Hari's Corner

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Talent often goes unnoticed by HR

Filed under: People and society by Hari
Posted on Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 08:47 IST (last updated: Thu, Oct 30, 2008 @ 08:15 IST)

It is my strong opinion that talent often goes unrecognized by the majority. I think the reason is that even to detect talent, you need a bit of it in the first place. Not a lot, but enough to understand the speciality of that talent. On the other hand, mediocrity recognizes and understands nothing beyond itself.

You see, I believe that each of us is born with something that we can do better than others. Sometimes, it takes a long time, hard work and painful effort even for the individual concerned to recognize and nourish it. For a few people, their special talent comes so naturally to them that they end up not valuing it enough. Rarely do you see child prodigies. In such cases, the whole world has no choice but to sit up and take notice.

I think the best organizations in the world are the ones which detect talent early and discipline it quickly. Microsoft of the early days is a prime example in the software world. The ability of Bill Gates and co. to pick up talent and mould it made them what they are today. But sadly, most software companies today lack this instinct. That is what comes out of cutting corners in HR management.

Like all areas of specialization, I think Human Resource management is a key discipline in any business. But if you check out the HR department of most software companies today, all you can see is a bunch of incompetent, inexperienced staff who sit around imagining that HR is just about recruitment, hiring, firing and paying salaries. It's not. HR goes far deeper than the day-to-day activities of man-management.

The main reason why there is a high rate of attrition in the software industry is the HR staff of organizations. Not only do they neglect talent, they actively discourage it because they cannot see beyond their own limitations. And even if they do, they are too insecure to give it its due reward.

A prime example of talent gone unnoticed is my brother who is an extremely talented OS programmer. Most companies he applied to rejected him because he did not have so-called "experience" in a job they consider as constituting valid experience. But today, he earns far more doing what he enjoys and does best than even top programmers do in the Indian software industry. It was the inability of these software companies to notice his talent that helped him find his true potential. If he had, by any chance, been recruited by any of the Indian software firms, I'm sure he would be wasting his potential, sitting in an office and churning out code that any trained monkey can churn out.

4 comment(s)

  1. In this case, it was a good thing! I know what you mean, though. My company is huge, employing over 100000 people, and they have a stipulation for internal hiring that you must be doing well in your current position before being considered for another, more suitable one. Ironically, an applicant from outside would not require this.

    Another place that I worked at had the same stipulation, so if you were a sales or service rep taking calls in a call center, you might not get a janitorial position, regardless of your suitability for the job, if you were terrible at telephone work. Sad but true.

    Comment by MrCorey (visitor) on Wed, Feb 13, 2008 @ 16:48 IST #
  2. MrCorey, that's why I feel that talented people should not get disheartened when their skills are not initially recognized or rewarded but keep looking for opportunities. Because I think that over a period of time, everybody gets their due in some form or the other.

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Wed, Feb 13, 2008 @ 17:25 IST #
  3. I'm in absolute agreement about all of this. I have great communication skills that weren't put to use until my final employment. I used these skills in the military to write technical manuals for dummies (not really dummies, but for people with less than a high school education), create software that even a monkey could figure out, and converse with gnarly truck drivers over the phone.

    I'm now using these skills online. It's too bad I was never hired for some of the jobs I applied for or I'd be a high-falutin' CEO by now. :>>

    Comment by RT Cunningham (visitor) on Wed, Feb 13, 2008 @ 18:27 IST #
  4. RT, I can understand your situation.

    Unfortunately the people who make decisions are the ones least likely to recognize true potential of those below them (most of the time). And of course, there's always professional rivalry and jealousy which acts as a barrier too.

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Wed, Feb 13, 2008 @ 19:01 IST #

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