Efficiency Above All

“One morning in August, Robin Dayer arrived at Abbott Laboratories' headquarters to interview for a financial-analyst position. By nightfall, she was hired.

“Ms. Dayer, 45 years old, was one of four candidates who interviewed for the job. They were part of a program, begun in July, to accelerate the pharmaceutical company's recruiting process, which had required two or three interviews over several weeks.

“Welcome to the world of speed interviewing, a growing phenomenon in corporate America. The strategy, which helps employers lock in top candidates before they explore other options, reflects companies' growing concerns about meeting staffing needs. They face a looming shortage of skilled workers as baby boomers retire and employment expands in areas like health care, finance and technology.

“Much like speed dating, the idea is to meet with multiple job hunters for a position in a matter of days or even a single day. Some companies extend job offers to the top candidate within hours of meeting him or her, while others conduct follow-up interviews with their top picks within a few days and then select a winner.

“Speed interviews can involve as many as 200 candidates for entry- and midlevel positions. For the most senior jobs, only a handful of professionals might be invited. The job hunters have usually been prescreened, and some have had successful phone interviews.

“Greg Schwartz recently interviewed about 50 prescreened candidates for sales jobs at Zillow.com… He met with roughly a dozen a day for a half-hour each at hotels in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, with the top candidates being asked back the following day for hour-long meetings. Then a select few were flown to Zillow's Seattle office for a final interview…

“Speed interviewing can also help employers eliminate candidates who are a poor cultural fit early in the recruiting process. Zappos.com, an online retailer… hosts private job fairs for accounting, call-center, merchandising and product-information positions. The daylong events usually draw as many as 200 job seekers who meet individually with four recruiters for about five minutes each.”

(“Speed Interviewing Grows as Skills Shortage Looms; Strategy May Help Lock In Top Picks; Some Drawbacks.” Sarah E. Needleman. Wall Street Journal: November 6, 2007. pg. B.15)

I AM IN SUCH A HURRY I can't even comment on this. I'm turning over my thinking to Jack Welch: "We spend all our time on people. The day we screw up the people thing, this company is over."

ABOVE ALL, surround yourself with great people. Invest in people; they are your most vital asset.

ISN'T IT FUNNY how we ignore tired old cliches at our peril?