Hiring the Best – Its also about hiring the average

So, this is a statement you hear many HR Managers, CEO speaking about. Every now and then we  hear senior executives saying that ‘We Hire the Best’. So What is the best. Does it mean people with strong pedigrees, strong background, or top performing lot of companies? If the above is true does it mean that people not having above traits cannot get good jobs?

The answer to all is NO. The definition of Best, is best defined by the work that person has to do. We at GrapeCity, say we Hire the Best.  It doesn’t mean we hire only rank holders/ toppers across the board, What it means is those people are best suited for the kind of work we have.  An A+ for me could be a B+ for some other organization. Similarly a B+ for me could be a A candidate for some other organization. So in a nutshell the grading of candidates is organization specific and work specific. So to hire the best the organization needs to kind of talent they want to recruit. The talent can be graded based on

a) Technical Skills

b) Functional Skills

c) Behavioral Skills

The above skills and be drilled down further and a skill matrix can be created to based on competencies and its level  required to perform a certain kind of work. E.g In GrapeCity one of the things we are very particular in Technical skills is the  experience of a candidate on Web Apps Product Development as that is one of our core areas. Hence we look at candidates with score of 4/5 on these technologies. Similarly on secondary skills for a Software engineer we might just look at a rating of 2/4.  This is  GrapeCity definition of A+ talent.  In some other organization the secondary skills might become primary and hence the whole definition of A will change.  In the same manner  the Behavioral Skills one has could be deciding factor as it could have a big influence on whether a person can fit into an organization culturally.  When you combine all the skills you get a different flavour in each organization which would be A+ / B in its own way.

Also for strong execution, you need people at A+ level and at the same time at B level also. For Eg. a 10 member development team might comprise of 5 A+ people to lead the efforts along 2 B+  and 3 B people to supplement the efforts put in by the A+ people and follow directions given by them. Of Course this combination can change based on need. But putting 10 A+ or 10 B+ people together on one assignment would be a road to disaster.

In a nutshell, what Hiring the best means is hiring what is required by your organization. Not what the world describes as the best.

K Arun

Human Resources

GrapeCity

CULTURAL FITMENT - A KEY TO SUCCESSFUL HIRE

I am sure in this ever contracting employable talent pool in India, this is one question every recruiter faces every day.  “I have got a strong technical shortlist but he/ she might not fit in culturally in the organization? I am so desperate to close the position. What should I do? Should I ignore that part?” The Answer is a BIG NO. You should never commit that sin of ignoring something as important as that. A technically B candidate can become ‘A’ over a period of time but a cultural misfit can never become a fit in an organization.  At GrapeCity, this part of hiring is one of the most crucial and plays a big role in the decision to hire. Of Course, mistakes do happen but we should make honest effort to minimize the chances of making a hiring mistake. Also having burnt my fingers from those mistakes, it makes me feel more reassured that Cultural Fitment should never be ignored. 

How to Judge?

Look at your organization and look at the kind of people she employs (not all but 80% of the common crowd). You will know what kind of people your organization hires. Judge your prospective hire on those parameters namely things like outspokenness, aggressiveness, learn-ability etc ( of course this can change from company to company). The overall demeanor of the candidate plus the answers to the parameters would give you an answer in first 15 mins of discussion you have. The next 15 mins spend time in reaffirming those findings and finally concluding as some people ( 5-10%) take time to open up. So to conclude, I would say you can save your organization the blushes by investing 30 mins of your time in evaluating cultural fitment of the candidate. Do it religiously.

Implications of a wrong cultural hire

• Attrition: Not only the person himself but other gems of your organization influenced by that person.
• Under- Productivity: The productivity levels of employees in sync with the wrong hire might go down drastically with that person influencing the minds of your good employees.
• Negativity: Could create a overall aura of negativity within the team/ organization.
• Client/ Revenue Loss: All the above factors would in the end result in either client dissatisfaction or revenue loss.
• Botch in the career of misfit employee due to firing/ under-performance.

There can be many more worse implications than what has been listed above.

Mistakes you can avoid

• A  Candidate always tries to portray that he is best fit for the job and the company. Don’t fall for answers given by candidate, dig deeper. Cross question to ensure that your probability of making a mistake reduces drastically.
• Don’t get pulled into urgency of situation like project deadlines, incentives etc and make a mistake which can cost your company dearly.
• In case of doubt take second opinion from your colleagues in HR.
• By rejecting someone you aren't doing a crime, you might actually be doing a favor to that person unconsciously. A mis-fit in your company could be a possible super fitment somewhere else. Leave him/ her for that organization. 
• Don’t bow down to the pressures of the technical team. Be Strong and stand your ground and opinion. You would actually be doing them a favor in long run.

 So the next time you get into a situation like this, don’t have second thoughts, go ahead and say NO HIRE. 

Thanks

K Arun

Head- Recruitment

GrapeCity India Pvt Ltd

Changing Facets of Recruitment in India

Speaking to my dad some days back I wondered how the word 'RECRUITMENT' have taken over India by storm for the past couple of decades. If I see my dad be spent about 35 years in the company he retired from. Ask anyone who started their career in the post-liberalization era, they would think about this as a joke. Even I wonder ' How he managed to do that!'. But that was a time of limited opportunities and people grabbed whatever they got and pulled themselves slowly but steadily to the top of ladder. Gone are those days when recruitment majorly used to happen through references, Newspaper advertisements and people like Dr. B P Agrawal ( Founder of ABC Consultants) for senior positions of big corporates   That was the time when no-one thought that this word Recruitment will soon become a industry in itself employing millions in India alone.

An employer in 70s & 80s used to have limited hiring scope primarily due to the lack of visibility that existed during those times. With evolution of economy and more number of companies coming into India post 1992, the outlook of employers changed in many ways. Initially it started with employers successfully wooing performers from their competitors but with the emergence of more ways and means of visibility like job portals, professional networking sites, candidates have started creating a market for them where they can showcase their capabilities. Now as much as an employer the ' CANDIDATE' enjoys a equal position in the hiring process as they have become very knowledgeable on how to market their skills to the outside world to get better opportunities. In this very changing competitive market the power to choose has gradually shifted from the employer to the employee. Even during a slowdown phase like what we are facing right now, i see a decent talent movement especially in the software field. I see employers running behind candidates who have multiple offers to choose from, i see back-outs  i see strong negotiations and last but not the least I see employers struggling to hire the right set to people due to the ever reducing employable talent in India.

As time goes on i see the recruitment as a dynamic function which is going to change its nature every moment. If we as recruiters fail to catch the bus of new trends and adapt ourselves, we would be a doing a great disservice to the nation and its growth. So lets accept the fact and move ahead in time and network our way to glory. :)

Arun
Head- Recruitments
GrapeCity India