While evidence-based management has gained traction in many organizational functions, our approach to talent management remains mired in old school, intuitive approaches. We hire people because we hit it off with them — in the first 30-seconds of an interview. We promote someone because we’ve spent more time with them than others on the team and thus feel we have greater insight about their capabilities. We lay off a remote employee in a RIF (reduction in force) because, if we are honest with ourselves, we can’t “see” how many hours they are putting in.
Are these decisions wrong — or at least sub-optimal? Good question, one that too few managers are positioned to answer with impartiality. If we look around at our workforce or team and see a sea of homogeneity, there is a good chance our talent management processes are compromised.