Imagine that a company wants to hire a musician to write some jingles. Criteria for the job is listed in an advertisement. By chance, recording superstar, Paul McCartney, sees that ad and applies. McCartney is excited about the job, will accept any salary, and will donate those funds to charity. Also in the pool of applicants is a man who is a part-time piano teacher.
As with all jobs, the Human Resources professional in charge of a presenting a list of finalists, is given strict instructions by management. Only those candidates who meet the criteria for the position are to be given interviews. Finalists are separated from the pile of applications, interviews are scheduled, and eventually the job is awarded.
Only it doesn’t go to Paul McCartney despite the fact that his musical experience is record breaking. Instead, the part-time piano teacher gets the gig. In fact, McCartney was never given a chance to interview for the job. Was this a case of Beatles discrimination?
One of the criteria for the job required applicants to be able to read sheet music. That’s something that McCartney has never learned. Obviously, it has not prevented him from being successful. I’m pretty confident that he could have made a significant contribution to the organization had he been hired by the company.
But the HR employee followed company policy and McCartney’s application was never presented to the interview team.
Policies and procedures can provide useful structure and guidance to an organization. But they can also limit the pursuit of talented individuals who may have more to offer than someone who merely matches up well to a job description.
