Be Ready to Hire Your Next “Best” Employee
HR4Hire Blog January 2010
2009 was the year that was. 2010 is a year of possibilities and one of them is the potential need to hire someone. While your need may not be immediate, the good news is that you now have time to consider the factors and processes involved to ensure you’re hiring right and have the best job-person fit.
Hiring a successful person can be a lot like looking for a lost contact lens – you may know what you’re looking for, but you often can’t see clearly enough to find it! The more care taken in the selection process, the greater the chance of hiring right the first time. This results in reduced cost, savings in time, money and training, and gains in morale and productivity, making it worth the effort expended. The difficulty in getting detailed performance information on reference checks because of potential litigation makes careful selection even more critical. Effective planning of the interview process allows for thorough assessment of applicants’ capabilities and their match with position requirements that fit with organizational structure and goals and provides the best protection against inappropriate hires.
The following are suggestions to enhance success in the selection process.
A good place to start is to ensure that a job description with defined tasks and stated qualifications is in place. Make sure the Job Description is accurate and current - review it carefully. The Essential Functions of the Job and the Essential Job Requirements define what a prospective employee must have to effectively perform the job and contribute to the Company.
Remember not to compromise on the “essentials” – most poor hiring decisions are made as a result of overlooking an essential requirement and/or being influenced by the presence of a desirable, but not essential “add-on” qualification.
Consider not only your own view of the job but also the input of Supervisors and/or current or past position holders. It does happen that two people with the same position description have widely diverging opinions on what their job is and what their contributions should be. This is also a great opportunity to dialogue with employees in a very non-confrontational manner to find out how they perceive their role in the company.
Before posting or advertising the job, consider the best resources to broadcast your opening. Today the Internet has replaced, to a large degree, previous methods. It is important to determine what site would yield the best candidates and the least unqualified applicants. It is, however, critical that your posting delineates the necessary qualifications in terms of skills, previous experience and schooling. Otherwise, it’s very possible that you may wind up reading 200 resumes to find one qualified applicant.
It is advisable to have one person coordinate the effort and equally as important to determine, before posting, who will be involved in the actual interviewing process, what their role will be and what are the steps in the process. For example, it does happen that the person doing the pre-screening is not the initial interviewer and their viewpoints diverge, resulting in frustration and lost time. In specific instances, advertising in a trade journal or industry magazine or forum may be the best place to post an opening. There is one built-in resource that is sometimes overlooked – your own employees. It’s a very cost-effective method, especially if a bonus for employee referrals is available.
Planning the Interview
Be certain you have a clear understanding of the job for which you will be conducting the interview.
- Distinguish between those requirements that are technical in nature and behavioral in nature, i.e. able to perform chemical analysis is technical, while behavioral requirements refer to how a person needs to act to fulfill a given responsibility, such as self-motivated, well-organized, attentive to detail. It is easier to determine whether an applicant is technically qualified. When assessing behavioral requirements be aware of your potential biases.
- Prepare a set of job-related questions to ask. If possible, include actual situation-based questions which will elicit responses as to the way an applicant will react to or handle a given set of circumstances.
- Prepare a Written Job Questionnaire, which should be given to the applicant prior to the interview. These questions provide information on the applicants’ writing, English, and information organizational abilities, as well as insight on what they consider important in a job and provide an additional source for meaningful interview dialogue.
- Be certain to set aside times in advance when interviews can be scheduled so you are prepared to set a definite appointment with the candidates. Coordination of the interview schedule, if the candidate will be meeting with more than one person, is crucial.
- Be sure you have a Job Application form, Reference Release, and any documents related to Applicant Background Checks that are legal and necessary to candidate evaluation. Take note that a number of federal and state laws prohibit discrimination in employment and even information obtained inadvertently about the applicant’s background which is not legal can result in litigation.
This blog was devoted to planning the interview. Subsequent blogs will cover resume/application review, conducting the interview, what to ask and what not to, candidate evaluation, salary negotiation and employment offers.
HR4Hire can act as your recruiting function or assist you with any aspect of the hiring process. If you don’t have a written Job Description for the opening, see our earlier blog about how to create one or contact us to assist you in writing one. We can also tailor-make an Application and Written Job Questionnaire that will result in only qualified applicants for in-person interviews. Some of our most satisfied clients have been companies with less than 20 people who benefitted from our “outsider perspective.”
Our “Hiring Right the First Time” presentation, which can be found here on our website, may be of benefit to your company or organizations of which you are affiliated with. Please call us to set up an in-person briefing on this critical area at 415-437-6755 or 707-935-3333 or email us at info@hr4hire.com.
Cordially,
Gae Shulman, President
HR4Hire
HR Intelligence Check:
When can you ask a potential employee if they have ever been convicted of a crime? How does the question need to be phrased and are there any caveats?
Answer to be given in next month’s blog!
Answer to previous blog’s HR Intelligence Check:
The correct answer was: D) 25 cents in 1938; $7.25 Federal; $8.00 State as of July 24, 2009
If you’d like to see the question this answered, please click here to read How to Make a Performance Evaluation a Win-Win Situation
