“Old fashioned” aviation – can it save the HR world from an IT-triggered hara-kiri?

While it may be a surprise for some, getting hired by an airline can sometimes actually be harder than getting into Harvard. For instance, according to Lufthansa, only around 7 % of applicants to pilot position pass the initial screening, let alone further recruitment stages. At first glance it may be hard to understand why the industry with an especially high demand for professionals would encourage such difficult processes. Nevertheless, the techniques behind such recruitment not only aim at ensuring strict flight safety requirements, but could actually help in solving HR-related problems in non-aviation industries as well.

Whether it is Finance, IT, Logistics, Engineering, etc. – talent crisis is one of the main topics in almost all HR related discussions nowadays. According to recent studies, talent shortage has currently reached its highest peak in over 7 years as more than a third of companies globally are struggling to fill open positions. However, despite the fact that many companies are willing to change in order to become more attractive to potential employees, they are still looking in a wrong direction. 

“Today an increasing number of industries are seeking ways to improve their recruitment process. However, it seems like most of them decided to take a shortcut, as 90% of the major enterprises are now using electronic filtering. On one hand, this is a very powerful tool that is able to analyze everything from your selected font to email style you used. On the other hand, a weird e-mail address or an accidentally placed comma may cause someone their dream job or a hard-to-find specialist for the company”, shares Skaiste Knyzaite, the CEO of AviationCV.com.

There’s no doubt that a data-driven HR-approach is becoming increasingly popular in companies, which are able to buy the appropriate software and hire the people to interpret it. One such engine claims it can archive and examine 100 000 times more data than a resume can fit. It can use such data to break down 15 000 different personal traits of a candidate, and test how they correlate to an organization’s current top performers thus reducing sourcing and screening time by up to 61%. However, if this view becomes the new normal, it may also lose the actual human element behind the numbers.

"The numbers can certainly help to identify a candidate who’s a good match, but that doesn't mean they are 100% reliable. For instance, one company hired a senior executive with a great education and impeccable resume. However, a month later he was found sleeping under the desk and later was caught stealing baseball caps from the companies’ storage. This is exactly why you need to meet with the person and find out who they are, what they can contribute and, hopefully, why they’re going to be the right long-term fit. Otherwise, we'll end up simply hiring the people with the highest scores, unnoticing many potential risks - something no one wants to deal with, especially in aviation,” says Skaiste Knyzaite, the CEO of AviationCV.com

It is well known that aviation is one of the most affected by the shrinking talent pool problem. In fact, it will need six pilots and engineers every single hour till 2033, according to forecasts. However, it still relies on one of the most human-centered recruiting practices, implying especially strict and thorough screening process. Amazingly, despite the fact that it makes recruiting slow and difficult, it seems to make it more productive.

“The screening process typically contains of up to 4 days of intense analysis. During the recruitment, pilots first encounter numerous in-depth interviews, followed by background and document checks as well as psychometric tests, which all together then reveal the most accurate picture of your candidate’s values and core competencies”, stresses the advantages of aviation recruitment process Skaiste Knyzaite, the CEO of AviationCV.com. “Of course, it takes time, its manual and thus a bit “old fashioned”. However, it will help you discover the talent you seek and when you will find it, dividends and the performance results will be worth it. And we strongly believe it is something that cannot be stressed enough”.