No Such Thing as a Quick Fix
Roberta Matuson
Strategic Advisor on Talent | Global Executive Coach | Public Speaker I Brand Ambassador | HBR Contributor I Helping organizations attract & retain the best people.
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The CEO of a company reached out to me last week and asked if I could do a one-hour session to teach her people how to conduct an interview.
I said I could teach them, but it would require more than one session. She said, “Thanks, I’m going to keep looking.”
I wrote back and told her to be wary of anyone who told her they could do this in an hour. If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.
You’re not going to lose 10 pounds in 10 days, nor are you going to improve your interviewing skills in an hour. It’s simply not going to happen.
Selecting the right people for your organization takes a bit more skill than picking ripe fruit at the supermarket and costs a lot more if you make a mistake doing so. It’s estimated that a bad hire can cost a company two to three times an employee’s annual salary. (If you want an exact number, you can use the free employee turnover calculator that I have on my website.)
Even the most experienced of interviewers can benefit from learning how to select for success, especially given the changing landscape of the workforce and employment market. Today’s candidates have plenty of options, which means interviewers will need to showcase the opportunity being presented and the company in the best light possible. I’d say the majority of people interviewing on behalf of their companies are unaware of how to do this, which is why they could benefit from the right type of skill building.
There are books out there on interviewing, as well as online courses. However, neither approach to learning gives participants the opportunity to rehearse what they’ve learned and receive feedback while doing so.
Think about it. You might watch a few YouTube videos on learning how to ski. Are you then ready to ski down a black diamond trail?
No, of course not! With some ski lessons and lots of practice, you may eventually get there without killing yourself.
Training by itself, without an opportunity to apply learning in real-time, is simply a nice time together—and a very expensive one at that.
Before taking on any initiative, consider the following questions:
· What objectives are we looking to achieve?
· How will we be better off as a result of this initiative?
· What measurements will we use to indicate that progress is being made?
· What’s the best route (not necessarily the easiest or cheapest) to help me achieve my objectives?
· What’s the ROI?
If my prospect asked herself these questions, she may have concluded that she was about to go down a dead end road and would have been open to other options. Had she told me she couldn’t afford to devote more time or money I would have advised her to do nothing.
No matter how tempting the price might be, quick fixes often do more harm than good. Avoid them at all costs!
? 2019, Matuson Consulting.
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Jobles at Left nestle
5 年Nice
President and CEO Executive Search Firm in Wealth Management, PE and Family Office.
5 年Investing in a good interviewing process is key to hiring top talent!! A lot of work goes into finding top talent, especially with unemployment at it's lowest since 1969. Why drop the ball on poor interviewing? Great write up!
I Help Shy Introverts Build Confidence to Get New Opportunities! | Former Shy Engineer ?? ?? Confident Public Speaker, Career Coach, and ?? Program Manager | PMP
5 年Thanks for sharing! If something is too good to be true, it probably isn't. Good things take time to develop.
Another great post - I would very much welcome an elaboration on how you demonstrate ROI since the organizations that seem to need the most help also seem to be the most obsessed with that and other productivity metrics.??
Empowering Hotel Leaders | Hospitality Innovator | Driving Exceptional Guest Experiences & Thriving Teams | Author of "Stories From The Edge" series on Leadership & Organisational Excellence
5 年Great post Roberta Chinsky Matuson, and the reason that training alone will always fail to deliver the promised results is that the business environment will block that happening, even in a good business. The environment of a business is made up of two parts, mindset and physical elements. If you want to introduce a new behaviour or way of working, eg sales training, then this will impact both the mindset elements and the physical elements (systems and processes). Without addressing the environmental issues the unconscious environment of the business will go on the defensive and through learned behaviours and entrenched habits, it will undermine the new sales training.? In a few weeks or at most months there will be no sign of the intended outcomes or even the memory of the training. #transformative?#niceleaderhip?#performance?