**Note: This is a guest post from a frequent (and quite witty)visitor here at The Sales Lion, Leon Noone. Leon, as you may be able to tell from his writing, is from the ‘Down Unda’ as we say here in the states: Australia. Leon is one cool dude and has been consulting with businesses before I was bringing food to 5th grade in my He-Man lunch box. Make sure you check out Leon’s website for more straight-forward business talk.
Small Biz Staff Selection
OK! I’ll nail my colours to the mast right now. The purpose of your staff selection and hiring process is not to choose a person. It’s to get a job done. And if that’s not heresy enough for you, try this. You cannot tell what people can do merely by talking with them.
In fact, the only valid way to know is by seeing how well the new employee is doing the job you employed them to do. If the job is being done well your selection has been successful. If the job isn’t being done well, then time to move on. Incidentally, if the new employee isn’t “working out” as they say, don’t blame the new employee. Your selection system has failed.
The First Thing To Do
This is also the most important thing: Specify the goals of the job. State clearly, verbally and on paper, how you’ll know that the job’s being done well. I like to call this the “trained seal question”. If a trained seal was doing this job perfectly, how would you know?
If you do nothing else differently the next time you recruit a new employee, do this. It will make a huge difference to the success of the selection process.
The Net Profit Reality and Getting it Right the First Time
If you’re serious about selecting good staff, remember this. Selection’s an expensive business. However you do it, the two major costs are your time and the time it takes for the new employee to achieve the job goals. That money is simply net profit foregone. What if you have to “let the new person go” and repeat the process? That’s more money from your bottom line. On this basis alone, you should take great care to “get it right first time”.
The Essential Element
You must try to establish whether applicants can do what they say they can do. Most applicants are relatively honest. But they are trying to impress you. The best way to check whether an applicant can do something is simple: Get them to do it. This is legitimate. They want a job with you. You are perfectly entitled to check their skill and competence by asking them to demonstrate it, preferably under working conditions. You are the buyer. Behave like one.
Never, Ever Ask For Written Applications
This is another simple, verifiable reality. Written applications ruin successful staff selection. Think about it. You ask for written applications of one sort or another. It takes a lot of time to go through them. You decide to interview certain applicants because they wrote – or someone wrote for them – a good application. You’re selecting candidates for interview on the basis of how well they – or someone else – wrote a job application that appeals to you. Doesn’t make sense. And the big danger is that the best resume writer will get the job especially if their “interview performance” matches the quality of their written application. And you’ll still have no proof of competence. Unless you’re looking for good resume writers and interview performers, this is no way to choose a new employee.
Purpose of Selection Interview
By now, I’ve probably alienated, if not upset, some of you. But I’ve been involved in staff selection in one way or another for over 40 years. I’ve written books, training programs, self instruction manuals, CDs and lots of articles about it. I haven’t formed my opinions in a mad rush of conceited self indulgence or theoretical fervour.
A Simple System
Try this:
- Write out your job goals
- Work out the sort of background, experience and qualifications you’re looking for to meet those goals
- Write a script asking questions to work out whether candidates meet your requirements
- Place an ad or do whatever you do to attract applicants
- Ask applicants to telephone you direct
- Conduct a telephone interview based on your question script
- Reject anyone who doesn’t meet your standards
- Choose no more than 3 of the “best” applicants – those who seem to be able to do what you want
- Arrange to test those people to see what they can actually do; not say they can do
- Identify those candidates who demonstrate the most competence
- Interview those people face to face to clarify any queries and decide whether they’ll “fit”.
Conclusion
Selecting staff successfully is an expensive and challenging exercise. It demands a sound performance based system. Most managers don’t get enough experience at it. They simply don’t develop the necessary skills. Many managers overestimate their selection skills because they believe that they’re a “good interviewer”. Please don’t take that personally. If interviewing was the key to successful staff selection, I’d be out of a job tomorrow.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
There is a reason you can find hundreds of job boards, dozens of headhunters and lots of people dying to help you recruit.
It is hard!
It is the hardest part of building a business, finding the right people for the right job takes time, effort and a working knowledge of the process.
Usually we say; “You don’t know recruitment until you have hired 1000 people (and fired)”
Most small businesses don’t have the luxury of practising on 1000 people, they have to get it right at once.
A good move to make is to either ask for help (a headhunter) or find a mentor that has hired the same type of people as you are looking for and that can give you pointers.
One thing you have to remember is, you will make mistakes.
Just make sure to learn from them.
.-= Daniel M. Wood´s last blog ..The 5 Easy Steps of Cold Calling =-.