By Guy Liddall BA (Law) PMA
Group MD, MTS Management Services Ltd
I have been recruiting people for over 30 years. There has always been a crisis of talent – almost every recruiter will say “There isn’t as much about as there used to be”.
I have never subscribed to that view. Every generation is different, consider the mullet headed, six inch stack generation of the 70s, to the “loads-a-money” kids of the 80s, to the responsible 90s generation, to the socially media connected generation of today.
Each of these generations is as packed with as much talent as any other, it’s just what we decide to do with it that counts. In reality those who run the place have always complained that those they delegate the real work to are not half as smart as their generation was. And certainly not as smart as them.
A crisis of confidence
But if there isn’t a shortage of talent there is a crisis of confidence. Too many people don’t really believe in the talent we do attract in this country. There is a lack of trust across businesses and sectors – the people on the ground cannot be trusted to do the job. But, as Michael Vaughan, the ex-captain of English Cricket, will tell you, talented people (like KP) are difficult to manage, partly because they are the most talented and partly because they know it.
We often hear that teachers need less direction and control, that they should be allowed to do their job. We can see the logic, we read the stories, we understand that professionals can’t just follow orders, talent has to be allowed to make decisions.
Listen to HR Directors
There was an HR Directors Conference in Birmingham last month. I didn’t go but the reports threw up some great thoughts. Consider this from the CEO of Capital One, “Most companies spend 2% of their time recruiting and 98% of their time managing their recruitment mistakes”.
Most organisations pay so little attention to the recruitment process, to the matching of culture and to the exploring of real experience, not just assessment centres, that they end up recruiting the wrong people. And then they need to spend nearly all their time making sure those hires don’t do too much damage.
And talking of assessment centres, they are everywhere. They are seen as a magic bullet to identify the best talent. But they can be very damaging too. It has been suggested they are the reason that Paul Flowers, the discredited former chairman of the Co-op, got the job. In the assessments he was quoted as “head and shoulders above any other candidate”. Except people now say he couldn’t do his job.
Assessment centres should not be like an Olympic competition, identifying a Gold Medallist and recruiting them. They are part of the recruiter’s armoury and give a different view, but the interview, reference checks and previous performance are better indicators.
The Great Ages
Let me leave you with another quote used at that conference; “The great ages didn’t contain more talent, they wasted less”. I am not sure that TS Eliot would be viewed as a management guru, but he was a teacher, a nurturer of talent. And he did have a great way with words, he made us think.
Which is what business should do now. Before we burn another generation.
