Six strategies to hire right the first time

Drake Editorial Team

When Rob extended the offer to Kyle, he was sure he had hired the best candidate for the position.  Rob had checked all of Kyle’s references and previous employment records, and based on this information along with his interviewing skills, Rob knew Kyle had the skills necessary to do the job. After all, Kyle had nearly four years of experience with another company performing many of the same duties.

About two months after Kyle started, Rob noticed that Kyle was not performing as he’d expected, and was actually performing at subpar levels.  To top things off, he was showing up late to work.  While Rob had gone through the interview process designed by his company, taking all the precautions did not seem to help, and somehow he ended up with a hire who was not the man he interviewed.

This situation is a common problem all businesses must deal with.  All too often the interview goes well and the candidate has the skill set and possesses the knowledge to perform the duties.  You check the references and previous job history and all checks out just fine – what seems to be the problem?  Remember, some people are just great interviewers.

While hiring a new team member can be a shot in the dark, it doesn’t have to be.  By following a few simple strategies you can avoid hiring the wrong person.

1. Use an up-to-date (and accurate) job description: So many organizations take this for granted, even though it is the foundation to the hiring process. A job description should reflect what the employee is to do on a regular basis, not on a daily basis.  In addition, a job description is not how the employee will be evaluated; rather it should define what his or her duties are.

2. Define a minimum skill set requirement: The key here is a minimum skill set requirement, not all of the skills necessary to do the job. If a candidate has all of the skills you run the risk of having them burn out more quickly, thus increasing your turnover rate. Think about it this way – if you worked in the medical profession and the position required an RN certification, would you hire someone with an LPN certification?

A good tool to help with this is a skill set test, which will make sure the candidate has the skills necessary.  This way when your candidate claims to be proficient in a software program, you can measure their skills. It’s important to have several of your current employees take the same test prior to interviews so you have a baseline to measure your candidates against.

3. Have members of the team assist in the interview: Chances are you won’t be the only person working with the new hire, so get a couple of senior team members to conduct a short interview to make sure the new hire will fit in. As an added benefit, having team members involved allows them to be part of the process and remain invested in their growth as well as the development of the company.

Have everyone involved in the interview process ask one or two of the exact same questions.  This accomplishes two significant factors:

• Shows consistency in the responses and the candidate’s message
• Shows the candidate’s frustration level – If the prospective employee gets annoyed the third time the question is asked, you need to ask yourself – Do you want that person on your team?

4.  Ask probing questions: Think back to the basics of communication – the person who is asking the questions is the person in control of the conversation.  If you have several preset open-ended questions to ask all of the candidates, you will get a better understanding of each candidate from a comparative point of view.

Questions should evoke emotion when possible.  This will allow you to see how the candidate reacts in stressful and even ethical situations.  There are several good books strictly written about interview questions; take time and search these out.  Find the questions that fit your industry or business.  Remember, not all questions will fit your business so find ones that best suit your needs.

5. Do a background check: A background check includes checking the references and in many cases, utilizing an outside company to perform the complete background check.  Look at this example: Deborah appeared to be a great candidate, yet when the complete background check came back, it uncovered that Deborah did not graduate from the college she stated on her resume.  In fact she never graduated from college.  While the position did not require a college degree, the fact that she lied on her resume was enough to rescind the offer.
6. Hire on attitude: This seems like common sense (and it really is) but so many employers think that the skills are the most important thing. However, the top reason employees leave an organization is conflict with a team member or supervisor, so attitude is very important.  If you say your employees are your most important assets, prove it, and make sure the person you offer the job to has the right attitude – also known as team chemistry.

The bottom line is this. The skill of a person drives the will of a person. A person who has all of the skills but lacks the will to push and perform at peak levels is just not the right fit. You can always teach new skills, but the will – well, they either have it or they don’t. You make the call.

Gregg Gregory, CSP, of Teams Rock, works with organizations to create a culture of teamwork and collaboration.  His interactive workshops and consulting helps clients achieve greater productivity, team morale and a positive organizational culture. His experience includes more than two decades of human resources, real estate, mortgage banking, as well as radio and television broadcasting. To learn more, please contact Gregg in the US via his web site www.TeamsRock.com.