Everyone remembers Dolly, the famous sheep from the end of the last millennium, the first mammal in history to be cloned. The team of Scottish scientists chose Belinda, a 6-year-old ewe, on whom to perform their genetic exploit, that of creating a copy that would be the same as the original in every respect. But did you know that Dolly suffered premature ageing because dear old Belinda’s arthritis problems were passed on to her?

Some of you can probably already see where I’m coming from, so let’s not waste any time: how about cloning our best company players? For this, the perfect collaborator is a prerequisite, a sort of Alpha collaborator, at the origin of everything. Those who have not come across such an individual generally create them from scratch, and like this, we end up with something other than a sheep.

 

So yes indeed, our profession certainly does involve us matching our clients’ chosen criteria, but I feel that I must point out some limits to this undertaking. First of all, remember that in cloning Belinda’s gene pool, Dolly inherited her problem of arthritis. If you seek to reproduce the characteristics of a person who has left a mark on your company, bear in mind that in doing so you will also reproduce those negative effects, which you may have forgotten over time, and which will limit his or her life expectancy in your company.

 

I also feel compelled to tell you about the halo effect. Too often, we see Managers only recruiting staff that resemble them (personality, school, career path, etc.) to such an extent that they lose contact with reality. Although such an approach may reassure them, it is rarely effective.

I also feel compelled to tell you about the halo effect

Furthermore, and this is obvious, cloning eradicates those differences which enrich a company and prevent the variety that is essential in the construction of a team. Regularly, we see whole teams being poached by certain companies and the results in the long term are rarely profitable: problems integrating the team into the new company, unsuitable collective work practices, etc. It can even lead to the departure of highly considered staff members with seniority, who no longer know where they stand in the new company culture, as well as of more recent recruits, disappointed by the new environment in which they now find themselves.

 

Finally, in being too specific or too demanding, one can even reach the point of failing to consider excellent profiles despite the added value they could give a company. In such cases, it can be a never-ending search. Numerous people are contacted in the recruitment process but are rejected. This generates rumours in the market and can even be harmful to the company’s image (“they don’t know what they want”).

That is why the search for the perfect collaborator has its limits… and here are the recommendations that go with this conclusion:

  • Every position requires a specific search. Move away from pre-written definitions, terms that are already out of date and a list of qualities to satisfy and concentrate on finding people capable of doing the job. The next time you start typing “10 years’ experience in oil trading”, for example, ask yourself what you want the person recruited to actually be able to do. This might result in: “is capable of developing and following a book on such a market with such a deadline”. This puts the accent on performance and results and plays on the challenging aspect of the post rather than on the simple fact of having done a “similar” job for 10 years.
  • Play the card of diversity and particularly when the recruitment of a full team is concerned. Mixing career paths, experience and personalities will favour the integration of collaborators and will multiply the strength of the team.
  • Let unusual profiles surprise you as well as those which diverge from the profile initially defined. We have dozens of examples of “gambles” that have proven to be real success stories, both for the candidate and the company concerned by the recruitment

In other words, recruitment continues to be complex alchemy: one must find a personality compatible with the company spirit and blended to maximum performance potential whilst also respecting the diversity present in teams. For such an exercise, it is evident that a road map should be followed so as not to get lost. However, one should also know how to depart from it, take some distance and allow oneself to be tempted by the recommendations of fellow professionals. It’s like this that you will find your sheep…or the rare bird perhaps!
And you, how do you recruit ?