Looking to hire the best? Go for character.

If your job includes hiring new employees, think about who was your most memorable hire and why?

Dr. Ronda Credille, assistant professor of business administration at Southwest Baptist University MO, interviewed eight seasoned business faculty members at private post-secondary schools for her doctoral dissertation in administration, curriculum and instruction at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. She was "astounded" to learn that six of the eight chose women as their most memorable hires.

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Presenting at the 17th Annual Women in Educational Leadership Conference in Lincoln NE in October, Credille discussed her first research subject, Professor Alice Arnold of Alpha University (pseudonyms) in the Midwest.

Hiring 'Annette'

For a whole year after Professor Arnold was promoted to director of a satellite campus of Alpha University, she kept her old job as division chair on the main campus. Then she hired "Annette" as her replacement. Referred by Professor Arnold's predecessor, Annette connected immediately on a professional and collegial basis, said Credille. "Professor Arnold compared their initial introduction to visiting with a 'long, lost friend.'"

In her new role as division chair, Annette faced serious challenges because of the strained culture in the division. "She immediately went into a war zone," said Credille.