<div>This is a very interesting, and a very different case. I see three broad issues that we can discuss here. First, we could deal with the question of ‘what is a good selection process’. As we read the case, it becomes clear why most companies struggle to perfect the selection process. This is one process where the skill and the biases of the hiring manager is a big determinant of the quality of the person hired and companies have tried to bring in various bits to make it more scientific, but with limited success. As you can see, our individual biases are very strong, and colour our decisions. One of us likes people with pedigree MBA from top institutes, some others don’t put that much emphasis, I may like good grades, others may not.</div><div> </div><div>The key is to define what is the job we are hiring for, and then identify the attributes that are needed for being successful in that job — both the technical skills and behavioural. There is also this debate on personality vs observed behaviour: do we look for examples of what a person has demonstrated or would an understanding of personality help us better extrapolate his behaviours. In my view, tools to assess both these can help if put together. To look for clues on a person’s demonstrated behaviour, we need to have a consistent method in the total selection process.</div><div> </div><div>This brings us to the question of what will you look for as clues before you shortlist, and then select a person. Again, this needs to be done against the backdrop of total clarity in what kind of person we are looking for. The CV provides great clues about what people have done, and along with a bit of personality assessment, can give us an hypothesis about an individual, which needs to be confirmed through a systematic interview. Most often, we don’t spend as much time on reading the clues from a CV — but great selection processes and interviewing techniques use this very constructively.</div><div> </div><div>So now, the school grades. First, given the huge volume of applications in most cases, the CV becomes an important shortlisting tool — and, therefore, we have to be careful in laying down the shortlisting criteria. Grades are a set of clues- in my opinion they predict the ability to work hard, be focussed and indicate a good level of IQ. If people have been consistent in their grades, it tells you clearly about their focus and commitment, and if people have been improving their grades it tells us their drive and quest to become better. It doesn’t tell you if a person is conceptually good, nor does it tell you if she has a strategic mind — these need to be checked subsequently. </div><div> </div><div>If I am hiring for a job that needs thoroughness and analysis, high grades could be a good indicator. But if I am looking for someone with a strategic and creative mind, grades may not have the answer. And grades don’t give any clue about a person’s leadership. Hence, my suggestion would be to put a set of shortlisting criteria based on what the role requires, get the clues from the CV, and along with other selection aids like personality/proficiency tests and interview, finalise the decision.</div><div> </div><div>Last, this question of our education system and grades. Our CBSE/ICSE system lays a premium on knowing things, ability to remember, rewards hard work and focus, and builds in some analytical skills. But we have to add other things in the school education to create the conceptual and critical thinking ability that is needed, especially if we want to develop thinkers, CEOs and leaders. Getting children to participate in multi-disciplinary activities and projects would help, and it would be good to encourage that. But, this is the system we have, and understanding it, and building in the right selection framework keeping the gaps in mind, will help organisations. </div><div> </div><div>Subjectivity in hiring is an undercurrent. Decisions on people are made based on very little ‘empirical’ data, and hence we have to use our experience and intuition a lot more, and that’s where our biases tend to creep in. This is also why a good selection framework and process helps — it puts available empirical data to good use, and keeps the focus of the interview on confirming or disconfirming the hypothesis we had put together. Being aware of the potential biases, and having a diverse interview panel establishes the necessary objectivity in what is often a largely subjective process. </div><div><br /><em>The writer, Krish Shankar, is the head of HR for South Asia for Philips. Earlier he was Executive Director of HR at Bharti Airtel, after over 20 years in Unilever</em><br /> </div><div>(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 15-12-2014)</div>
