The phrase “best practice” is tossed around all the time,
especially in human resources and recruiting. What does it really mean though?
A company begins to call a procedure a “best practice” after
it is proven to provide results. Companies love hearing about “best practices,”
sharing theirs with others, and learning new “best practices” from others. When
just thinking about it on the surface, that makes a lot of sense. However, if
the surface of the idea is scraped just a tiny bit, the idea begins to fall
apart.
If there is one thing that is constant in the world it is
change. Change is necessary for progress and progress is vital to continual
success. If these ideas are held true, then the idea of “best practices” is
almost a laughable one. How can one expect to change and progress while using
the same procedures over and over again?
The other vital piece to consider is that all businesses and
people are different. What works best for one may be a catastrophic failure to
another. Learning from others is a great practice and can lead to miraculous
innovation, but only if done while still considering differences.
All of this is not to say that you should throw all
procedures and practices out the window. Some consistency and much organization
are both also key factors of success. However, it is important to regularly
examine everything being done to insure no updates or improvements can be made.
Contact Connor | Caitlin to talk about “best practices” and
continuous improvement by emailing info@connorcaitlin.com
