Chosing

When I was working for a large company, we all tried our best to abide by the laws regulating hiring decisions. This is of course, the right thing to do. When we were in the exciting activities of a start up I learned some valuable lessons about how tricky it really was to find the right people for the jobs I was trying to fill. On Saturday, as I was leaving the field of the first soccer game of the season in the over 30 league I have played in for (perhaps too long), it became very clear why it is so hard to be objective in the hiring process.

We were beaten very soundly by the apposing team. It was not surprising because it was quite clear what the result would be. We were playing a team with very good skill, but more importantly, a team that was quite well acquainted and comfortable playing together. Although the individual skills displayed by many of the new players on our team were impressive, most of us had not played together as a team, so the game for us was more an exercise in learning to communicate and play as a team.

The way a business operates is really no different. In order for it to compete successfully, the people and working relationships have to be solid and in fact are of primary importance. This is not to say that skills are irrelevant but they are clearly not primary. In the case of my soccer team we are of an age that training will be subject to the law of dimishing returns, but the reality is that in a business a person can always be trained. The point is that no amount of training will make a business successful if the team does not share a common goal, mutual respect and an ability to trust one another and effectively communicate.

Some would argue that being preferential in the hiring process is unfair (and it can be illegal in some instances) but if we are all honest about it, we know why it is done. If we want to be successful as a team in anything, we have to chose people we know well and can trust in order to be as competitive, effective and efficient as possible as quickly as possible.

If a business is committed to the fair hiring practices that have been established, then it has to acknowledge that with that commitment comes some risk of not being as competitive, efficient in the short term (and in some instances failure). Therefore, it cannot skimp on the activities that ensure a new or growing team has a clearly defined objective, is communicating clearly and is building trust. Without these foundational elements the result will likely be much like my team's outcome Saturday. I find it interesting that this principle is obvious to everyone, but many will acknowledge that it does not happen in their work world.

The season is young for us. It will be interesting to see if we decide to build the foundation necessary for success. What kind of team are you on?