There is a growing trend in the private firms of staff development which has shown signs of success. The lunch meeting with a potential new team member to see how the person interacts with potentially new coworkers has been on the rise. The theory behind the concept is simple. Does this person fit? If so, to what extent do they fit?
It can be easy to fain interest in the others in a group while sitting in the hot seat of an interview and even to develop a rapport that gets you in the door. A candidate who is multi-tasking a meal and a conversation can open your eyes to possible personality conflicts and even help identify if the personalities of the group just don’t have cohesiveness enough to work. It doesn’t even have to be a large group just a few of the staff who will work directly with the person who can be trusted to carry on a conversation as well as give you the manager some honest feedback about their potential coworker.
There is also a lot to say about the possibility of building up your current staff can have when you are willing to let them into the interactive process of team building. Even just the chance to have a meal with the boss and a possible new recruit can make them feel special. Worst case scenario is the person being hired is a terrible fit, bread is flung, drinks spilled, your candidate doesn’t cut it, and all for the cost of a meal. No need to hire, then remove a problem, because you took the time to seek input from your valued staff.
Even better is later on down the line if the choice turns out to have flaws you get the ability to turn to staff and say “you helped us pick them.” “Maybe you can help us train/retrain them so they can meet the standards we are looking for.” I know I hate to be wrong, and if your staff hates to be wrong then a chance to fix a bad call is a win/win for everyone. However, they own as much of that bad call as you and can help be a resource to fixing it. Time will tell if the model keeps trending, but I for one say “Let’s Eat, I mean Team!”
