The Lurking Variable – How Recruiters Can Impact Your Initiative
I am not aggravated by the phone calls or emails, but rather by most recruiters’ lack of understanding of the Six Sigma position for which they are recruiting. If you barely understand the difference between a Green Belt, Black Belt, Master Black Belt and a Quality Leader, how can you possibly filter and identify the right candidate? Granted, these positions are not traditional ones in the industry, like a Business Analyst, or an Underwriter. But for god’s sake pick up a book and read up on the methodology. I guess what bugs me most is when we actually spend the time “educating” the recruiter on what they should be looking for in a candidate (length of experience in a Six Sigma position, certification guidelines, achievements, depth of knowledge…) – because after all you cannot be looking for someone who can be “sort of a Black Belt, or a Master Black Belt” you have to make up your mind. Why do I spend the time talking to some recruiters? Because we all have a vested interested in making sure that the application of Six Sigma is successful in this industry. And that starts with having the right Six Sigma people in the right positions. Consequently, you cannot afford to have a Green Belt trained and certified through an online course, with minimal relevant experience, running a Six Sigma organization (You can, but then you will need to adjust your expectations).
But really the crux of the problem stems from a point we discussed over a year ago: that we are operating in an industry lacking standardization (i.e., what it takes to get certified, training content, job descriptions…), which also happens to be experiencing rapid growth. And this puts the pressure on you to truly define for the recruiter the candidate qualification standards. Because while there is typically a 90-120 day “return policy” on candidates, by the time someone realizes that this person doesn’t have the right skill set the damage is already done. Or worse yet, it took you so long to find out that the candidate is under-qualified that you may just chose to live with it.
I think for the next blog we will provide some of the basic requirements for each type of candidate. In the meantime, don’t let the recruiter define what you should be looking for in a BB, GB or MBB.
Sheila Shaffie - ProcessArc, Inc.
