"Our People Are Our Greatest Asset"

This phrase is everywhere. On institutional websites, management reports, pitch presentations. From Fortune 500 companies to the shop around the corner, everyone repeats the same mantra: "Our people are our greatest asset."

But is it true? Or better yet: do we act as if it were?

This week, a client told us they "don't have time to keep talking to candidates." The phrase wasn't said with bad intent. But it reveals a pattern that's more common than it seems.

There are many companies that spend more time negotiating the coffee supplier than choosing the next team manager. That say they value people, but don't give feedback even to finalists.

Time will tell the truth

According to Gallup, only 12% of employees believe their companies make good hires. And Leadership IQ showed that 46% of new hires fail within 18 months.

This is not due to a lack of technique, but to failures of attitude, alignment, or behavior. Things that only surface with a little time and attention.

At Catena, we believe that what can be outsourced, should be outsourced: searching, selecting, pre-screening, and pre-interviewing candidates is outsourceable.

But no talent reveals itself in a PDF or a spreadsheet. The magic happens in the conversation. And if you're not dedicating time to that, maybe the problem isn't in recruitment.

Maybe it's a matter of consistency. Or priority alignment.