Why Aren’t We Hiring The Best Candidates
September 7, 2007 – 0:51 am
Cops must learn to “size people up” very quickly if they hope to survive on the street. Unfortunately, as officers move into administrative and management positions, they oftentimes attempt to transfer their street assessment skills to the office. This can be a formula for disaster in most personnel management situations. In a recent article, the HR Chally Group discusses “The Nine Most Common Hiring Mistakes” and a close analysis of their recommendations reveals several potential problem areas with standard police personnel practices.
For instance, Mistake 1 is “relying only on interviews to evaluate a candidate.” You may be surprised to find out that “the typical interview increases your chances of choosing the best candidate by less than two percent.” That right, the old practice of grilling a potential applicant to “see how he reacts” may not actually be very useful in your effort to identify the best candidate for the job.
As you read the nine mistakes, think about your agency’s hiring procedure. Are you continuing to use a process that may be causing you to miss the “best qualified” people simply because “that is the way it has always been done?” Check it out!
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