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Recruitment secrets: Hiring for attitude, training for skill

Case Management Weekly, May 16, 2007

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What do Southwest Airlines, UPS, and Thomas Hospital in Fairhope, AL, all have in common? They all look beyond the traditional criteria used for hiring prospective employees-solely focusing on degree, resume, and experience-and actively seek candidates with a little attitude and a lot of heart.

The concept these companies practice is called hiring for attitude and training for skill, and the philosophy is that you can teach the right person the skills to do a job, but you can't transform the most knowledgeable person into a success if he or she lacks the right temperament.

Even in specialized fields such as case management, skills are only half of the package, says Kathy Baugh, director of customer service for Thomas Hospital, a hospital that has centered its mission statement and revamped its human resources department around the notion of hiring for attitude, training for skill.

"Hiring for attitude is our main focus, regardless of the nursing shortage," says Baugh. "We want the staff to be as perfect as possible. Processes are easy, but finding the people is difficult."

Baugh admits that certain skill sets are absolutely essential in a new hire, but that hiring for attitude is just as important.

Source: Case Management Monthly, June 2007

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