stray, miscommunication becomes the norm and team conflicts erupt. And, even more sadly, our key employees often leave!
All of this is preventable.
The truth is, objective data will improve hiring decisions!
Facts will always matter!
Why Do You Often Ignore Facts?
- You’re busy putting out fires and rely solely on resumes to select who to interview. (By the way, 70 percent contain inaccuracies, and we spend less than 6 seconds reviewing each resume.)
- Statistically, 86 percent of the time you’re unable to discern the lies offered by job candidates.
- You believe candidates when they say they want to work for you.
- You believe it’s too expensive to incorporate objective data into your decision-making process.
- You rely mostly on feelings (your gut) about how the candidate looks, talks and interacts. (Remember, the right person will be trainable.)
4 Often-Overlooked Reasons Why Facts Will Always Matter
Your lack of objectivity will cause stress for everyone. In today’s job market, every employee has other alternatives … they can leave.
1.Job Seekers. They are savvier today than ever before, and unemployment is at an all-time low. It’s harder than ever to attract qualified candidates. It costs a lot of time, money and energy to interview people who are not well-suited for the position, or who do not have a real interest in the job or company. Remember, the right job candidate is out there, waiting to be found. Also, job candidates will decline job offers when they don’t trust interviewers to hire the right way. (They think, Where else is this potential boss cutting corners?)
A job candidate is impressed by:
- A clear list of expectations and easy-to-read job descriptions
- Well-prepared and appropriate interview questions
- Well-defined strategic hiring processes coupled with a positive outlook, and
- Qualified job fit assessments used to objectively customize the candidate’s career path: onboarding, coaching, managing and training and development
2.Employees. They are tired of training new people who leave through a revolving door, and of attempting to clean up messes that could have been prevented. So, instead, they update their resumes and reach out to others in their networks. They leave you still hiring the way you’ve always done … by how you feel. They leave you sitting at your desk, frustrated at losing another good person, wishing there had been more money in the budget to keep them. Hint: The No. 1 reason employees leave today is because of their boss, not their paycheck!
3.Customers. They are also tired of training new hires or employees who transferred into positions they don’t fit. I remember calling a company, needing to have a question answered. After I repeated my request a couple of times, I asked the receptionist what else she was doing. I could hear tapping in the background. Her reply: “I’m multi-tasking and typing up a report for my boss.” Needless to say, I did not feel like a valued customer and didn’t get my question answered. I became another lost customer.
4.Vendors. They can be great allies in helping build your company. However, their job and paycheck are dependent on helping as many customers as they can, not training yet another new person who doesn’t have the interest or willingness to do the job. The wrong employee can also hurt long-time vendor relationships by making uninformed decisions about the products and services and by changing agreements, causing chaos throughout the company and hurting customer relationships.
Obtaining objective data is easy. It can also save your own career! Remember, everyone affiliated with your company is depending on you to objectively hire employees based on facts, not on your gut.
©Jeannette Seibly, 2018
Jeannette Seibly is celebrating 25 years as a business coach, advisor and consultant. Are you ignoring facts? Are you aware of how much this is costing your company? Are you willing to make simple and effective changes in your hiring process? First, you have to step up! Check out her website , or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.