Page 95 - The New Gold Standard

Select—Don’t Hire

C Assessing Candidates D
Takes Patience

Many business leaders have found themselves in the annoying
position of having hired someone who turned out to not per-
form up to expectations. On paper and in interviews, the indi-
vidual appeared to have the requisite skills and came with
glowing recommendations. Behavior-based interview questions
suggested that the prospective candidate would exercise good
judgment in hypothetical work situations. But in the end, the
employee failed to flourish in the position. Leadership at Ritz-
Carlton has addressed this key challenge faced by most busi-
nesses by espousing a long-standing commitment to assess the
strengths of a prospective candidate through a comprehensive
process that involves multiple interviews, identifying the right
qualities and requirements for each position, and searching for
individuals who take pride in providing service.
Consistent with the talent-based approaches championed
by experts, Ritz-Carlton leadership believes that excellence oc-
curs by starting with the right raw talent instead of attempting to
manage employees to overcome talent deficits. Ed Mady, area
general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, illustrates
the difference this way: “It’s very short, very simple. Luxury is a
choice. Luxury is in the eye of the beholder. And if you get your
arms around that, then you can say, ‘Every single person who
walks into the building needs to have individualized, personal-
ized attention.’ And how do you create that? Like a factory,
there’s a conveyor belt, and that conveyor starts in our industry
with talent selection and finding people who have innate apti-
tudes to consistently deliver the luxury service product. We are
looking for those with true strengths to deliver luxury service.
By that I distinguish between a strength, which is something you
do well, and a true strength which is something you do well and
enjoy.” But how does a business leader find people with “true
strengths” as customer service professionals?

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