Successful Hiring

In our over 20 years of business coaching with both small businesses and nonprofits one of the main issues is hiring. So often the manager or owner involved makes a bad hiring decision. As a business coach we hope to make the hiring decision one which produces excellent employees in the majority of cases. We recommend a hiring process with a number of steps that provides  improved results. Here is an outline of those steps.

The Job Specification

A Job Specification is a list of attributes and skills that are necessary in the performance of the position. This is not to be confused with a job description which is an outline of the role the candidate will play. They may include experience, skills, and personal attributes. This is a written specification for a candidate to be considered for the position.  If you are hiring a tradesman, must they have previous experience or training. If you are hiring a salesperson, must they have some proven record of selling? If you’re hiring an accountant or bookkeeper, must they have experience in using tools such as QuickBooks? This tool is important because you may be faced with dozens of resumes to sort through. This provides a benchmark for that sorting process

The Job Search

Dependent on the nature of the job there are several search methods which can be used. One of the traditional methods is to work with a search firm. These firms have experience and access to potential applicants in specific industries. For example, if you were looking to find a candidate in the petrochemical industry a search firm could be very helpful. Their compensation usually is a percentage of the first-year salary.

A second commonly used method is to use online tools. Websites such as ZipRecruiter, Ihire, Monster, and Indeed can be used to develop a list of potential candidates. At this point, the Job Specification is used to sort out those who do not meet your requirements. This can be a time-consuming process but since the Job Specification clearly describes those factors necessary for a candidate to be qualified, this task can be delegated to another person.

RLS Focused Solutions has often been contracted to help in the development of the Job Specification and an initial review of candidates to be considered.

The Interviewing Process

With this now reduced list of candidates interviewing can begin. As a first step, we suggest a short telephone conversation with the candidate is a means of assessing their interest in the position. Those who expressed an interest in the position could then be invited to your office for a more though interview.

It has been our experience that many of us do not have strong interviewing skills. We tend to want to talk about ourselves and the company and don’t provide ample opportunity for the candidate to discuss their background and their job experience. Let them talk. You will be surprised with what they will tell you. Ask them opened ended questions. An open-ended question is one that cannot be answered with either a yes or no. Here are examples of open-ended questions that you might consider:

• Tell me about a boss or mentor that you learned a great deal from. 
• Tell me about a boss who was difficult to work with
• Tell me about the environment in your previous job. What were some of the the things you liked and the things you disliked?

Once you begin to interview using these types of open-ended questions, I would expect that you will develop several more.

When playing golf and being on the putting green, a common practice is to visualize the putting line before putting the ball. This is accomplished by walking around the green and looking at the putting line from several directions. Is there a slope to the green? Is it an uphill putt? Is green fast or slow? This analogy can be applied to the interviewing process. Don’t be the sole interviewer. Ask someone else either within the organization or outside the organization to also interview the candidate. They may provide a different point of view and open up questions that you have not considered.

We also suggest that you consider an assessment for the final number of candidates. It is preferable to do the assessment prior to the final interview. The assessment provides insight which leads to meaningful conversations. We are affiliates of TTI Success Insights and have used their assessments extensively. A wide range of assessments are available and provide a better understanding of the candidate’s behavior, motivation, decision making, and emotional intelligence. Each assessment is debriefed with the candidate to assure the conclusions are accurate prior to presenting the results to management.

 Can We Help

The best human resource managers will admit that they have had bad hires. The process described above will not eliminate all bad hires but will increase the likelihood of making a good hire. We at RLS Focused Solutions can help in the development of the Job Specification, and the initial screening of candidates, participating in the interviewing process and providing assessments. Consider the cost of a bad hire. First there’s the cost of time to review candidates. Next there’s the time of training the new hire, which weeks or months later may prove to be unsuccessful. Be an incentive to organize your hiring process. We are available to help in that effort and discuss any questions that you may have. Contact us via e-mail at bob@plangoals.com and visit our website www.plangoals.com.

 

 

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