Staff Selection - The Experience Trap: How To Keep Experience In Perspective When Selecting Staff

By: Leon Noone Click author's name for more of his/her articles

Just how important is past experience when evaluating the suitability of candidates for vacant jobs? After 40 years experience in staff selection, I believe that experience is overrated as an indicator of future success. At the very least, you shouldn't overemphasise it.

Our Experience. In sport, a player may be an outstanding performer with one team but a mediocre performer with another. Some children perform poorly at one school but do very well at another.

Importance Of Environment. The child is no more or less intelligent. The sportsperson is no more or less skilled. But the environment and culture where they apply their skills have definitely changed.

You've probably had an experience where you've recruited someone with a "sensational track record". Unfortunately they haven't reproduced their past performance for you.

The Experience Trap. It's odd. But the fact that someone did a job successfully for someone else in another company, doesn't automatically mean they'll do your job successfully for you in yours. I call overemphasis on experience "The Experience Trap". There's another potential problem too.

The Next Level Issue. At least some of the people seeking a job in your company are looking for one at a level above what they're currently doing. Your vacancy is at a level above their past experience. They have little or no experience doing the job you have vacant. You justify the appointment based on experience at a lower level.

This is most likely to occur where applicants have a strong technical background. They have superior technical skills in trades, sales, accounting, science or other areas. These technical skills are often the main basis for assessing management potential. Does this make sense?

Reference Checking. Some of you counter this risk by checking references. Ensure that your reference checking obtains information about your future requirements. Confirmation about past performance is of limited value. Be very careful about assessing the quality of information revealed by reference checking. It's unusual for a referee to be severely critical of a past employee regardless of their actual performance.

Reducing The Risk. Testing: use tests to see whether applicants know what they say they know and can do what they say they can do. There's only one sure way to find out if someone can actually do what they claim they can. Get them to do it. But also devise tests to see how well applicants fit your culture and systems.

Interviewing: spend limited time discussing the past. Question applicants about the future. Describe real situations that occur in the vacant job. Ask questions about the candidate's response to the real situations

Probation: if possible, include a three month probationary period when making the appointment. Specify performance goals to be met during that period.

Conclusion. Experience is important in selection. But the selection process is about deciding how well someone will do something for you in the future.

Be careful. Ensure that your main focus in selection is future performance. Past performance is an indication. But that's all.

Selection must be one of the few activities where such an important decision may be based largely on uncorroborated information about the past.

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About The Author: If you've enjoyed this article, you might like to read my FREE, 42 page Special Report, "5 Proven Methods For Improving Employee Performance On The Job". It's yours to keep. You'll also get a free bonus eBook about setting Performance Standards for employees. Just go to www.leonnoone.com and they're yours. I work with small-medium business managers to improve on job staff performance without using training.