Companies everywhere are trying to reinvent themselves for a future they could not have imagined a year ago. Problem is, their human capital practices are not keeping up with their shifts in strategy.
I was out drinking with a senior partner at a well-known global consulting firm. He was leading a campus-recruiting project to hire students from China as they graduated from American universities. After all, it’s the era of the global consumer, and 53% of executives say that China and India will be vital to their success in the next five years. This project sounded like a good way for his firm to stay ahead of their clients’ needs.
He and his team had just been to UCLA. I asked how things went. Not well, he replied. Now I happen to know that UCLA is commonly called the “University of Caucasians Living Among Asians,” so I wondered why all those Chinese students didn’t fit the bill.
He said that they were uniformly smart and ambitious, but lacked “cultural fit.” In fact, he complained, one student came into the interview in a pastel suit, his hair in a pompadour. Elvis on top, Miami Vice below.
Research shows that, as a matter of human nature, when we meet someone, we size him up within five minutes, and then that initial impression colors not only our entire meeting, but also our recollection of that meeting. In recruiting, we call it the “Halos and Horns Effect.”
A Brooks Brothers model would have had a better chance getting past those crucial first minutes with my friend’s firm.
But this begs the question: What culture is this firm is recruiting to?
The Chinese students at UCLA now are China’s brightest, richest, most connected, best English-speaking, young people. For a firm that has tied its future to winning and executing China business, these candidates could be exceptionally well-equipped to helping the firm execute on those strategies.
It’s in the boardroom that companies announce new strategies and organizational structures, but it’s on the frontlines of people-management that the rubber meets the road. Companies should routinely review their human capital practices to ensure they’re aligned with their strategies.
Otherwise, that Elvis lookalike who gets away could be the one who walks across the street to help your competitor eat your shorts.
