Industry knowledge doesn’t always equal success

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In my experience, industry knowledge whilst useful doesn’t necessarily equal success and can fail to enable innovation. I’ve come across plenty of HR candidates who know their own business but don’t necessarily have a deep commercial understanding of their sector, the changes shaping it and therefore how their approach to people needs to adapt.

We’ve had some real successes moving candidates from one sector into a very different one. Recently we placed a HR candidate (let’s call her Rachel), whose experience was solely within the manufacturing sector into a senior HR role in a niche professional services business. The client was impressed with Rachel’s engaging style, her influence, tenacity and achievements. Despite competing with candidates with experience in this sector it was Rachel’s behaviour and approach made the difference.


So does sector matter?
So what can you take away from all this for your next HR hire?

Casting the net wide is the best way of finding great people – sectors are changing rapidly, with paraguay phone number resource some converging, many assumptions about certain sectors are no longer accurate. These are all good reasons to look at hiring people outside your sector.
Hires from a different sector can add new value. HR should be driving its service offering to the business, adding value and getting increasingly better at partnering. Consider the ideas, insights and constructive challenge a new hire from a different sector can bring.
Focus on the end result. If you’re looking to turn engagement around in your business then look for someone who has achieved that even if they’ve not worked in your sector before.

Behaviours trump sector experience
Time and time again, at Purple House we’ve seen that behaviours trump sector experience when it comes to successful HR hires.

Drive and motivation, commercialism, influencing, stakeholder management skills, pace, project management, adept navigation of the matrix - whatever the behaviours needed to succeed in your business you’ll expand your pool of candidates if you focus on these rather than the sector they’ve been working in.