If you’ve skimmed a few of our articles before, you’ll know that we normally talk about industry trends and legislation, not what we do. We want to make your life easier by filtering through the vast and overwhelming piles of information out there and try to deliver only the most interesting, relevant, or important pieces for the hospitality industry.
However, a recent article [1] published by Forbes titled ‘10 fatal interviewing mistakes that lead to bad hires’ opens with a very interesting line – Every manager in a hiring capacity. It highlights that most people in charge of hiring have a different primary role. They may be an operational manager with day to day direct service responsibilities, or an HR officer tasked with internal policy, procedure and compliance. While some organisations have dedicated hiring managers, HR departments are often left to juggle many balls.
Whilst it is important for the direct manager and HR officer to have an input into the hiring process, it begs the question – why is recruitment rarely recognised as a unique functional skill set? A manager in a stable organisational department may only hire a few people a year, if any – it’s just not a part of their day to day responsibilities.
Of course any competent manager should look out for things like: the candidates qualifications, personal presentation, communication skills, and cultural fit. But what are the advantages of engaging a specialist – someone for whom hiring and recruitment is their #1 day to day function – rather than approaching recruitment as an ad hoc task to be handled on the side?
-
Experience: Even a relatively junior consultant or dedicated hiring manager will have dozens of interviews and reference checks under their belt. -
Breadth: A dedicated resource with exposure to other organisations will understand trends, what sort of skills are becoming outdated, and be able to pick transferrable skills which may be an asset to you. -
Identifying patterns: With volume comes the ability to recognise patterns. What are the most common signs that a candidate may be lying to you? Is the quality of correspondence from a particular candidate consistent with their official documents? What are the most common questions asked by interviewers, that candidates may have simply memorised a response to?
A good hiring agent –whether internal or external to your organisation – will always take the time to understand your department’s unique needs, potential stressors, and culture before undertaking a candidate search. Functional specialists, working closely with organisational management, are therefore able to advise throughout the process and deliver the best possible outcome.
[1]http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2016/05/22/ten-fatal-interviewing-mistakes-that-lead-to-bad-hires