Hiring Disfunction #3 - Too Ponderous to Get Anything Done
Hiring disfunction #3 is one I experienced on
my first actual hire. I was in the Air Force,
working at the base gym (dont' ask) and was
supposed to help hire a new front-desk attendant.
I got four large manilla envelopes from the
civilian personnel office. Inside were the
profiles, applications (10-12 page Federal government
ones), test scores and background checks of the
top four applicants.
They had all applied more than a year ago (!) but
were still on file as the top four applicants for
a job of this type. It took us nearly eight months
to fill the position of a person who checks out
basketballs and towels and answers the phone!!
Systems are great, but when they cease to serve
the primary need, you should reengineer them.
And no, the US Air Force Civilian Personnel
system isn't the only one I've seen like that.
I've seen many companies act as if
they're under fundamentalist HR law because of
some mistake a manager made a dozen years ago.
I've seen advertisements so large, expensive
and useless (but complete!) they ought to be
a point of contention at the shareholder's
meeting as an obvious cost-cutting measure.
The point is that the system needs to serve
a purpose FIRST, and then whatever process
or legal compliance needs to be applied after.
To choke a process to death over some perceived
fear of a lawsuit is to render it useless.
Hiring systems aren't hard to put together,
and they are relatively easy to measure and
improve. If you need help to review yours
and find ways to improve the quality, number
and productivity of the people you hire,
don't wait.
Call us.
Our approach is a blend of training, coaching
and "done for you" that you'll find appealing,
useful and a lot less expensive than your
other options.
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