by Greg Barnett, PhD
These days, almost every aspect of business involves metrics and analytics. As a result, many people have been trained, either through school or on the job, to make sure the decisions they make are data-driven.
For instance, if you’re trying to decide where to put a new restaurant, you would likely analyze reams of data first to determine traffic patterns before choosing a spot. In fact, you wouldn’t even consider making a decision without first doing an objective analysis to ensure your location is optimal.
Yet, when it comes to hiring people, we too often ignore or gloss over the data and go by gut instead.
As a hiring manager it’s critical that the same data-driven precision you use in operations, technology, manufacturing, and finance is leveraged in acquiring and managing talent. But people often cut corners, saying, “It’s hard to justify the cost of scientific evaluation.”
Really? So does that mean it’s easier to justify the cost of a bad hire?
While taking the time upfront to leverage scientific evaluation data may have a cost, it’s not nearly as significant as the cost of hiring the wrong employee.
Do yourself – and your company – a favor: get the data and remove subjectivity and gut reactions from your hiring decisions.
