Ask the expert: Workers should be involved in recruiting new team member

By MARIE WILSON

Q. I work for a public body, and I know I am supposed to be fair and impartial in my selection process. My problem is that I supervise two work units each made up of eight to 10 team members who are of the same sex and ethnicity. They are all about the same age. We are now recruiting for one or two new members of each team.

There is a good possibility that there will be qualified candidates who are clearly different from the existing makeup of the team, as well as some who are a match.

I feel that if I pick the best-qualified person and they are not the same as the other team members, they are likely to be uncomfortable and may not be able to perform. In either case, they won't last long and I'll be recruiting again.

Should I just cut my losses and pick someone who is the same?

A. Technically, your job is to pick a person based on evidence that they have the skills, abilities and personal characteristics that will allow them to perform well in the job. This usually isn't tied to their gender, ethnicity or age.

You may be making assumptions that the person won't fit in or that the group won't be able to work with someone different.

That said, you are correct that being the only person who is "different" can affect a new employee's ability to fit in and perform well.

But diversity may enhance the performance of the team by introducing skills and alternate perspectives. I think I would tackle it by trying to get key members of each team involved in the recruiting and selection process.

Perhaps they can also be involved in the shortlisting and selection interviewing. If someone is clearly best for the job and they are different, it may be a point for discussion with the team. Who will mentor this person? Who will work with them to make sure they are not hazed or harassed?

This is good practice whenever you are hiring into a well-established, cohesive team.

As part of the selection interview, you can also ask the candidate whether they have worked in a setting where they are the only person who has a particular set of characteristics (everyone has some experience of difference, whether age, background, experience, or occupation). Ask them what that experience was like for them.

You should also think about your own role. If you are the supervisor, your responsibility doesn't end with hiring someone. That's just the start of making sure that they adjust well and are able to perform. You will have an ongoing responsibility to set expectations, manage an introduction to the job and organisation, and help to resolve obstacles to effective performance. If the team is involved from the start, they may be able to help.


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Dr Marie Wilson is associate professor of management at the University of Auckland Business School, research director of the ICEHOUSE business accelerator and a veteran of 20 years in corporate management and small business.