Every business is talking about finding prospective hires who fit the mold and will work best with the company. After going with this approach time and again, how productive has the department become?
If the answer is “not very,” it may be time to use HR software solutions to identify job seekers whose resume may complement the job description, but have a slightly different background. This way, the employer would still be hiring a qualified candidate, but their life experiences may greatly differ from the rest of the team.
Hiring managers who look for people who are “polar opposites” to the status quo has great potential, but what is “different” greatly differs, Inc. Magazine explained.
“Diversity can mean many things to many people, but there is overwhelming evidence that having inherently diverse individuals, women, people of color, gays and lesbians, younger and older workers, creates the conflict of ideas and experience that is essential to innovation,” Inc. contributor Leader-Chivee wrote.
However, be careful on compiling a team of introvert-extrovert duos, because that may not be as effective as it seems. If both applicants complete daily tasks in completely different ways, they may not be as useful together at first. In these situations, extensive training and shadowing sessions with the team has much more potential, eventually one another’s better qualities will begin to surface.
During the interview process, Leader-Chivee found that hiring managers may be too quick to write someone off whose perspectives may come off too strong or weak. Instead, HR professionals should try to pick up on their responses and see if they connect it to the business environment or the responsibilities around the job. If the candidate is able to leverage his or her energy to drive results, it may be worth giving that candidate a second look instead of the person who looks great on paper.