Human Resources 2.1
Lets iterate on our external HR practice. When passing on candidates we have an exceptional opportunity to improve the image of the company and the state of our industry generally.
The practice is this: provide at least one sentence of exit feedback on why you are passing.
Before I pitch you on the ‘humanitarian’ benefit, let me be direct about the benefit to the organization for which you work. Every candidate that is looking for a new position desires to improve their quality of life, and the practice of their field. Most people desire coaching for deeper understanding in some way or another. One line of text that gives them. That’s what they are left with; their parting memory: The understanding that you were willing to help them, despite passing on them. They will remember you and the company in a more positive light. (People that will be upset that they were passed on are already unreachable, so there’s no concern that you’ll make the negative aspects of their self-pity even worse. One day they will grow and remember that you tried to help them.) Either way, it should have taken you no more than one minute to write one concise thing in a sentence, about why they were not a right fit for your organization at that time. The bigger picture is that this helps your industry, and each of the industries in which we work. Smart candidates, with the capacity to become stronger organizational actors, will gain more perspective on the forces that shape in their industry. This type of feedback is not going to injure your company by making the candidate stronger against you. The candidate was not a good fit, and that means that there’s no way that they are going to help another company outrun you. Else, you would’ve hired them so that you could out run your competitors. They’re going to understand better their strengths and help some company that could be a possible service provider, client, or other consumer…. and they’re going to help that company be better at providing you a benefit. The point of my article here is also just about making the world better. If you’re an organized person and you can take less than a minute to provide that one sentence of feedback for every candidate on which you pass, you can do a service to your professional image, that of your company, and help out everyone in the bigger network.
