Taking a Risk on Talent

Were you the perfect candidate for your job? I was not. Someone took a risk on me. I thank my first manager, who hired me when I did not have any recruitment experience, and the second manager, who took a leap of faith even though he was looking for consultants with more than ten years of experience and I only had ten months. I was also able to acquire great corporate HR experience along the way because someone took me in, instead of another candidate with the relevant experience. I hope that although I was not the perfect candidate on paper, I became a valuable employee to my previous and current managers.

We recently had the opportunity to meet a senior HR candidate who shared with us how two of the companies on her resume have shaped her thinking on talent. She showed us that taking a risk on talent can be more than a personal conviction, it can be a guiding philosophy for talent management. In one of the companies, there was a country GM who was a high performer in the organisation’s leadership development program. Ms. GM had said no to the last few efforts to move her into other roles, which had made it difficult to continue keeping her on the program. Then the ANZ market was not performing, and my candidate, the HR Director for Southeast Asia, suggested moving Ms. GM to that role to help sort out the business. There were many objections, as she did not have the market experience, she was from Asia and would have a problem with cultural fit, etc. My candidate stuck to her guns and somehow managed to convince the management and Ms. GM that this was a move worth taking.

This story has a happy ending, as Ms. GM did very well and is still doing very well in the company. What was interesting was that this company had an articulated policy of taking a risk on talent. But when it came to the crunch, it was the HR Director who had to demonstrate the courage to live up to the philosophy, even though she was the lone voice in the sea of objections.

Having discussed this topic with Ben Davies, a Managing Director with The Chapman Consulting Group, he shared his thoughts, having previously lived in Europe, and most recently in Asia for the last four years. “You can often tell the senior HR Leaders who have developed their teams and hired talent based on potential, or taken a risk. They get the benefit of a different perspective in the role, in addition to high levels of loyalty. In a competitive region like Asia, retaining top HR talent is a must. HR Leaders who inspire ‘follower-ship’ in their teams and can mold or adapt individuals to stretch into roles do stand out.”

The ‘Wild Card’

In my career, I have had the opportunity to work with hiring managers who took a risk on talent at some point. I have vivid memories of a few placements, which have shaped my thinking as a recruitment consultant. One in particular stands out. In my early days as a rookie recruitment consultant, delivering quick results determined my continued existence in the company. We were taught to shortlist three candidates with the best fit to the client’s requirements, as that would result in the best chance of getting one of them hired. There was little room for personal judgment. This methodology consistently worked, and as I experienced success I became quite “mechanical” in shortlisting – until we were interviewing for an HR Manager for an MNC client in the oil and gas sector. One of the client’s must-have criteria was MNC experience. We met many candidates but one stood out for me. This must be one of the “aha” moments in my career. She had a long career in a local company in the same industry. She had been trying for quite a while to get into an MNC but her lack of MNC experience had been a major stumbling block. She was not getting interviewed, despite sending many direct applications and was not shortlisted by recruitment consultants for roles with MNCs. Something about her persistence, attitude and enthusiasm won us over. It was a big deal then for a rookie consultant to shortlist a ‘wild card.’ I was surprised she got hired, as she was competing against two other ‘perfect-fit’ candidates, but she got the job and continues to do well in the company today.

The left field candidates can have a lot going for them.

They tend to make up for the lack of relevant experience or depth of experience with their passion, enthusiasm, attitude and persistence, or they may have strong transferrable skills. They value the opportunity given to them, and will put in every effort to ensure that they do not disappoint. Often this can yield unexpected results. Of course, there are other considerations when making such a hiring decision, as you want to set the person up for success. This may include looking at the manager’s bandwidth to mentor/handhold in the short term, the flexibility to adjust the scope of the role that will leverage on a particular strength or experience, the available budget for a developmental plan that can address some perceived experience/skills gaps.

Who is the perfect candidate? It may not be the one who looks perfect on paper.

Taking a risk on talent requires courage to uncover that talent, to look beyond the resume. The recruitment consultant must have the fortitude to shortlist and present left field candidates. This must be based on thorough field work and experienced judgment. We do work closely with the client’s requirements, so there must be a compelling reason to shortlist a candidate who does not look perfect on paper.

For the hiring manager daring to hire or recommend that left field candidate, it is very important to work with a recruitment consultant you trust, and to be open-minded to meet such candidates. Having relevant industry or years of experience may not necessarily guarantee performance. Industry and depth of experience can be acquired, but it is difficult to learn passion and attitude. An hour of your time to meet such a candidate may yield unexpected results.

The organization must also empower its managers. Articulating a talent philosophy is easy, but living up to it is not. The management must walk the talk, be it to support a diversity agenda, or to ‘stick its neck out’ to hire or transfer a left field candidate. Davies states, “Team rotation into new positions, and helping HR Leaders plot their career path can be a hard balancing act for CHROs. I am always impressed with those who manage it, and very often it requires a leap of faith from the individual, as well as the CHRO taking a risk both internally, and when hiring externally.” Taking a risk on talent does not always pay off, and often it is a calculated risk, which may be based on a gut feel. That gut feel, though, is generally based on hard earned experience. Next time you meet such a candidate, will you go for a ‘safe’ hire, or will you take a risk?