Batter Up!

Hiring For Champions!

By Rebecca Matchette

As a long-time (i.e. long suffering) Cubs fan, I well know the sinking feeling of realizing that it will be yet another season chanting ‘wait until next year’. From the disappointment of 1969 to the choking 2003 season, we Cub fans have endured more than our share of humiliation and frustration.

Are your organization’s hiring procedures comparable to a typical Cubs season? Have you ever been confidently optimistic in the opening months of your relationship with a newly hired and perfect candidate – the April of baseball season, only to find out that by October, the now employee has no chance of making the playoffs let alone playing in the World Series? Or perhaps, the opposite is true; the rookie you brought up from the farm team becomes an unlikely star.

Ask yourself what you did differently in hiring your bottom performers vs. your top performers? If the answer is nothing, examine how this can be. Two identical hiring processes yet two different results? Like a championship baseball team, you are trying to build an organization with people who thrive in all the critical functions you need in your company. But you are shooting in the dark using current methodology. Here are some illogical (and usually unsuccessful) reasons for making bad hiring decisions:

• “He was a fraternity brother!’

• “Her record in the California branch was fantastic’
• “Had to use up our budget for human resources’
• “He reminded me of myself at that age’

To build a winning team, you must know what makes someone successful in a particular position. We’ve addressed this topic in other columns but it cannot be said enough. At the end of the 1st quarter of 2007, do you have the measurements and personnel in place to move your organization forward for the rest of the year?

Are you hiring an outfielder to pitch? A catcher for the infield? How do you know? To help ensure the most long-term successful hiring decisions, have the following in place for each open position you fill:

o   Accurate job descriptions

o   Consistent interview questions

o Performance evaluation checklists o Data for training needs

o   Data for organizational planning

o   Job-matching assessment tools for hiring

This is the game plan that will set the course for many winning seasons. Implementing measurements for successful hiring will yield a winning lineup!

Rebecca Matchette is President of bec, inc, A human resources consulting firm that specializes in matching talent to right work. Please contact her at 630-462-0025 or email below.

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