Now, I’m not an anti-consistency guy at all. To scale, to create a great experience, you need to make sure certain things are predictable and dependable. For example, every candidate should know their status in a process and what the next step is (and timeline of that next step).
But, sometimes, consistency becomes the goal itself, not a means to a goal. And in a talent-centric world – where we preach personalization, creating a stand out experience, tailoring the process/tools/approach to the person — consistency can get in the way, and even create a bad experience.
I guess it’s how you think about consistency, right? A “consistently great experience” for candidates, for example, would be a fantastic goal, as long as you recognize that the process you use for an engineer, a salesperson, an executive, a nurse, and an accounts payable person may need to look very different to deliver on that goal. The way they apply, the tests they take before they come onsite, the interview process (how many, what type), the way you engage post-interview, and the kinds of things you do to sell them … all should probably be tailored.
And, similarly, the kind of tools you provide to a field-based retail store hiring manager to interview vs the tools you provide to an engineering hiring manager at headquarters should probably look different. Not the “never ask someone their age in an interview” stuff; that should be consistent. But the actual interview guides, the focus areas, the assumptions made about how much time they’ll actually spend interviewing … these should vary.
Some examples:
I know, I know. Compliance is important, and you can’t just willy-nilly change up processes based on a whim. But when we work with companies to help them improve their recruiting processes, we like to start by thinking about what processes need to be consistent (federal), what needs to be department- or geography-specific (state), and what need to be adapted to the individual (local). Then, we get prescriptive: you must always do X, but you can flex, customize, personalize on Y. As a judge for the ERE Recruiting Excellence Awards and the Candidate Experience Awards, I especially appreciate companies that highlight this kind of “one size does not fit all” approach. It’s harder to build, and doesn’t always scale well or make the compliance people’s jobs easy, but in the end, the extra work often gives you a real competitive advantage.
What do you think? How do you talk about consistency in your company? What’s consistent, and what’s purposefully inconsistent and tailored, and why? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
