Wrong Hire — Cost of Existence

 

• Talent management , Employee retention are getting to be of paramount focus for organisations & rightfully so . Increasingly it will be about our ability to spot talent , attract , nurture & our ability to create Human / Talent Resonance ( best alignment between an employee’s talent with the role requirement ) , which will be our differentiator & decider for outstanding success—it is going to be less & less about Knowledge , Capital or even Technology
• Attrition is the opposite of retention . There are two broad categories of attrition : Desirable , Undesirable – causal factor for each is divergent . While undesirable attrition has lot to do about an organisation’s ability to positively engage the employee & retain him / her for longer ; whereas primary reason for undesirable attrition is Wrong Hire – organisation’s ability to select ( or lack of ability ) right candidature .
• Attrition of any kind ( & for whatever reason ) and its replacement COSTS ! . There have been extensive ( research based or otherwise) accounts of estimation of cost of attrition / replacement & various reporting on different components of this Cost : Recruitment , Induction , Training , Initial warm up time , Employee morale , Company image , Cost of discontinuity … etc . Not much for me to add here .
• However surprisingly , as much as is written about the costs post exit / replacement of a person – everyone seems to have missed on the cost of Existence of the exiting employee — I am obviously referring to Desirable attrition candidate . There are significant hidden costs of a desirable exit , while the employee is working . I call it as Cost of Existence or a Wrong Hire . Since none has focused on this real but ignored cost , I chose to bring it to attention here .
• Every additional day of a Wong Hire in job costs organization immensely , in myriad ways , as :
  • Absorption :Since the alignment of inclination and role is low , ‘ uptake ‘ is low & slow . Hence impacts getting ‘ up to speed ‘ in time & quality of output
  • Training : Since inclination is low , efficacy of training is low . Gain for training costs is questionable
  • Productivity : Again due to low fit between role requirement & the employee talent / tendencies , work output is low , both in terms of quantum & quality
  • Substitution : Since the work output is below desired levels , most of the time to keep on track , it calls for ‘ substitution ‘ of efforts from the supervisor . This employee unfairly draws much management resource , just to keep afloat . This is draining of management time , energy , which otherwise can be redeployed in more gainful ways
  • Organisational momentum : One person operating ‘ below par ‘ does not just affect his supervisor or teammates – in a chain reaction of substitution, soon most of the organization , at all levels start operating at one level below . Beyond work output , it saps the organization of its vital vibrance , energy .
  • Negativity : All negative / below par things have a ‘ gravity effect ‘ on the organization . Most draw parallel from a non performer ( going un addressed ) to lower their performance ( if he can survive at low performance , why should I stretch for more ? ) This is indirect negativity . However non performers have a far more potential to add direct negativity , by spreading their frustrations , depressions ; they can harm the organization immensely
• Unfortunately though most of us have experienced this “ Cost of Existence “ of a Wrong Hire , no one has paid much attention to this , either talking about or estimating the cost of this damage . I too have experienced it first hand & while I have no organized study to back up ; my hunch is that the Cost of Existence of a Wrong Hire is no less than the cost of its Replacement .
• The cure for this is – Right Selection . We need to realise that while Knowledge , Skills can be imparted from outside , Talent or Constitution ( how is that individual ‘ made up ‘ ) comes as intrinsic with the person we hire . Hence it is important to see that we select – not the most intelligent or most knowledgeable or most skilled , but the most right in constitution . No amount of training or hard efforts can change a wrong person into right . Remember no training can convert a Donkey into a Horse … training can at best make a Donkey , a better Donkey

KURI :Intent –Action Bridge

• It is my conviction that
  • “ What you do” is a function of “ How you see “
  • It is not “ What is “ , but what of what is happening , makes what sense to you will decide what you do
  • Therefore Life is about ‘ Sense Making ‘ ; you ( need to ) constantly try & make ‘ sense ‘ of what is happening around you . You need to think & reflect on what is ( & will ) happening – as to what does it mean – is it good / bad , therefore what do I need to do … What sense you make of what you ‘ see’ , is what is ‘Real ‘ to you  – in a way , your World is inside you
• Therefore I have reached a conclusion that in the ultimate leadership / achievement quest ; it will not be the Talent deficit, but it will be the Perspective deficit – which will make decisive difference .The constraint to Human achievement, at the highest level will be Self & Own thinking

 

• In this context I want to share with you another enlightening concept – KURI – created ( not by me but) by one of my entrepreneur colleague & friend . I will share it with you , along with my own ‘ Sense making ‘

KURI stands for Knowledge –> Understanding –> Realisation –> Implementation , in sequentially progressive stages which connects Knowledge ( & intent ) to Action . My take on this

• Knowledge – What ( is happening around )
• Understanding – What does it mean ( to me / my circumstances ) my insight / interpretation
• Realisation – Therefore , what do I need to do
• Implementation – Act on the realization , as above

• ‘ Knowledge ‘ & ‘ Implementation ‘ is ‘ outside ‘ of you / your system ; whereas ‘ Understanding ‘ & ‘ Realisation ‘ happens ‘ inside ‘ you – It is your inside ‘ processor ‘ which makes sense of what is happening around – which is different from person to person – which is why different people react to the same situation differently – THE Unique Differentiator !
• This inner processing is ‘ internalization ‘ which is very critical to one’s effectiveness – is your ‘ sense making ‘ , which actually ‘ empowers ‘ you to effective action , without which you are ‘ floating ‘ , – clueless
• For most people in India , this bridge , this inner processor is missing ( or broken or rusted ) , hence we notice that while India is high on Knowledge , it is weak on Action . The reason lies in this broken bridge . Since the bridge is broken to logically walk across from Knowledge to Action , in India we jump from Knowledge to Action – which is the ‘ areal route ‘ – reason why most in India speak in the air – pure Gas without Substance . Reason why we in India make good Advisors , Academicians , Consultants , but poor Implementers .
• Unfortunately most are not even aware of it … only when we realise this gap & revive the bridge , will most of us start making sense & get more effective .
• In India we mistake Knowledge for Action or for Wisdom . I use this KURI bridge for my colleagues & clients , to bring in them the awareness & push them from ‘ Knowledge ‘ stage to ‘ Realisation ‘ stage ; because , unless the Realisation ‘ hits you ‘ ; action does not start