Perfection Does Not Exist

To hire quality employees, talent managers should forget the notion that any employee is perfect. To acquire the best candidates and compose a staff comprised of strong performers who are fully engaged in their work, talent managers should focus more closely on their decision-making strategies when choosing candidates.

There is a great difference between choosing an alternative and then moving forward versus declaring alternatives wrong and limping along with what's left.

Most decision processes ask people to argue vigorously for 'the right way forward.' Those arguments often contain elements of attack directed at options. The real goal of decision making, what we are calling 'choice' here, is not about being right; it's about being effective.

There is an acceptable medium between choosing one option and killing off the others. Managers should be aware of the qualities they seek for a particular position, but they should avoid a predetermined mindset to seek a flawless candidate, thus not considering other "flawed" candidates during the process. When managers make hiring decisions based on desired outcomes rather than focusing on eliminating possibilities, they will have the freedom to learn, course correct the hiring process itself and continually progress toward an optimal hire as new data and experiences on the candidate slate appear.

It's a whole lot easier to get somewhere by moving toward the target than by moving away from something else.

To make a right choice, those hiring must have a definitive hiring strategy with which to scrutinize candidates' profiles. Further, by developing and prioritizing key requirements, qualifications, characteristics and experience desired in a candidate up front, managers will be better prepared to understand their own requirements and compare them to what is available in the marketplace.

Too often hiring decisions are made sans evidence. Instead, managers' preconceived biases, beliefs and perceptions outweigh the facts. Contrary information - which could lead to a better hire - is avoided, ignored or dismissed as irrelevant. For instance, managers may overvalue a narrow range of skills or related experiences, correlating them to a predetermined definition of a perfect hire. This approach may ignore other critical traits, such as collaborative skills, cultural fit, leadership and motivational ability.

Hiring expectations and results can improve by implementing a more deliberative and evidence-based process.

It is important to be abundantly clear about not only which directions you are taking, but also which directions you are not taken. As the team considers each option, it will come up with a choice that appears most likely to result in success for any number of positive reasons, rather than negative reasoning of what is wrong with each choice.

Once leaders understand there is no such thing as a perfect candidate, imperfections can be managed, and talent managers will be more willing to develop promising candidates to meet company standards. For instance, new hires should be properly on-boarded immediately. It's not a good idea to leave candidates at their new desks to make their way as best they can right from the start. Once a hiring decision has been made, it's time to build up the employee to grow the organization.