Maybe an introduction?

Hello, my name is Jason Mannix, I’m a HR Director of The Brighton Pier Group plc and my own consultancy Mannix HR, I’ve been practising HR for some 30 years and I’ve met a huge number of people in that time!

I see this blog as my reflections on HR and how people interact. I guess that interest grew during my law degree, when I specialised in Employment and Contract Law. On my many trips on the London underground I practice my hobby, if that’s the right word, of reading body language. I also have a very active imagination, honed from years of creating exciting adventures with my Star Wars figures when I was young, so I combine the two

Many years ago there was a short TV series called The Last Train. Passengers in a tube carriage suddenly wake up decades in the future to find a massive calamity has hit the Earth and they must survive as a group.

So that’s what I do as I head to my destination – I look at the people in the carriage and imagine all the people are stranded with me and we need to work together to survive! So then I settle down to reading people and imagining their roles; who has the bearing of the leader, who would be the creatives, the manual builders, the shifty trouble makers out for themselves, and who would I bond with, being northern I’m a bit of a pack animal so who would be in my little huddle and gradually I build up the picture, until they gradually, or I, get off.

My role selection is based on how they interact with others. Are they immersed in the phone, alert and looking round, smart or casual? What does their body language say? In short, I make assumptions. Harmless fun! These people aren’t impacted by my selection of imaginary roles for them. However in the real world this happens a lot and can then impact on the individual concerned. It’s called the Horns and Halo effect (“the name given to the phenomenon whereby evaluators tend to be influenced by their previous judgments of performance or personality.” The Dictionary of Nursing and Research 4 th ) and it happens a great deal in the recruitment process.

We’ve all had those interviews; someone walks in, and you think ‘no, not a good fit’, or ‘yes this is going to go well’. You give the role to the second person. Then they don’t work out! How come – they were so good at the interview! Well, some people are naturally good at interviews and social situations, and you judged them positively without a solid foundation. They seemed to instinctively know what to say and how to relate to their interviewer. It’s called ingratiation, but it’s an interview skill only and doesn’t mean they are the best candidate for the job.

What of the candidate that fell at the negative judgment hurdle? They are hired by a business that finds what an excellent, dedicated, and skilled team member they are. So what’s the lesson?

Don’t judge! Sounds simple but it’s instinctive, so accept you’ve made a view on someone, then actively shape the interview or your general questions to give them an opportunity to turn your view around. It’s simple, it’s effective and it’s fair.

In short you should never judge a book by its cover and people even less so.