Why Perfect Candidates Still Fail on the Job
By Michelle Malay Carter on June 29, 2008
Recruiting Effectiveness Metrics
I recently read?a blogger proposing that recruiters should be measured not only by how many slots are filled or how quickly the slots are filled, but also by the first year’s performance of the candidates they place.? I agree that how many and how quickly will not tell the whole story, but neither will candidate performance in the role.
An Inadequate and Unfair Measure
Candidate performance would not be a fair measure for recruiter effectiveness because once the candidate is placed, the candidate’s performance will be highly contingent upon their manager’s effectiveness and their manager’s cognitive capability.
A person can be perfectly suited for a role as it is defined and still not be effective or productive on the job.?
The Manager’s Role in Employee Effectiveness
The manager defines and assigns the work.? The manager provides the context.? The manager allocates the resources.? The manager judges the performance.? The manager gives feedback.? The manager coordinates the work of his direct report team.
When?a manager cannot or will not do all of these managerial leadership accountabilities, the performance and effectiveness of the employee will suffer.? More on the cannot and will not in my next post.
We Employee People To Make Judgments, not Calculations
Try as we might, we?will never be able to measure effectiveness via metrics.? Effectiveness must be judged.? Metrics calculate; leaders make judgments.
I’m OK.? You’re OK. Let’s fix the system.
I am Not My Metrics
Have you ever had your “metrics” imply you were ineffective?
Filed Under Accountability, Corporate Values, Employee Engagement, Executive Leadership, Managerial Leadership, Organization Design, Requisite Organization, Talent Management, Work Levels
Comments
4 Responses to “Why Perfect Candidates Still Fail on the Job”
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Of course! We live in a social system, whether we want to admit that or not, and it both enables and constrains us.
I wish I had said this as succinctly.
Hi Forrest,
Yes, I’d like to see a little more on the enabling side! Thanks for the comment.
Regards,
Michelle
Michelle – you are absolutely right that managers have an incredible impact on the performance of a new hire. It’s no stretch to say that managers have the biggest influence on the performance of an employee.
With this in mind it’s safe to assume that compensating recruiters based on the performance of those they help to hire – as I suggested in my post (http://www.maximizepossibility.com/employee_retention/2008/06/improving-hr-pe.html) – would certainly ruffle some feathers if not cause downright protest.
However, I’ve seen it time and time again that careful candidate selection – ensuring that the candidate is a good fit for the job – has an incredible impact on the performance of new-hire.
Quite simply (and I think you’ll agree with me) someone who is not fit for the job – be it based on their behaviors, values, cognitive ability etc. – will consistently underperform an individual who is well fit for the job.
What I’m seeing a lot lately is a tendency for recruiters to overlook shortcomings in job fit in order to fill a position as quickly as possible. It’s not surprising really… that after all is the recruiter’s job and responsibility.
However, in a rush to fill X number of training seats before a given date I’m seeing a lot of recruiters take short cuts in the hiring process just to meet their training enrollment numbers.
This is done with little regard for the ultimate performance of the organization and is costing many companies thousands of dollars in wasted training only to have an employee terminated for poor performance or leave on their own accord when they realize they aren’t right for the job.
I strongly feel that employee performance accountability needs to be extended to the hiring process in some way or form.
It’s a tricky situation, I’ll be the first to admit it, but something needs to be done…
Any thoughts?
-Chris Young
Hi Chris,
What role is the recruiter playing within the organization? I would argue that the recruiter is a headhunter and a prescreener. The hiring decision is the accountabiilty of the manager with the approval of the manager once removed. The manager knows the job and is ultimately the decision maker. Mis-hires are a managerial mistake.
Michelle