The 4 Cs to Consider When Hiring

Back in March 2021 when I published the article Empathy: How it helps you to build your own pirate crew?, I was in the midst of pondering over the process of hiring more people to join my team. This leap is years in the making, and in February this year, OKJ Works transitioned to a Private Limited, partly to facilitate the eventual step in this direction.

In the weeks since, I have been talking to my network to reach out to potential hires. It is a daunting process, because to hire someone is to be responsible for the livelihoods and development of others. And there will be many lessons to be learnt along the way, though fortunately I have had the benefit of foresight to pick up some tips in advance. 

Back when I was an intern at Resorts World Sentosa, I had the opportunity to ask a Senior Vice President on how he goes about his hiring process. He replied eloquently with the need to look at the 3 Cs trait. (More on the 4th C that the title alludes to later)

1. Capability

This is an obvious factor. We hire to fill skill gaps en route to the ambitions we seek to achieve, and the job scope is based on what the situation demands and the needs of the team. The skill set that an individual brings to the table will be a strong pre-requisite. In a simple world, that would be enough. But the world is anything but, and so we move on to the second C.

2. Capacity

Quoting my source verbatim here, "even if you had the chance to hire Lee Kuan Yew, you would think twice about doing so because would he have the time for you?" This was how he framed capacity - the factor in which the Capability as aforementioned could be realised.

In my context, this is interesting in application as not all my hires are full timers. Ever since the inception of OKJ Works as a business, I have been working with other freelancers. It is a system that worked - we gained the flexibility of choosing the projects we want to work on and to optimise to our own interests and well being, only coming together to work if all our considerations are met.

It is a system that I intend to keep for my production side as it seemingly makes more sense for a business that runs on sporadic high value projects than the daily grind. This is not the case for the other side of my business - the marketing and management end - which does require more consistent tender loving care.

That was what prompted this whole new leap in the first place, after my own capacity to manage this aspect had been well over-reached and is already beginning to negatively impact the growth of the business. So finding someone capable and with the capacity to handle the expected workload is necessary. No point buying a fuel hungry engine when your journey is a marathon and not a sprint.

3. Commitment

This was enlightening when I first heard it from my source. Extending from the previous engine analogy - it may not matter as much if the person you hire does not step on the pedal.

Commitment comes from belief, so the true question is: does he/she believe in the journey that he/she will be a part of? Now this cannot simply be answered over an interview - it is likely an unknown at first given the stage of the relationship. So unlike the first 2 Cs which can be sussed out during the hiring process, the third C is a factor to be seeded and nurtured over time.

How can one go about doing that? Well, that is a whole other conversation, one that truly deserves its own article. What I would write here for now is that it involves a willingness to be vulnerable and decisiveness in the moment. Once again, the people in one's charge is a responsibility - one that would be judged on both mundane and extraordinary moments.

4. Compassion

Originally, the conversation was about the 3Cs. But just as the conversation was about to end, this Senior Vice President who is late in his years, took a moment to consider if he wanted to add another factor. He prefaced this as a late add on, one that was due to his decades of experience - and that was Compassion.

It was not at all surprising when I heard the word, we are in the hospitality industry after all. But I was curious as to why it was not part of the original considerations.

He reasoned that the first 3Cs evaluate the true potential of an individual hire. Find someone with the capabilities you seek, the capacity to utilise them, and the commitment to act - this is a jackpot if you are only looking for an individual. But as with all businesses, there is an element of the team. And that is where compassion comes in. Will this hire have compassion for his/her fellow teammates - to act on the unforeseen, to suffer a little more so that the team as a whole may succeed?

Having hired so many people over the years, my source reflected that perhaps if he had paid more attention to the factor of compassion, then he may have seen better outcomes in team achievements, morale and lesser turnover.

9 years on

This last bit was also why I feel inclined every time to ask such questions to those someone further along in life than I. Life may be vast and of different paths, but a lot of it sure does rhyme - so it may come in handy even if the context differs.

9 years after this conversation, I now find myself in a position to recall it as I act on being an employer for the first time. But I am not acting on a whim but on a foundation of knowledge that is tried and tested by many before me.

And there will come a day when I pass on that knowledge to those who will try for the first time, just as I am doing now.