Idea 2: Hiring 2.0

Problem:

Finding new employees with the right mix of capabilities, character and cultural fit is one of the most important investments in terms of time and sometimes additional resources that companies are facing on a constant basis especially in times of expansion. Platforms like LinkedIn and companies like Michael Page are trying to solve this need but possibly only in a one-dimensional way.

Solution:

Two of the assumptions that might help to make the hiring process faster and more efficient are that people in general get a long better with people that are somewhat similar to oneself and that character, capabilities and cultural fit are a consequence of someone’s experiences and past decisions. Applying this to the hiring process might imply that in addition to the profiles of the employment seeking persons, the profiles of the “boss” should analyzed to establish a “degree” of similarity, given the success of the boss in the company and his/her own characteristics/past decisions. For a platform such as LinkedIn this could mean that for instance through a certain algorithm a “similarity” between one and another profile could be established to indicate a possible fit between character, capabilities and cultural fit based on the boss’s/or whoever’s profile.

For example:

• Both, the boss and the candidate, played tennis successfully which could mean that both are very goal-driven, know how to push themselves and work in a team
• Both, the boss and the candidate, have gone bag-packing when and have a favorite book in common which could indicate a shared interested for adventure and the new, as well as mindset
• etc.

This could also be applied to the opposite. Sometimes, a company needs different profiles to innovate and initiate a paradigm shift. Thus, the more different a profile is in connection to the “base,” the better it might be.

In sum, creating a hiring process through platforms or other entities that allow for a comparison between variables/characteristics that are part of the “successful people” in a company and the candidates might help to determine a better overall fit given the profiles of the human resources that one already has in one’s company.