Recruitment - A Case For The Known Quanity

I have received several calls in the last few days about a senior staff recruitment practice that repeats across many organisations.

These calls have come from people in separate organisations too.

The issue raised with me concerned the tendency for a Leader/Manager who having taken a position with a new employer, sets about recruiting past colleagues from one or more of their previous employers.

The implication in all cases is this is a negative behaviour, it's mates looking after mates with the word "cronyism" even being used. It was even suggested such practices should be banned.

I understand the emotion that can surround such recruitments. I also understand the implication that the same recruitment hurdles have not been jumped as for other, perhaps unknown candidates. In one case, it was even suggested there was no recruitment practice.

I also understand the disappointment of one caller as their application had been unsuccessful.

I don’t agree that the recruitment of a known commodity is a negative.

A Leader/Manager new to an organisation is desperate to impress. They will know very well the strengths and weaknesses of those they have previously worked closely with.

Given this need to impress, they are not going to risk the appointment of someone they know to be inadequate, in order to help out a “mate”. As they say in politics, always back the horse called “Self Interest”.

It makes no sense to rule out highly capable people just because there is a prior working relationship. It may even be discriminatory.

Further, talent follows talent in all endeavours, business, creative and sporting. It makes sense that highly capable people already known to a Leader/Manager, and where the Leader/Manager is known to them, will form a positive union.

Movie Directors cast Actors with whom they have worked previously, professional sports people will be influenced to change clubs when a coach moves with the Darius Boyd/Wayne Bennett relationship being an obvious and highly successful example. In Business, people also follow other people.

There is often disappointment when someone is appointed to a role you think you deserve and it is understandable that reasons are looked for other than the fact they are a better candidate.

Realistically, very many positive outcomes evolve from appointment to positions of past colleagues of a known commodities.

But, as with so many things, in the cases discussed over recent days, “Time Will Tell”.