Did Alan Sugar rely too heavily on his own gut feeling in selecting a winner for the television series The Apprentice, which you reported on in your last issue (Personnel Today, 3 May)?
Many business leaders are tempted to hire individuals who closely match their own values, skills and persona. However, in doing so, they risk passing over candidates who can bring valuable complementary skills to their business.
To counter this, Sir Alan would perhaps have been better served by incorporating a degree of objective assessment in the selection process.
Such an approach would have focused on selecting a candidate who not only had the right potential and track record, but who also demonstrated the right behaviour.
Entertaining as it was, and while the winner is to be congratulated, one can’t help but feel that had objective assessment been used in The Apprentice, the selection process would have been shorter and less prone to subjectivity.
Kevin Kerrigan
Managing director
SHL (UK)
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