Change is inevitable, constant and complex. To navigate the fourth industrial revolution of new technology and ways of working, individuals and teams need to empathise, respond, and adapt to new unanticipated challenges, rather than relying solely on the merits of their previous roles. The driving force of hiring for experience on its own is out-dated and no longer gives you a competitive advantage. It is time to dial up the attributes, skills and competencies that you need for the future and drop the rest!
Hire the right choice, not the safe bet
According to the Society for Human Resource Management’s “Capital Benchmarking Report 2016”, each US firm spends approximately $4,129 selecting the right person, and they do this for over 66 million jobs a year. With such significant financial investment in the hiring process, it is critical to review who, how and why you hire. Firms that hire successfully will have reduced costs and a competitive advantage in the future. Be selective and honest about what skills are absolutely necessary for a role and be brave enough to drop the rest. Don’t be driven by finding a ‘safe bet’. Be inspired to find the right choice.
Hire for Emotional Intelligence Daniel Goleman defines Emotional Intelligence as “the ability to recognize, understand, [and] manage our own emotions …[and] recognize, understand and influence the emotions of others.” In the Deloitte September 2018 report, “Preparing tomorrow’s workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, Deloitte says the soft skills needed for the future are “personal attributes, social skills and communication abilities that support interpersonal relationships and interactions with others.” These skills all derive from Emotional Intelligence. Hiring employees with these skills ensures a workforce that is empowered, motivated and inspired to achieve their best, and ultimately, enables them to build high performance work climates that sustain the organisation into the future.
Hire without bias towards experience
In the fast-paced world of business, it can feel safe to use tried and tested criteria for hiring so that faster decisions and results can be achieved. Our brain naturally shows a preference towards people who have already done the job successfully somewhere else. Hiring the same type of people with the same work experiences can lead to a work environment built on sameness in thinking - the enemy of innovation and creativity. We need to be aware of our own biases and ensure all hiring decisions are made with a positive, well thought out, critically reviewed decision-making process that stands true to the necessary skills, values and behaviours of the job, company, and culture, both for today and tomorrow.
Hire to gain competitive advantage Motivated by the real business threat of talent and skill shortages, hiring the right people is something CEO’s are firmly committed to. Those companies that hire with an open mind and make selections in line with clearly defined skills that embrace emotional intelligence and fit to company culture and values will successfully build a workforce for tomorrow and not just for today to gain competitive advantage.
It’s time to be brave and challenge the old belief that experience alone determines success.