Fill Versus Fulfill

When you have a need, do you Fill or Fulfill that requirement?

 This question is not linguistic gymnastics. It is a question as to how you chose to identify, analyze, and fulfill your needs. – Be that a personal or professional need.

 Filling a need can be an exaggerated “Knee Jerk” reaction. You have a need. You fulfill that need with no or little analysis. For example. When you are hungry, do you just go to the cookie jar and eat until you are full?

 The desire during filling a need is not focused on the long-term ramifications of the chosen action. Emphasis is myopically centered on quenching the current need.

 Fulfilling a need is performed through utilizing a trusted and proven methodology. The chosen approach may belong to a trusted subject matter expert or be a verified proprietary methodology. – Belonging to you.

 Utilizing the previous scenario of needing to fulfill a pang of hunger, the subject will follow a process that will follow measurable steps within a defined process.

Assess the need

• How hungry am I?

1. "It has been twelve hours since breakfast. I could eat a full meal”
2.  “I ate a small snack a few hours after lunch. A few carrot sticks will hold me over until dinner.”

 Determine the quality of the desired resolution

•  In a rational manner, what do I want to eat?

1. "I want a full meal of steak and potatoes."
2. "Crackers and cheese will do fine"

 Understand the timing for the resolution

• How long I need the hunger to go away?

1. “It’s dinner time. It is a long time until breakfast. I want to eat a meal!”
2. “Dinner was six hours ago. Breakfast is a 6:30 tomorrow morning. I better eat a light snack so that I can comfortably go back to sleep.”

Be able to measure when the need is fulfilled

• How will I know when I achieved the desired end of my quest?

1. “My plate is empty and I am satiated.”
2. “The potato chip bag is empty and it’s too late to go to the store and buy more chips.”

The above analogy can be applied to when your organization has a hiring need.

 Do you solicit resumes from the job boards and hire the seemingly “Right Fit”?

 Or

 Do you follow a proven pragmatic process where the need is fully evaluated and the desired outcome is understood, allowing the ideal solution to be identified and hired? Utilizing the ideal hiring solution will deliver a more productive and longer-tenured employee.

 Do you want to Fill or Fulfill your needs?

Ernie Russom is the Executive Director of the Retained and Dedicated Executive Search Firm The Westview Associates. Enhancing the ROI of the hiring process through a proprietary methodology that provides longer-tenured and more productive employees.