June 2004: On Hiring

Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being. -Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Aloha mai kakou,

Had a discussion with a customer recently about how difficult it is to hire "quality" people on the Big Island right now. I'm not sure what the exact statistics are, but a quick look at the Help Wanted ads in West Hawaii Today clearly shows there are a lot of job vacancies out there and unemployment must be at record lows.

Well, what exactly is a quality hire?

My customer felt pangs of guilt and remorse that she was "settling," and making "warm-body hires that I normally wouldn't make." She described what she was looking for; in turn, I described what I knew was to be found using different descriptions, but fulfilling the same needs. In the coaching session that ensued, we explored the difference between lowering one's standards and raising one's opinion-personally, I prefer to believe that people have lots of potential, and it simply takes a good manager to find it in them, and create a working environment where their strengths can emerge and grow.

I understand you should define realistic expectations of the market to strategically execute a good recruitment plan. However, you may also need to reassess what you expect from yourself-as a manager of people, one who feels employees are worthy of the time you invest in them. Whenever there is a new challenge in the marketplace you instinctively understand you must raise your game, right? Why should it be any different with hiring? We put a coaching plan together for my customer that created paradigm-breaking questions she can interview with, wherein her own values are not compromised, and candidates understand they are enlisting to pursue company goals. She needs to get excited about new hires again and harvest their energy, confident in her own ability to train and motivate them. These are the things we'll next work on in her coaching.

How do you hire? Do you go the safe route, hiring people who are like you, and who agree with you? Or do you embrace diversity, hiring others who will surely challenge your thinking, drop new ideas in your lap, and force you to engage and manage better? Robert Sutton is professor of management science organizational behavior at Stanford University, and he wrote a book named Weird Ideas That Work (The Free Press 2002), that really push the envelope with this. Some of his ideas?

• Hire "Slow Learners" (of the organizational code).
• Hire people who make you uncomfortable, even those you dislike (and listen).
• Hire people you probably don't need (because they have unique skill sets).
• Find some happy people and get them to fight (knowing they respect each other).
• Encourage people to ignore and defy superiors and peers (watch them teach your old dogs new tricks).

The central message of Sutton's book is actually about pursuing the creativity, new ideas and innovation a company needs to break from conformity and mediocrity, reaping these benefits from the "freaks, geeks, and fresh eyes" they hire. His ideas may sound extreme, but his point is intriguing: "A weird idea works because it trips discomfort," says Sutton. "The idea is to flip from autopilot to mindful creation."

Recruitment, interview, selection and hiring are key processes in any business: make sure old habits and narrow viewpoints aren't the real stumbling blocks. Hire "fresh eyes."

Ho'ohana,

Rosa

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