Lean Hiring Tools

By Frank Mulligan, Talent Software

McKinsey continues to make my job of writing easier with more research, this time into lean manufacturing. Only two days ago Kevin Wheeler introduced us to the concept of lean hiring. So itís going to be lean week this week.

According to the most recent McKinsey report(requires registration) companies in China are adopting lean manufacturing in order to reduce costs and increase effficiency. Nothing new there. It gets interesting though when they point out that this is becoming more critical because China is no longer seen as offering low-cost labor.

Itís almost like they took the words right out of my mouth.

Sarcasm aside, McKinsey are providing properly researched confirmation of the trend for companies in China to move away from labor intensive manufacturing, and more to value-added manufacturing. Many years ago you could work in the normal way in China, without the need for continuous improvement, Kaizen, Six Sigma, or any of the other lean tools. Now you have to use them just to survive.

As Kevin Wheeler pointed out earlier in the week, this applies equally to recruitment.

So please allow me, as someone who does process-based recruitment, and who uses lean techniques, to share a little about what works and doesnít work:

KANBAN - This works well and provides a simple overview of the hiring process for all to share. Candidate numbers indicate quantity of hiring flow through to job offer signature. A low number at any stage indicates a problem on its way at the next stage. The system needs little training and the only investment is a white board and some magnetic buttons. Green for working well, yellow for problems arising and red for problematic.

Process Maps - Simple to produce and informative. They sometimes help to identify areas of weakness and they get new staff up to speed quickly. Donít bother with all the official symbols and just go with what seems to be clear to everyone when you draw it. And donít fall into the trap of producing beautiful detailed maps that nobody looks at. Not that this would have happened to me.......

Metrics - Donít leave home without them! Metrics will allow you to get to grips with what is really going on in your hiring process. However, note that many of the current metrics like Time-To-Hire are not what line managers actually want. They still just want suitable candidates. Metrics are normally for internal use, but if you can develop ones that truly represent a measure of íRecruiting Effectivenessí or íHiring ROIí you will be given a seat on the Board of Directors. And deserve it.

FMEA - A very useful tool for developing your understanding of your processes and seeing the consequences of individual actions. A necessary step before you fully commit to lean techniques.

Beyond these first steps I would recommend caution. Six Sigma is a big headache and to be avoided until you are ready to invest time and effort. An understanding of the DMAIC process is very helpfull in analyzing your process but Six Sigma is the full monty, and not for the faint hearted.

Comments to: frank.mulligan@recruit-china.com