HRHeadStart #90: Talent Acquisition Metrics; Acing Performance Appraisals

The Talent Agenda

Organizations use a slew of talent acquisition metrics as they realize the importance of talent and the need for data-based decision-making. Some of the most common metrics include Cost per Hire, Time to Hire, Offer Acceptance Rate etc.

However, my friend, Lee Nallalingham, argues that these common metrics just create a mirage of success. He thinks that they can mislead. Take for example, Time to Hire.

Speed and quality in hiring are often inversely proportional. The faster you try to fill a position, the more you’re forced to compromise on quality. In a bid to get someone—anyone—in the seat quickly, you might overlook critical traits or skills that are necessary for long-term success.

Read on to understand the fallacy of these metrics and how to approach them.

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Working Better

Annual performance appraisals can be an intimidating process. It’s where our contributions are evaluated and connected to important outcomes like compensation, bonuses and promotions. But we know the bitter truth that the process is not always fair. After all, there’s human judgement in the process and humans are prone to conscious and unconscious biases. So, how can you ace them?

This HBR article lays out some neat ideas and here’s some of my top takeaways:

• (Re)Highlight your accomplishments: We often overestimate the extent to which others notice and remember our achievements.

• Highlight your value to the team/organization: Instead of just listing what you did, clearly articulate how the work you did helped advance the team or organizational goals. Value trumps activity.

• Connect with and support your manager: Build real relationships with your manager around common interests and figure out ways to help them in their most important goals. It’s hard to succeed if they don’t.

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Tiny Thought

Great work comes from iterating on good work.