The whole concept of intelligent risk-taking is to make risk work to your benefit. There are two sides to that equation. One is to reduce risk when possible. The other is to exploit risk when appropriate. Due to our socialization, we tend to be more comfortable reducing risk.
A news story just came out on Human Resource Executive Online that illustrates risking intelligently by reducing risks. It focuses on companies re-hiring former employees as they increase their staffing. The story reports that nine out of ten companies are open to rehiring former employees and that 18 percent of laid-off workers are rehired by their former employers.
This is an excellent strategy for reducing risk. In my most recent book Business Lessons from the Edge (McGraw-Hill 2009), we emphasize the criticality of hiring decisions and the imperative that short cuts not be taken in the hiring process. The brilliance of selectively rehiring former employees is that you know exactly what you’re getting. They have functioned in the culture and clearly illustrated their talents and limitations. A great deal of the risk that is inherent in the hiring process is eliminated.
One of the athlete/executives who contributed to Business Lessons from the Edge is employee engagement expert and HR Solutions CEO Kevin Sheridan. Among other things, HR Solutions helps companies improve employee engagement. What is one of the biggest problems they find in their client organizations? Negative impacts on employee engagement due to poor hiring decisions. Hence the value of selectively rehiring past employees – fewer hiring mistakes.
The referenced story on Human Resource Executive Online by Melvin Scales can be found at: http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/story.jsp?storyId=312960252
