Most of us hire employees based on their skills and experience. We believe that these are the best predictors of success. We filter for them on resumes. We test for them in interviews. And we think we need to find people who will be productive right away.
But as the old adage goes, “When we hire for skills and experience, we fire for attitude.” Personal qualities such as attitude, self management, win-win, and a sense of accountability are far more valuable. Lack of these qualities are what we usually fire for.
Let’s run with the new adage, “Hire for attitude etc. and train the rest.”
In your corner,
Mike
PS: Cost it out. Assume a new employee won’t be productive at all during their first 90 days while they learn the ropes. The price of training them for those 90-days is 1/4 their annual salary plus any course fees and a relatively small portion of their manager’s, mentor’s, and other close colleagues’ time. The oft-sited, conservative price of turnover due to poor attitude etc. is twice the person’s annual salary.
Today’s photo credit: bwrabbitgirl cc