Conducting Talent Due Diligence
Updated: Jul 24, 2019
Exit the hiring treadmill. Learn how. Download the full chapter.
Rigorous Selection teases out top talent and, ultimately, is a high form of risk management in the hiring process. Don’t be afraid that a thorough Selection process will scare
off your perfect candidate, because just the opposite is true. A rigorous Selection process will intrigue top performers and be a warning to mediocre performers. The Selection process accurately evaluates function, attitude and potential, and gets beyond a candidate’s façade. It also reveals to each candidate your company’s commitment to excellence and the high performance standards required of your people. Since top talent usually has choices, too, you want them to want you.
An intensive Selection process will give top performers a stage to compete and perform—and these top performers will value the investment you put into a process, because it is of critical importance to them, too. A candidate who is the right fit will opt in to this process and fully engage. After all, top talent is always eager to perform. The rigor intrigues them. The rigor shows you’re truly interested. The rigor allows them the platform to showcase how they think about what they love. The rigor gives them a chance to imagine the competition and to outperform them. They won’t feel lucky to get the job; they’ll know they’ve been selected for it. It is a tremendous opportunity to create a collaborative environment for thoughtfully interviewing candidates, and for forming a hiring committee that will conduct thorough selection discussions.
The truth is, every time you invite a candidate to interview, you should expect to be interviewed, too. Top talent is just as concerned about choosing the wrong company and derailing their upward trajectory as you are about hiring someone who won’t perform to your standards or match your culture. The road goes both ways.
A thorough, deep Selection process will stop the hiring treadmill.
Exit the hiring treadmill. Learn how. Download the full chapter.
Other book chapters also available for download
Chapter 1 - Download - Getting Into the Talent Mindset
Chapter 2 - Download - How Strategic Talent Management is like parenting a child
Chapter 3 - Download - Talent Acquisition - One part candidate, ten parts company
Chapter 4 - Download - Selection - The Talent Deep Dive
Chapter 5 - Onboarding: Generating Energy, From Day One