The Science of Science

Science is a word that is thrown around a lot these days. Whether debating the evolutive pandemic and reaction to it or in statements of quality. For the last 3 years Purple Patch Consulting has been supporting our clients under the banner of ‘The Science of Recruitment’. Does this mean we have a periodic table of candidates? A petri dish of tools that give us a competitive edge. A good idea, but not quite. By living and breathing by the Tagline we have observed some misconceptions of the term Science.

Firstly, Science is the be all and end all of everything. The science proving something as finite. Don’t believe me, believe the science. Well Science is wrong, often. This is by design. To research, epiphanies and discover theories need to be tested. If A/B testing one is bound to fail comparatively. It’s quite possible that the ‘failed’ comparable was ‘the science’ prior to the test. Marginal gains is another with a firm belief in continued improvement. This could be with accuracy and insights. F1 is the mainstream exhibit A of this method. Using science year on year the cars outperform everything they held as precipice performance Essentially ‘failure’ is the key ingredient to lance truth in any given situation. So it is fair to say science is cohabiting with failure. I wonder how some marketing ploys labelling their product as scientific would like its cosy relationship failure.

'Perfect' doesn’t represent the term Science.

Secondly, science itself isn’t an exact science. Its evolved massively as our understanding of the world has changed. When we started asking questions, if we accepted all answers there would be not advancements. To dismiss the absoluteness of how things work is the birth of testing. Galileo, springs to mind for questioning the big questions. Breakthroughs were made and the way we see the world changed forever. The method was the backbone of running tests on curiosity. Generations down the line and how we test has come on leaps and bounds. We have sterile rooms and molecular controlled environments. The methods changing is indicative of flawed methods and inaccuracies hypothesis. Today we have ‘Open Science’ and ‘Data-driven science’ to name a couple. Micro-specialisms exist for complexities of categorisation.

?

Not one size fits all therefore uniform is also a word that doesn’t represent the term Science.

Historical revisionism is a term where the facts that we deem as facts change year on year. Some become disputed and others refined. However, there is a lag in the history books and what we accept at correct. This deviation metaphorically symbolises the flaws in accepted facts as absolute.

“If we lived on a planet where nothing ever changed, there would be little to do. There would be nothing to figure out. There would be no impetus for science. And if we lived in an unpredictable world, where things changed in random or very complex ways, we would not be able to figure things out. But we live in an in-between universe, where things change, but according to patterns, rules, or as we call them, laws of nature. If I throw a stick up in the air, it always falls down. If the sun sets in the west, it always rises again the next morning in the east. And so it becomes possible to figure things out. We can do science, and with it we can improve our lives. (Carl Sagan, 59)”

What is The Science of Recruitment to us?

Often, I am quoted as describing recruitment as “Herding cats, telepathically”. Working with people with big decisions that directly influence their career trajectory or business inevitably creates surprise scenarios and variables within variables. Therefore, to say we are ‘Scientific’ within this realm doesn’t align in the same way it is often use by companies for their marketing. For us we are known for ‘The Science of Recruitment” due to our willingness to explore, test and theorise new ways of delivering the best outcomes possible. This is the spirit of innovation and invention. We are willing to fail by trying, but our goal is to change the perception of the industry for the better, for all, for good.

To find out more about this and The Lab, please contact me on: [email protected]