Let’s face it. In most of life we really are interdependent. We need each other. Staunch independence is an illusion, but heavy dependence isn’t healthy, either. The only position of long-term strength is interdependence: win/win.

– Greg Anderson, the American Wellness Project

Let’s face it.  Along with the interview, the polished resume, the firm handshake and the kudos from all your Facebook friends and Twitter followers, what the HR person really wishes she knew is . . . what did Mrs. Baker write on your third-grade report card? 

Was it the prophetic “Works well with others” — or the problematic “Needs his own space”?

Yes, the pressure is on for HR to step up, embrace technology and integrate social networks into their recruiting processes.  But ultimately, the greatest pressure is to use all the tools at hand to put the right person in the right spot — and avoid forcing co-workers to welcome a square peg to fill the vacant round hole. 

The hope for a win/win falls on the HR professional.  We want a happy employee, a happy boss, and we definitely want a happy workplace.  Kumbaya is always on the success checklist.

Thomas Otter at Vendorprisey indicates it’s a tightrope on which HR professionals tiptoe.  Drowning in ever-updated databases, they still must remember that they work with people.

Writes Otter:

To be a top HR professional, you do need to have empathy for people. It is probably what attracted you to the job in the first place. But if you are going to succeed you need to be analytical, too. HR professionals that can see patterns beyond the incident, abstract the problems from the personal, and make the best move given the constraints they have been dealt with, will have a real impact on shaping the business and their careers.

Is a potential employee too dependent on others, always waiting for an assignment and needing overly specific directions?  Too independent, liable to shirk the team?  Co-dependent, only able to move at a pace equal to those around him? 

Or is she interdependent, comfortable with give-and-take and credit-sharing? 

In the absence of crystal balls and Mrs. Baker’s report card, the HR professional becomes part intuitive seer and part just-the-facts detective.  With the Internet creating personal archives of the good, the bad and the ugly for all to see, this process takes more sorting than ever.  The resume is just a starting point.

According to Mary Ellen Slater on Smartblog on Workforce, many HR professionals still place pretty high value in their intuition and training — but perhaps not enough on the candidate’s often-revealing online footprint.

She notes:

Employers’ feelings about using social media for recruiting are mixed. Nearly half of you report that you’re simply not even interested in trying it, which I find surprising. Used effectively, social media tools can be an effective way to source candidates and build your brand as an attractive employer.

Clearly this is a period of transition, with some HR professionals mainly trusting their old-school record and others tweeting to a new tune.  As Susan Strayer notes, the list of companies that recruit via Twitter is growing.

Who knows, maybe Mrs. Baker is still around . . . and tweets.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS