Gaurav's Blog

Unusual hiring

 

 

The luxurious office of Northwest Airlines was located at the 19th floor of Cosco Tower at Hong Kong's Queen Road in Central Hong Kong. As I stepped into the corner office of the Vice President of Asia, I was stunned by the expanse of the room and the unfolding vista offered by the very large glass wall that overlooked the busy Kowloon bay area, as one got closer to it. That room was designed to portray power. For a brief moment, I felt I had stepped into the scene from 'Dewaar' where Iftekaar (playing Dabur Saheb) offers Amitabh Bachchan his first bundles of currency notes spread on the table and the camera moves to show the Marine Drive down below, clearly visible from the office….

I was there for an interview with the then VP of Asia at NWA (let's call him David). Awed by the set up, I was fumbling a bit when David asked me to take a seat and soon after asked me what it was that I wanted to do. I mumbled something about doing pricing. He smiled, looked at me intently and repeated his question, adding that he meant it in a much larger context, as in, my ambition in life. I hadn't expected the interview to start with this sort of talk, so could not muster any words at all for some time. Sensing my discomfort and nervousness, David sought to put me at ease by telling me his own story. A person with just high school education, he started his career as a baggage loader at TWA and rose to become VP Asia at NWA many years later.  Another example- UPS Airline President Robert Lekites, started his career as delivery truck driver and rose to become president of the Airline company.  There are numerous such examples of people, who were the most unlikely candidates for the top job, but succeeded nevertheless. I have narrated these story to make a point to which I will come to later in the article.

When you step into a 5-star hotel as a guest, unknown to you, the concierge Porter or Bell Boy, as they are called, has not just spotted you, he has noticed the car you got down from and its registration number, people accompanying you-and if these are women, he has judged whether they are your family, your office colleagues or otherwise. He has seen your shoes, the quality of your suit, the make of your mobile phone and the watch you are wearing.  If you are a repeat guest, he has already welcomed you with your last name and reassuringly informed you that the hotel holds a reservation for you, even before you step infront of the reception desk. As a 21 year old, and their Manager, I was continuously challenged by them. They knew the views and vantage points of all the rooms. They knew the staff- all 500 of them by their first names. They could organize just about anything in a matter of minutes. They knew who the General Manager was sleeping with. They knew even whim and fancy of the repeat guests. A bell boy goes to every single room in the hotel and we are talking about 500 or more rooms here and he knows every nook and corner. If a switch wasn't working or there was something wrong with the carpet in the walkway, they were the first people to spot it. Infact, I would say, if a fire broke out, a fireman may lose his bearings, but a bell boy, is your sure shot bet to find a safe way out of the place.  

In short, Bell Boys are far sharper than we think and do far more than their intended role. Yet will you ever think of a Bell Boy when looking to fill a role that requires sharp observation, continuous customer contact, ability to make polite conversation, and solve day to day issues. I would give a serious thought to enlisting them for an eventual role as managers in service organization, like the role of a Airport Manager at an Airline. I am not saying that every single Bell Boy should be made an airport manager, but just being a bell boy, does not exclude them from that possibility, so don't stop looking.

If you are an early riser, take an early morning stroll to the local street corner, where bundles of newspapers are dropped, and the local distributor's boys get down to the task of sorting them and putting the advertising inserts into them. Perhaps there's one boy there, who has done this long enough to help you with your direct marketing/advertising initiatives.

Ever spoken to a TTE (Train ticket examiner) of an express train? Imagine Abishek Bachchan's role in Bunty aur Bubli.  A TTE would have traveled between a sector like Raipur and Delhi 100's of time. Could anyone know the route and the passengers who travel on it better than him? Why then would you want to hire a city boy, with a cozy confined up brining in a life full of luxuries to do a job that legitimately belongs to someone who has spent all his life traveling on trains?  

Take the auto rickshaw drivers. Many of them are rowdy's and so is there public perception. But try talking to some, just to get through the noisy ride, if for nothing else. They go to every part of the city- to the railway station, bus station, city centre, suburbs, bazaars, high streets, red light areas, deal with the traffic police and local goons, who all have to be paid a 'hafta'. Some of them are in fact listed as informants for the police. Wouldn't you include them as part of your city sales team, even if just as the driver?  I surely with responsibility for sales, it does not matter what I call him, but I know he would not fail me.

There are numerous other examples but the point I am making is this: Use imagination to hire. Leave the orthodoxy to the British Royals. They may make a living out of it. Just because someone has done something before is not an indication that he is good at it. You can't etch your designation on your forehead as an example of what skills you have. Infact, usually, if a candidate has done a job before, and you are hiring him for exactly the same job, he/she may bring little enthusiasm to it.

A high performance team needs all kinds of people, greater the diversity of experience, better the chances of achieving success. All fingers are not created equal, Yes you need an IIM graduate to take care of those complicated algorithms; yes you need the good looking bimbo (or brute) to attract some corporate eyeballs perhaps, or so people believe, but what a pity it would be, if you filled your ranks with people who are out of touch with the reality on the ground?

(CAN BE APPLIED ANYWHERE, BUT THE ARTICLE IS WRITTEN FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF AN INDIAN AIRLINE)