After the Top Grading session few weeks ago, I saw a huge push in that plan for the top management to interview the people coming on board.   Actually, for me, I take an issue with that, as from the CEO level I would like to defer as much decision making as possible to the staff.   I have read somewhere a long time ago (I wish I knew which book) – that a new hire will be so much more successful if he/she is hired by their boss.  Ie.  If an employee is transferred to a manager and that manager did not pick that person, the ‘transferred’ person will likely be less successful compared to a new hire that would be directly hired by the manage.

Reason being is that when a manager chooses their person, they make a bet that that person is good.  They will then go to greater lengths to prove their bet is right – and it will be shown through training, support, trust that they will give that person.

Following the logic above, I have, with only a few exceptions refused to be part of the hiring process.   Not that I don’t care, because in fact I do care a great deal – BUT – because responsibility of hiring, when delegated – in my mind – can improve the chances of a person being success by at least 50%.  There is no science in this number, just my own feeling.  So far, when I have done this,  the people that where hired on without my participation had been of excellent caliber, strong performers.  Their Team Leads or Managers had supported them, nurtured them and took good care of them.    The KPA’s for the new hires come in very high – and it seems with new hires, we cannot wait till their probation is over until we can make them Employee of the Month.  So, what I’m doing with RedStores goes counter to some of the theories of hiring – BUT – given the results I’m getting – I’m not planning on conforming to any theory – rather, here is the ‘Lepa Hiring Theory’ and that is the theory I will live by.