Recruitment – a process that many managers see as an exceptional challenge, while some think it is simple and HR just can’t cope. The matter is more complicated than it seems. A manager’s competencies, expectations, management style and, finally, personality traits can make it easier to find valuable employees, but they can also effectively undo HR’s best working standards. Although managers look for the ideal candidate, they often collide with the complexity of human nature, which cannot be reduced to the dry facts in a CV. A candidate is not just a list of skills or experience on paper – they are a complex individual with their own pluses and minuses, passions, values and career history. It is worth considering which of a manager’s beliefs and expectations can torpedo even an exemplary process.
1. The wall of the ideal employee
Many managers chase the dream of finding the ideal employee, not realising that such an ideal doesn’t exist. A person is not their CV – they have their strengths but also areas for development. Before we start demanding perfection from candidates, it is worth asking whether we ourselves are ideal managers. Working on their own competencies can make managers more flexible and realistic in their expectations of others.
2. Echoes of unique experience
When looking for a replacement for an employee such as Janek, who worked at the company for 20 years (during which he gained experience in many positions and can handle almost any task), managers often fall into the trap of unrealistic expectations. Every employee has unique experiences that are hard to replace. Cloning Janek is of course impossible, so it is worth paying attention to the potential of candidates who can bring new perspectives and fresh ideas.
3. Balancing requirements
When looking for the ideal employee, managers often face the paradox of two contradictory traits – for example, wanting creativity while also expecting order and adherence to procedures. It is worth understanding that some personality traits are mutually exclusive, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create a team that integrates diversity.
4. Finding a balance between skills and pay
When looking for an employee with unique skills, managers often run up against financial constraints. Sometimes these constraints are real; sometimes they exist only in managers’ heads. Often, out of concern for delivering strategy and projects, they ambitiously want to hire someone with advanced skills but can offer only part of what the labour market offers. Working on making the offer more attractive to employees – for example by developing other areas such as the work environment, development opportunities or the chance to prove oneself – can help attract talented people. It is also worth remembering that just because something seems attractive to us about a job doesn’t mean it will be attractive to our candidates.
5. Recruitment versus marriage
Some managers confuse recruitment with looking for a life partner. An employee is not a professional husband or wife who has to match the manager’s personality so that work is easy for the manager. It is worth looking for employees who have a similar set of values to the rest of the company and the team, and who complement the team with skills it currently lacks.
6. Managing your own fears and worries
Recruitment decisions are often driven by managers’ own fears and worries. Before making a decision, it is worth considering whether the concerns are justified or stem from prejudice or stereotypes. Judging candidates on the basis of your own fears can lead to losing valuable talent. It may even mean we never attempt to check these concerns with the candidate. We assume something and reject the candidate at the outset for a particular reason.
7. Perception errors
Perception errors are a common problem in recruitment. Tattoos or other external features should not be decisive if the candidate has the right skills and experience. The same goes for overestimating and underestimating particular parts of a candidate’s experience and interpreting them through the lens of our own life experience. It is worth discarding stereotypes and focusing on real competencies.
In summary, recruitment is not only about choosing an employee but also a chance to build a team that works effectively and harmoniously. It is worth learning about the company’s real expectations and needs and being open to diversity, whose value can bring surprising results. Working on your own expectations and prejudices can lead to finding an employee who will not only meet but exceed expectations. After all, people are every company’s most important capital.
