Measuring Quality of Hire?

I did an episode of Human Capital Institute’s HCTV today, an interesting discussion on measuring quality of hire.  One thing we all agreed on was that the first step is understanding the real needs of the business and how people accomplish them.  Later in the day, Jack sent me this story:

Rick, fresh out of accounting school, went to a interview for a good paying job. The company boss asked various questions about him and his education, but then asked him, “What is three times seven?” “Twenty-two,” Rick replied. After he left, he double-checked it on his calculator (he *knew* he should have taken it to the interview!) and realized he wouldn’t get the job. About two weeks later, Rick got a letter that said he was hired for the job! He was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he was still very curious. The next day, he went in and asked why he got the job, even though he got such a simple question wrong. The boss shrugged and said, “Well, you were the closest.”

Seems to me that lots of old style assessments get you exactly that.  What you want is a description of how that person is going to behave, not an abstract score on something that may bear little relationship to the actual needs of the business.  So in that spirit, let’s return to Rick.   I think he’s actually pretty good, though I don’t know of I could say as much about the boss.

For one, even though he has a degree, he doesn’t make the assumption he knows everything.  We know this because he goes to an authority (his calculator) and checks.  Second, he doesn’t take things for granted and he doesn’t cover up when he makes a mistake.  We know this because he asks the boss why he got the job even though he made the mistake.  And from the same question we know he is curious and isn’t afraid to ask questions, which is probably the best kind of person you can hire.

Most important, he’s flexible.  Sometimes, an approximation is more useful than spending a lot of time getting exactly the right number to fourteen decimal points.

On second thought, I like the boss too.  He knows people aren’t perfect and they aren’t off-the-shelf ready on day one.  And he’s willing to be flexible and let people rise to the occasion.

Another good day.  I learned more than I taught.