Recruitment Culture!

It has been widely recognized that some of the most important decision to be made in the corporate world centre on recruitment and selection. Even with the best intentions one generally lands up with guys who do not measure up to the task and when firing decisions are to be made it is a sad day with much soul searching and breast beating. As a culture we do not fire easily in India.

Why fire if you can hire wisely, is the point of discussion. Poor manpower planning and recruitment and selection procedure land many a new employee on the ‘bench’ only to be told that they have warmed the bench sufficiently long and may now look for other pastures. This message generally comes from the junior most HR executive while the senior line managers and HR managers are either in a meeting or out playing golf. (It is little wonder that HR is feared and many an employee runs for cover when they see the HR)
Apparently one American company has adopted a method wherein the recruiters watch how a person crosses a street dense with traffic and then conclusions are drawn on the suitability of the candidate for various profiles & whether he/she should be on board or not.

While the method may raise a few eyebrows, I think it is well worth a try, because who knows………………………..what may succeed !

As an example, an owner of a large firm hired his SCUBA diving instructor as the CEO of his firm, as the man impressed him. Did the diver succeed? You bet he did……..much to the amazement of all and sundry.

Why did he succeed? It’s all about attitude, chum………………………………………………

The street crosser:

1. Matador. Fearless, the Matador thinks nothing of daring the cars and taxis with his elegant dance through traffic. Crosswalks are just paint to a Matador. Red lights are mere suggestions. Nor does the Matador care whether the oncoming traffic shows no sign of stopping. After all, what’s a little glancing blow? Best Positions: Entrepreneurs, super salesmen, and financial mavericks.
2. Wader. Bold but not fearless, the Wader is eager to cross, demonstrating ample initiative but a little more common sense. Waders may phone and text while on the move…but not when venturing into traffic. They recognize that getting struck by any part of a car is a bad thing. That’s why they let the Matadors run interference. While the hotshots are busy tempting fate, the Wader is getting to the other side first. Best Positions: Excellent CEOs, vice presidents, software designers, project leaders and design heads.
3. Text Walker. Having mastered typing, talking and walking at once, the Text Walker tends to forget that crossing a car-clotted street is real life while tapping keys on a little plastic box is not. Text Walkers may appear on the surface to be Waders or even Matadors, but with one critical distinction—progress in their case is often an illusion. The Text walker tends to meander, drift, and even pause midway. They lack the presence of mind to stay on task. Best Positions: Creative’s and lower-level programmers. They exhibit flashes of talent but are ill-suited for management or higher-level responsibilities.
4. Light Jumper. Though a Light Jumper starts out determined to follow the letter of the law, when the crosswalk light turns yellow he can’t help but jump the curb. Dr. Jekyll turns into Mr. Hyde. A Light Jumper is not above shouting and glaring at motorists who narrowly miss him even though they still legally have the right of way. Best Positions: Dependable but ballsy attorneys, independent CPAs and trusty managers with hidden tattoos.
5. Curb Huggers. No matter how empty the street, Curb Huggers would never dream of leaving the sidewalk for the crosswalk a second earlier than the law (or the “Walk” sign) allows. Ironically, Curb Huggers rarely make it across before the light turns and, by playing it safe, are often sitting ducks for signal-jumping taxis. Best Positions: Accountants, statisticians, or rules-based occupations. Excellent at scheduling and attending meetings, especially when the purpose is to schedule new meetings.

I'm thinking of introducing this concept to my students, next month, when I launch into a course on HRM.