Recruitment should not solely based on attitude

Recruitment should not solely based on attitude

By Pri Notowidigdo

JAKARTA (JP): Have you ever asked yourself why somebody in
your organization didn't work out? Have you ever wondered what
you could have done differently? Have you ever thought about what
makes someone the right person to hire?

I found myself asking these questions in the midst of advising
a client who wanted to terminate an employee.

My client had originally hired the employee based solely on
aptitude -- the person's skills, knowledge and experience in his
particular area. As it turned out, the employee's attitude (how
he looked at life) had a detrimental effect on the business.

It was not entirely surprising for me to hear this because
after all, everything comes down to people, doesn't it? You can
train a person to have the aptitude -- that is, skills, knowledge
and experience -- you will need. Can you instill attitude though?

Let's say that a person is optimistic, energetic, pleasant,
bright, willing to learn, and connects emotionally with you.
Yet, he knows little about the products or services offered by
your company. How much would it matter to you?

In this regard, I recall an experience in 1984 when Paul
Higgins interviewed me in Vancouver for a consulting position
with Price Waterhouse Indonesia.

At that time, Paul was Chairman of the Asia Pacific Region for
Price Waterhouse. At the end of a three-hour interview, he
exclaimed that I did not know anything about management
consulting. I was devastated and knew he was right.

In the same breath, he then continued to say that he,
nevertheless, liked my enthusiasm, my questions and my
willingness to learn new things among other things. He declared
that Price Waterhouse would train me because I appeared to be a
person with whom he would enjoy working. In a nutshell, he liked
my attitude.

Say, on the other hand, that a prospective employee knows your
business well, has ten years experience doing exactly what you
want him to do, but has a doubtful attitude.

Would you hire him? Would you wonder whether he would be
quick to see the negative? Would he likely be a complainer?
Would he likely not get along with fellow workers? Would he often
be only thinking about his own emotional needs? You would
probably say yes to these questions.

No matter how talented that person is, you will be unable to
prevent him from bringing everyone's morale down. You want your
employees or associates to look forward to work. When even one
person has a negative attitude and shares it around, you and the
others probably wouldn't be too excited about work. This means a
failure to achieve one of life's most important goals -- enjoying
the time you spend at work.

Good companies will have a clear corporate culture. We can
also call this company chemistry. The employees will have a
positive chemistry with the company. Having the insight to hire
the right people is not altogether different from having the
insight to marry the right person. It's all about finding a
"fit."

You must connect with people who have a chemistry that matches
yours. You must find people willing to make a commitment because
they want to and not because they're told to do so. You must
enjoy being around that person quite a bit, sometimes on
weekends, and often during high-pressure situations.

During interviews with candidates, I would ask them questions
such as the following:

-- What are words others use when describing you?

-- What kind of music do you like?

-- If you just won a lottery of Rp 1 billion, what would you
do? What do you do for recreation?

-- When you close your eyes, what images do you have of
yourself?

-- What's the biggest risk you've ever taken?

-- Name three people in your life whom you admire and tell me
why?

-- What do you read?

-- Why do you want to work here?

Are there any questions that I am not asking but should be?

These questions told me little about the person's technical
ability as a finance director, for example. However, the answers
gave me an indication of the chemistry of the person and how he
might relate to the existing employees of my client.

What does all this mean? It means that you've got to be in
close touch with your own chemistry.

You've got to really know what you like, what drives you, what
motivates you, what brings out the best in you. You've also got
to be in touch with your company's chemistry.

This will enable you to hire people with the chemistry that
easily fits with it. Such a fit should feel right and natural if
it's going to work. If you're not fully at ease with a proposed
relationship, that's a sign that you should keep looking for a
different one.

The next time you are trying to connect with a person, ask
yourself how well he measures up to the following questions: Does
he communicate clearly? Does he show humility and respect for
other people? Is he optimistic and enthusiastic? Does he project
a lot of physical and mental energy? Is there still a desire to
learn new things and continually improve? Does he have a pleasant
personality? Is he creative and resourceful? Is his life in
order?

If you can say yes to these questions, then he possesses the
key traits to maximize his potential, to grow professionally and
to contribute positively to your organization.

If the person you hire or establish a relationship with
reflects these traits, you will not need to worry too much about
his experience in your area of work. You can train him to excel
at the job for which you need him. You cannot, though, train him
to have the traits above or to have a positive attitude.

Life and business is about people. Investing the time and
energy in choosing the right person will be one of the most
rewarding activities for you both professionally and personally.

And, if you are the individual on the other side, reflecting
on whether you can provide this kind of value to a company will
also have equally rewarding returns for you.

The writer is an executive search consultant of Amrop
International, The Amrop Hever Group - Global Executive Search.
(e-mail: jakarta@amrophever.com)