Peter Drucker has said, “Executives spend more time on managing people and people decisions than on anything else, and they should. No other decisions are so long lasting in their consequences or so difficult to Although in many cases, the new hire falls short of expectations and should never have been hired or he or she requires too much supervision — often they remain on the job because (for managers) accepting poor performance is easier than finding a replacement!
When we hire a nw person to come into our business we share the expectation they will be the “right one,” or we would not have hired them. Why, then, are we so often disappointed?
Our research suggests the answer may be a missed point of focus. We are trying to find and hire top candidates rather than top employees.They are not the same!
In conversations with re- cruiters and employers across Canada, we have compiled this list of the characteristics of top candidates:
- Good Resume
- Good Skills
- On time for interview
- Prepared for interview
- Good communicator
- Enthusiastic
- Great first impression
- Aggressive job seeker
- Interested in you
- Interested in company
- Good follow up
- Poised and confident
Is anything missing on the list? Looks rather attractive, doesn’t it?
Here’s something to think about: using this list, would all of your top employees today be considered top candidates?
Our respondents gave us the following list of characteristics of top employees:
- Highly motivated to work
- Competent in the technical aspects of their jobs
- They do more than required
- Do not make excuses
- Anticipate problems
- Solve problems
- Take initiative
- Learn quickly
- Committed
- Focused
- Consistent
- Strong team player
- Loyal
There isn’t much overlap between the two lists is there?
To improve your odds of hiring right the first time, give careful thought to the qualities of your top employees then look for those qualities in those you hire.
A good hiring assessment can help you measure both, instead of guessing!