HBR, 2/1/11
Companies such as Southwest Airlines, and ING Direct try to avoid hiring people from within their industry. Why? Individuals who have spent a majority of their experience within their industry have years to form bad habits. When hiring flight attendants or baggage handlers, they prefer to hire waitresses, teachers, and service oriented individuals. Of course, they hire people with industry experience, but Sherry Phelps, an executive with Southwest’s people organization explians “It doesn’t happen as often as you might think”.
Southwest has a process to identify their superstars, qualities that contribute to their personality, and drive. The Employee Engagement group practices similar hiring guidelines.
To Learn More about our “Superstar” exercise that helps organizations (like Southwest) identify, brand and hire for behaviors and traits, contact Stephanie Hogan at 781.239.8713 or [email protected]
