Avoid the Perils of Employee Inbreeding

It's human nature to gravitate to people who are like you, and that holds true in the office as well. When you're hiring for your team, people who click with potential co-workers and fit in with the culture often seem like best candidates. And much of the time, they have been referred by current employees -- so it's a no-brainer, right?

Wrong, says Gina Ruiz in Workforce Management's recruiting and staffing newsletter. One thing managers forget is that this sort of workplace inbreeding has build-in pitfalls. If you're trying to change your corporate culture, bolster diversity, or bring in new skills or talents, it's harder to do if you're hiring clones of your current workforce.

And as we all know, some referrals have more to do with nepotism or friendship than with professional criteria -- e.g., "John's a great guy, lots of fun!" rather than "John has excellent project-management skills."

So although employee referrals are the top external source of hire, don't forget to keep casting your talent net wide enough to catch a few nonconforming fish. Your team and your organization will both benefit.

(image by orangeacid via Flickr, CC 2.0)