Recruiting Internally - An alternative

wisdom [wiz-dam] noun - a gift often gained from failure, the constant growing through the teachings of others, the lifelong nourishment of the soul and mind

Today’s Wisdom

Develop internally and reduce the massive cost associated with getting the selection process wrong.

I’m sure you’ve employed someone thinking they are great, only to find out in 3 months that you’ve been sold a pup.

It’s one of the reasons there is a 3 month ‘get out clause’ but that’s not a sustainable recruiting strategy. The cost of getting the selection process wrong can be anything from 36% to 223% of the total salary straight off the bottom line.

In this current market, finding and keeping the right staff is still the biggest challenge facing employers.

Before I address the selection process, let me first suggest that before you throw bodies at the problem, consider looking at your existing workflow processes and if there are efficiencies to be made.

This might also include a new look at your organisation and who’s doing what, or the possible use of technology.

Given that you’ve looked at this and you need additional people to get the job done then here are a few steps to consider.

What’s the Importance and Urgency?

Can position be covered or will that just cause more pressure on the existing staff and unintended consequences?

If the answer is it’s a must hire, then it’s a must hire. What I would then suggest is be very clear on the behaviours you are looking for and that all starts with a clear Accountability Statement.

If you have time (more than 6 months), consider this alternative.

Let’s say you are wanting to hire an Administration Manager to run your admin team of 5 clerks.

Identify a potential internal candidate. Is there an existing staff member who has shown initiative? They may be a long term employee or one that is relatively new. The key is their behaviour. Have they demonstrated leadership quality? Let’s call this candidate Pat. (Patricia or Patrick)

Discuss the role and the Accountability Statement with Pat and what is expected of them.

Naturally the lack of experience and skill will come up, and that’s understandable from both sides.

The key is do you trust them and do they trust you? Discuss this honestly. Your reservations and what you see as possible.

Do a Skills gap Analysis. List the skills and experience Pat will need to be effective in the Job in 6 months and then 12 months. Skills can be learned, experience takes time.

Both pat and you should do a Skills Assessment with a Basic, Advanced and expert levels of the existing skills Pat has and then compare these against what’s needed.

This Gap then informs you on the Technical and Relational skills that Pat will need to develop.

This is the Training Investment you make improve Pat’s ability to be promoted.

Training Options

Send Pat to external training programs, especially if they are based on technical skills.

These may be short-term courses. If there is a Tertiary education requirement then you may have to rethink the time-frame.

You have On-The-Job training as an option that requires you to be the Trainer.

So Pat doesn’t get frustrated by you giving other tasks priorities, YOU need to commit to an ‘agreement’ that Pat can rely upon. Otherwise you’ll be rushing out the door to the next important meeting and Pat will be left deflated.

Have Pat do On-The-Job Training with the team. One of the best ways to learn is to teach.

It doesn’t have to be just one person selected.

If you are in the fortunate position to have more than one Pat, there is no reason why you can’t support both to be groomed. But be careful you don’t end up in a ‘Sophies Choice’ situation where you have to leave one behind.

Hire a more junior position.?

This addresses some of the capacity issue but you also need to make sure you are ready to onboard a new ‘junior’ team member and have a clear Accountability Statement for them as well..

Because you are hiring for less experience you will need to have your systems and processes clear so it’s a simple follow the bouncing ball job for the Junior.

There are some risks involved.

It could generate jealousy.

If Pat has been with the company a short time then you may annoy some of the old hands who, in your opinion, are not up to the job.

This is tricky and will depend on the individual.

Sorry but there is no ‘universal’ answer for this. It’s nuanced so if you’re not sure give me a call and let’s talk it through.

What if it doesn’t work?

Pat may not work out in which case there is a loss of face amongst their fellow workers so it’s important that it’s spoken in terms of an experiment. Definitely not a test.

One way is to include multiple people in the skills development so everyone gains from the training investment.

The True Cost of External Hiring

There are the obvious expenses in hiring like advertising and recruiter fees.

But there are also less obvious expenses like, the onboarding time that it takes the new employee to be effective. This should be somewhere between 1 to 4 weeks of non-productive time.

There is the disruption to everyone else’s time as they ‘onboard’ the new employee. You want to make this investment as it’s necessary. We estimate it’s between 3 and 20 hours of lost productivity per employee that has exchanges with the employee.

Where did I get these numbers? It was a survey I ran in PNG in 2015 but I suspect it’s the same here.

The Magic of Promoting from Within

In my experience as a Manager when i’ve ran this type of program it has had a significant impact on the functioning of the business.

What was obvious was that people coming in from the outside certainly bring some fresh ideas and enthusiasm, the team might see it as a lack of trust in them.

A Step-by-Step Approach

This approach is not the only one to improve your Capability and Capacity but it can be a long term solution that creates long term people sustainability for your business.

So it does require some strategic thinking with internal conversations to determine the best approach.

Do the training anyway.

Regardless of the need for additional staff I believe that an investment into your ‘greatest asset’ has a major ROI.

It’s a bit like getting your business ready for an exit before you put it up for sale. Invest in your assets to keep the business running smoothly.