Spof!
Innovation from iteration, pt 11
Have you ever post-mortemed a programme of recruitment only to find one common factor that set you up for failure?
This is your Single Point of Failure.
It’s a term that’s been around for a long time, and was adopted in the IT industry in the 80’s.
I recently had an opportunity to go the Titanic Museum in Belfast. It’s well worth a visit, and the history behind the Titanic is as fascinating as what happened on that fateful day.
While there were a lot of contributing factors that led to its sinking, each had a SPOF, which in combination were calamitous.
Some were technology and some were process driven:
one of the lookouts took their binoculars home with them. On the night of the sinking, the lookout had none to use
the Captain was confident of a clear night, and that the lookout’s binoculars would spot any issues with plenty of time to spare, even at speed
safety drills weren’t performed
there weren’t sufficient lifeboats
the closest ship’s radio was turned off overnight, so the operator could sleep
the hull and rivets were brittle in cold water
And so on.
While the post-mortem led to counter measures for each, so that it couldn’t happen again.
I’m sure you can guess what’s been written in law as a consequence, against each point.
While recruitment is no Olympic-class liner, it is typically a complex set of processes, with much going on invisibly below the water line.
Whenever things go wrong, I’ll typically do a post-mortem to take forward what I can learn.
This then becomes part of a pre-mortem when I consult on new projects.
What are the issues that might arise, and how can we prevent them?
What drove candidates to behave in such a way, and where was my part in it? Were they never the right candidate in the first place? How might I have worked with them differently?
Those historic SPOFs are often surmountable, if only we knew to look for them.
While if you don’t know to look for them, they may remain unknown unknowns, resulting in finding criticism of problems but not the root cause.
What are examples of SPOFs in recruitment?
Not disclosing salary. Whatever your stance on doing so, it will reduce the number of viable candidates.
An ATS with low completion rates.
Adverts that don’t convert readers into action.
One stakeholder whose opinion rules over all.
Bloated interview processes.
Badgering candidates.
The market.
Low ball offers.
Weak preboarding and onboarding.
Misrepresentative requirements.
Misrepresentative candidates.
Your SPOFs will undoubtedly have elements unique to you, and elements common to many.
Surely then, finding your SPOFs allows judicious improvements where you’ll continually improve your outcomes.
It’s not a case of providing lifeboats when you need binoculars, but understanding how the two can complement each other and are part of the bigger picture.
How can you find your SPOFs?
Dummy the candidate journey and everything they experience.
Do you really know what your agencies do for you?
Gain as much insight as you can on both internal and external context to help define your next steps.
Go to gemba - talk to people outside of your process whose feedback can help improve it. Jobseekers, declined candidates, new starters, former colleagues.
Network with peers to see what works for them, and the challenges they might be facing
Ask trusted suppliers for their take on what you can improve
The thing about SPOFs is that although they feel inherently negative, fundamentally they are about the opportunity to do better.
It’s why owning the problem, even if it doesn’t stem from you, is such a powerful tool.
Thanks for reading.
Regards,
Greg