There is no way any knowledgable manager or CEO can argue that finding and hiring the right employees for the right jobs is not a crucial activity for any business. However, there are many different activities that contribute to a business’s success, and many companies choose to allocate the majority of their resources to other aspects of their companies, including marketing, product design, distribution, etc. What is the reasoning behind assigning a limited amount of time and money to the recruitment and selection process?
One reason I believe is management’s overconfidence in their own ideas and abilities. With a great overarching business plan or product idea, some might think that who is carrying out the project is irrelevant, as long as what the project is has the makings of a successful business venture. Another reason for the lack of focus on this may be that humans are often told to “go with their gut.” In order words, some managers and hiring leaders may think that they do not need to know much about a candidate or interact with them for very long in order to be able to tell if they would be a good fit at their company.
I believe there are both strengths and weaknesses involved in prioritizing recruitment and selection over other business ideas. Some strengths include less costs incurred from losing ill-fitting employees down the line, lower turnover rates, and better relationships between the different employees and managers within the company. Some weaknesses related to this approach could include lack of attention given to the physical operation of the business and an overly strenuous hiring process. Depending on the type of business and the current strengths and weaknesses of their operations, I believe the recruitment and selection process may have different levels of importance for different businesses.
