Human Resources 101

Barbara Reinhold says that recruiting is too important to be left to recruiters. She’s right! Too many managers want to push the job of selecting a new employee to someone else. Get HR to build the short list, then take over the process following these 10 simple rules.

Rule number one is clear, but very counterintuitive: Don’t ever, ever hire somebody just like yourself. Why not? Because from the beginning of time, executives have been unconsciously cloning themselves, stocking the shelves with vanilla young men from impressive schools. And what has happened to executives and companies that did that? As management guru Rosabeth Kanter observed, they often sink into the soft sand of irrelevance as the rough waters of current reality wash over them.

Here are the other nine:

2. Hire for Attitude Rather than Skill
3. Look for Renegades
4. Hold out for Results
5. Go for a Sense of Humour
6. Fill in the Blanks
7. Test Drive
8. Stock the Bullpen
9. Push Harder for Diversity
10. Listen

Read them all: Hiring the Best People — 10 Simple Rules.