I’ve read a great deal about how companies are having difficulty hiring talented people and how it has led to some companies relaxing their criteria for hiring. I strongly support that needing a college degree may not apply to some roles, and talent is much more important than industry knowledge. However, there are some things that companies that want to grow, cannot compromise on.
When I work with companies to define and build their recruiting process, we start with competencies and values. Competencies can be learned, and training and strong leadership coaching can and will enhance. Values are not something that can be trained. A candidate either has the same strong values or they do not. When I think back over my career as a sales and operations leader, I’ve never had to fire someone for a lack of competencies. Everyone I’ve had to fire, was for a lack of the core values of my company.
Because of a strong recruiting process, the number of people I’ve had to fire in the past thirty plus years, I can count on one hand. Let me be clear. The process is not infallible. It does dramatically improve your odds of hiring the right person.
Competencies are critically important, but values are even more critical. I share with my clients that if someone has seven of your ten competencies you can hire them. If they have four of your five core values, do not hire them.