What’s Your Hiring Batting Average?

Written by Marcia Zidle | Edited by Rory Hart
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    “By and large, executives make poor hiring decision. By all accounts, their batting average is no better than .333. That means one-third of such decisions turn out right, one-third minimally effective and one-third outright failures. In no other area of management would we put up with such miserable performance” – Peter Drucker, leadership icon.

    Every new employee you bring in to the organization either raises the performance of the business as a whole (enabling you to grow and prosper) or lowers it (slowing the business down and imperceptibly dragging it toward decline and failure).

    For a small growing company or agency, getting the right people with the right skills is critical. Every hire has an impact but when you are 1 of 10 people versus 1 of 500 people the impacts are as different as the requirements of the position.

    Is Your Hiring Like Flipping a Coin?
    Several surveys have indicated a national average of hiring accuracy – that’s the measure of how many recruits remain with the company a year after they are hired – is somewhere between 42% and 58%. This means that the average organization is flipping a coin on every hire.

    Related: 40 Great Interview Questions For Hiring the Right Person

    Imagine if your organization could increase that to 80%, 85% or even more than 90%. This would create a major competitive advantage regardless of the size of your organization.

    How Can YOU Hire Better?
    Here are four suggestions:

    • First the focus has to be on defining what is necessary to be successful in a particular position. Especially the critical positions.
    • Once the positions are selected it is time to “listen” to the job and take its measurements. You can create a multi-dimensional model or Job DNA of what the position requires.
    • Use assessments to look under the hood of a potential candidate or employee. People are like icebergs: 90% or more of their mass is under the surface. Assessments allow you to get a glimpse of what lies beneath.
    • Provide interview skills training to hiring managers and human resource staff. Interviewees go to classes to better understand how to answer the questions that interviewers are going to ask them.

    Related: 40 Great Interview Questions For Hiring the Right Person

    Management Success Tip:

    Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE, said, “All we can do is bet on the people we pick. So my whole job is picking the right people.” How well are you picking the right people? Make sure you get the right people with the right skills on the right bus who are all going in the right direction.

    Do you want to develop your Management Smarts?

    Marcia Zidle