I’m not sure what an appropriate title for this post should be. I’m wrestling with hiring decisions and want to make sure that I am not hiring out of merely need for the business but also taking into account the potential employees gifts/skills, personality/fit for the work, motivations, integrity, etc. I have centred on two verses that are keeping me mindful.
First, I think the employee and employee relationship is abused. The employer will sometimes hire the person merely on perceived skill as they are desparate for someone to fill the ’spot’. They don’t take into considertation many factors that might make the hiring decision a poor one. For example, the person’s motivation is critical. When I worked at Citibank a person told me they really never wanted to do customer service work by telephone - the job they were applying for! However, the pay and benefits were what they needed as their child needed a heart transplant. Was this a sufficient or appropriate motivation for the work? To hire them? They hated the work, needed it though, but would they last? Was this what they were made to do?
Second, I think the job application & interview process doesn’t do enough to determine someone’s gifting and purpose. Application forms ask for facts and employers hire based on experience & skills that seem to match with their needs. But what if the person was designed for something else? What if they were not suitable for the job but capable of doing it? We need to do more to get at the person’s purpose and proceed carefully to find an appropriate job match. Employers needs to help employees get at their purpose through the interview process. But this takes time and this means money. However, hiring the wrong person can be a costly mistake. Is it not the employers failure then if they took the easy road and the person fails to thrive in their position? Read about Paul Potts for someone who took time to discover his purpose in a unique way: http://www.paulpottsuk.com/article/biography. How could he have been redirected or encouraged to pursue his gifting?
Two verses have helped me wrestle with some hiring decisions lately and I share them here ~ Proverbs 26:10 & 27:23.
Prov. 26:10 – Like an archer who wounds at random
is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.
Prov. 27:23 – Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,
give careful attention to your herds;
