Nigel was the perfect candidate until…

Nigel was the perfect candidate.  

Finally! Someone whose resume read like a dream.

I was so over interviewing.

My “real” work was piling up.

Nigel displayed all the right experience and an excellent track record at university.

On the day of the interview, he was immaculately dressed.

He’d done his research.

He knew who we were.

His answers were polished; well-thought-out responses to our probing questions.

Great eye-contact. Pleasant manner.

I could see him fitting into the team like he’d been there all along.

So I hired him.

Within a fortnight, he had all the Accounts girls under his spell.

He was funny, hard-working, inquisitive, easy to get along with, and a driven salesperson.

There were a couple of minor incidents.

He ruffled a few feathers.

But I put that down to sour grapes – the other salespeople were just pissed off that he was out-performing them.

Within three months, he had his clients eating out of his hand.

We were getting sales.  

I signed off on his permanent employment.

And then the cracks started to appear – cracks that weren’t there (I didn’t think) just a month ago.

At first, it was just little things I began to notice:

• a slight edge to his voice
• a phone call cut short as I approached his desk
• the small huddle of people he’d collected in the corridor that became silent as I walked by
• sales reports that were no longer submitted on time.

It seemed the worm had turned!

How convenient that it should be just after his probation was up.

I hadn’t noticed how other team members had become defensive and resentful.  

How could I have missed that?

I was busy.

Nigel became secretive and protective of his client list.  

Then I noticed no one else was sharing client information either.

Transparency disappeared – overnight, it seemed.  

Smoke and mirrors took their place.

I no longer had any idea what he was doing.

When questioned, his tone turned nasty. It felt patronising and contemptuous.

He’d started to stir up trouble with his colleagues, undermining their confidence in the company…in my leadership.

Slowly I realised no one liked him. No one trusted him.

Right! He had to go.  

But we all know how hard it is to get rid of someone who’s not the right fit.

If only I had been able to pick up those flaws BEFORE I hired him!

❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

I have no doubt you’ve experienced what I went through with Nigel.

Not everyone you hire is the right fit.

Sure, they seem to shine in the interview, but 4 months down the track, you know you’ve made a mistake.  

They’re letting you down. They’re costing you money – more money than you’d like to acknowledge.

We’ve all made bad hires.

• The Dr Jekylls who turned into Mr Hydes…just past their probation period

• The “victims” who took you for unfair dismissal

• The band-aid you grabbed when you were desperate, even though your gut said, “don’t go there!”

Sometimes it’s because we feel we can’t afford to be picky. Our current tight labour market is a perfect case in point.  

Other times it’s because we place too much emphasis on what we call the “briefcase” – a person’s credentials: qualifications, experience, knowledge, skills, past employment history, etc.

People are what make a business function.  

The only way to execute strategy is through people.

But we need the RIGHT people. People who expend discretionary effort. People who are passionate about what they do. People who want to solve problems and find innovative solutions.

And finding the right people is tricky.  

Finding the right people means we need to look not only at what they have in their “briefcase” but also what they have in their “heart” and their “head.”

• What if there was a repeatable way you could hire people who were the right fit time, after time, after time?

• What if there was an easy, proven process that ensured you only attracted the right fit in the first place?

• What if there was a tool that weeded out the imposters who might otherwise slip through the cracks, faster?

I learned so much about hiring as an executive manager with a world-famous international airline in my past.

But I taught myself. I learned it by the seat of my pants…and that’s how most of us learn about hiring.

We learn it the hard way – and it’s far from perfect.

Some of us are more intuitive at it. But that’s hardly sustainable in a growing business.

Others just give it their best shot – and you wouldn’t want to put them in front of a target in a firing range! Their shooting is pretty hit and miss at the best of times.  

Hiring is an art. But that art can be highly replicable, transferrable and sustainable when it’s backed by science.

If you’d like to know more about a science-backed approach to hiring people who are the right fit time after time, you may appreciate our comprehensive guide to making better hires. Download it with our compliments right here.