A PMO leader is the one who brings around change and motivation. He/she is a project leader, general manager for the PMO and is the central voice for all the projects of the organization he works for.
Recruiting and bringing new talents to the team is one of the most important tasks of a PMO leader. New talents bring new energy and fresh ideas to the table and have the potential to bring in huge profits for the company.
But sometimes PMO leaders also make mistakes while hiring. As per a study conducted, it was found that on an average it costs around 20% of a person’s salary when you try to replace him or her. Firing someone is a tough call and there is no one successful method for efficient recruitment. Here are the top 10 hiring mistakes to keep in mind while recruiting and how to correct them:
1. Inaccurate Job Description
Not describing the job description properly and honestly when you are advertising will lead to attracting the candidates that you are not looking for. A proper job description lays out the details of the work properly, thus ensuring that only the candidates who match the maximum skills apply for the position.
Don’t oversell your position or mislead candidates into thinking that they will be able to get opportunities or promotions they are looking for. It will most likely lead to discontent and resignation.
2. Not recruiting from within
You don’t always have to look for external candidates to get a job done. There are many worthy candidates who deserve the positions and are well qualified and skilled for the job. Apart from being economical as it cuts down cost and time spent in advertising and recruitment, the existing staff member is well versed in the organization’s goals and work culture and getting ‘up to speed’ is faster.
It also boosts morale and productivity of staff as they feel appreciated and valued.
Valuable company secrets which may leak when a candidate leaves will also stay inside the office walls.
3. Relying solely on the interview
Laszlo Bock, the senior Google executive has said that maximum interviews are a waste of time. This is because the interviewers make a judgement about the candidate within the first ten seconds, and secondly the candidate can say anything to be able to land the job.
It would be more efficient to provide the candidate with a test or some sort of exercise to judge how the candidate performs in real life situations. This not only provides a better insight about the candidate but also helps you analyze how the candidate is in planning, prioritizing, organizing and communicating.
4. Subconscious and Unconscious Bias
Bias in an inborn human nature and after all recruitment is a process that is based on decision making. Subconsciously and unconsciously we judge a candidate based on his sex, race, class, ethnicity and these judgments become an important factor whether the candidate gets the job or not.
Seeing beyond these characteristics will improve decision making and bring more diverse qualities to the table.
5. Hiring less qualified people
Lee Lacocca, a renowned US automotive executive states that he hires people brighter than him and then he gets out of their way. PMO leaders have been at fault at recruiting less talented people than themselves in fear of losing their position and respect. But smart managers know that bright people are needed to share their insights and strengthen the team.
Less qualified candidates may become a liability for your organization by consuming resources and not producing appropriate results.
6. Rejecting overqualified candidates
Overqualified candidates come off as a competition to the PMO leaders and so they reject them thinking their positions will be lost. There is also the fear that these candidates will leave the company for better opportunities.
But even if they leave, they bring to the table skills that develop your team. Use incentives and opportunities to keep them hooked to your company.
7. Hiring because you have money
Just because you have money doesn’t mean you will hire lots of people. The idea of growing big sound nice but not all people will play along with the band. Some may become liabilities and do the opposite of bringing profits. Disputes among team members also increases if there are more than required people for the job.
Don’t rush while hiring. Use freelancers to complete tasks till you are sure you need the person to fill in the position.
8. Having high expectations too soon
It is important to help familiarize your candidate with the team’s and organization’s goals and culture. Make him/her fell welcome and hold meetings to see his performance and help him learn.
It takes around three months to fully integrate into a team so don’t rush and expect the candidate to produce results as soon as he/she takes up the position.
9. Judging based on resume
An employer makes a slight judgement about the candidates based on their resume and sometimes they turn out to be wrong.
Just because a candidate has been exceptional at the previous office doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be exceptional in this role too. And this goes the other way too.
Judge for yourselves by interacting with the candidate, testing him through exercise and getting to know him more.
10. The perfect candidate
There is no such thing as the perfect candidate. There is either the candidate which meets most of your requirements or sometimes more than that and there is another which doesn’t.
Hire someone who meets most of your key requirements. Keeping your team understaffed will unnecessarily increase workload and lead to discontent among team members.
Progile Tech’s PMO consulting services have a track record for providing clients with solutions that improve projects and portfolio performance. With top PMO consultants who have been in the industry for more than 20 years, your company is in good hands.