You wouldn\u2019t go abroad without your passport\u2026so why would you recruit without a benchmark?!<\/p>\n
I know they are two completely different circumstances but this does offer another way of looking at talent benchmarking\u2026<\/p>\n
Your passport is a form of identification that proves to the authorities that you are suitable<\/strong> (to enter the destination country), you are compatible<\/strong> (with the image on your passport) and you can feasibly <\/strong>be allowed through security without concern over your behavior on the other side!<\/p>\n A benchmark is defined as \u2018a standard or point of reference against which things are compared\u2019. It\u2019s about understanding the wants and needs of your organization\/team and creating a blueprint; a set of standards; a perfect vision of an employee. Finding an exact match is going to be a challenge, but if you\u2019re 70% of the way there and are confident that the remaining 30% can be developed and achieved, then you\u2019re pretty close to your benchmark.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth considering the impact of not<\/strong> having an employee benchmark. Without one, businesses don\u2019t realize that their views on the type of candidate they are looking for (or have working for them) are varied. Recruiting Managers are therefore seeking different skills and behaviors. So, they have disagreements about candidates and may end up recruiting someone who is only 20% right for the role. When it costs over \u00a330,000 to replace an employee, can you really afford to make blunders like this in your recruitment?<\/p>\n When it comes to creating a benchmark, there are three areas that are important to consider:<\/p>\n Suitability<\/strong> – to the role. Does the candidate\/employee have the skills to perform what is required of the role? What behaviors does the role need? What kind of person do you see in this role? In a pressured situation, would they handle things in line with how the business would?<\/p>\n Compatibility<\/strong> \u2013 with the business culture and the people that make it. To what extent does the candidate\/employee share the core business behaviors that will help create high performing teams? Do they \u2018fit in\u2019 culturally? How well does their behavior style\/communication style\/influencing style gel with that of other employees? This is absolutely about interpersonal relations as well as culture and values compatibility. These are challenging questions to think about but are critical to building a high performing culture and a team of people that share clarity, unity and integrity.<\/p>\n Feasibility<\/strong> \u2013 of behavior change. Are we demanding too much change? What would investment in developing the candidate\/employee achieve? How close are they? If the result appears achievable and will warrant the investment, great. If not, perhaps we\u2019re asking too much.<\/p>\n