Many companies hire top-notch talent but then fail to reap the full benefits of those star employees. Often, the culprit is faulty managerial practices.
The current economic recession has provided managers with a tempting environment for acquiring “star” employees on the cheap. But the track record of such acquisitions of human capital has been mixed, with many companies failing to integrate their new talent. Apparently, an organization can’t just hire star employees and then expect those individuals to automatically shine in their new environment. But how, then, can companies ensure that they get the most out of the talent they hire?
The authors have found that, to build a top-notch organization of star employees, companies can’t simply hire the best and brightest and then turn those individuals loose into a Darwinian competition. Instead, organizations need to provide and maintain the right environment for those employees to flourish. And that means avoiding a number of common pitfalls, such as falling for the “lone-star myth” (companies often mistakenly believe that one individual can single-handedly turn around an entire department or organization), overestimating the importance of pay (businesses frequently overpay for hiring top talent), allowing stars to go solo (high achievers are over-scheduled almost by definition, so managers should never assume that collaboration will “just happen”), focusing too narrowly on a single department or group (stars need top colleagues throughout the organization in order to do their best work) and neglecting homegrown talent.
2 Comments On: What It Takes to Make ‘Star’ Hires Pay Off
An important caution that appears to run through this research finding on how to reap the benefits of “Star” hires is the need to hire people who would fit into the team and culture of the organization. As rightly pointed out “Our research suggests that coworkers are a crucial factor.” calls for further research into the processes for determining if a new hire would “fit and gel the team” before you hire them. The “Role Based Assessment” tool developed by The Gabriel Institute appears to have the answers by empirically obtaining insights into the teaming characteristics of potential new hires and existing teams. Great insights into hiring stars!
An important caution that appears to run through this research finding on how to reap the benefits of “Star” hires is the need to hire people who would fit into the team and culture of the organization. As rightly pointed out “Our research suggests that coworkers are a crucial factor.” calls for further research into the processes for determining if a new hire would “fit and gel the team” before you hire them. An assessment tool for obtaining insights into the team characteristics of potential new hires and existing teams might be helpful. Great insights into hiring stars!