Managing Employees and HR

Tell Me About Yourself

SBOCTeam — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:29:00 GMT

Great interview questions that get to the heart of a job candidate's capabilities

By Reed Richardson

Be prepared
You would never run right from a conference call into a job interview if you were trying to get hired, so you shouldn't engage in the same, careless behavior if you're going to be the one doing the hiring. Instead, spend at least 15 to 30 minutes before an interview going over a job candidate's resume so you can prepare some intelligent questions specific to their background and experience. After all, if you're really interested in hiring this person, you don't want them walking away from the interview thinking that you and your company are so disorganized that they don't take hiring employees seriously. Dianna Podmoroff, author of 501+ Great Interview Questions for Employers, notes that she has seen many of the same small business owners who agonize for weeks over the purchase of a new server or whether or not to switch cell phone plans turn around and spend almost no time at all preparing to interview an employee they might end up paying $50,000 a year.

Set an agenda and follow through
To make the job interview run smoothly, stay within the applicant's time limits, and don't get sidetracked. Mary Massad, managing director of recruiting services at Administaff, says it's imperative to set an agenda at the start of an interview. Doing this builds rapport with candidates and immediately makes them more comfortable because they have more of an idea of what to expect, she explains. This, in turn, means a candidate's answers will be more relaxed and truthful. Massad counsels to take a personable, but professional approach to the interview. "You can make a little small talk," she says, "but then it's important to dive right in."

Match candidate to boss
Interviews conducted by the human resources department-if your small business is large or lucky enough to have one-should be thought of as screening interviews only, says John Kador, author of The Manager's Book of Questions: 1001 Great Interview Questions for Hiring the Best Person. In other words, HR can weed out questionable candidates early on, but they should rarely, if ever, be used to make a final hiring decision. That should only happen after the potential employee has had an in-depth interview with the actual supervisor or boss that he or she would be working with. "Any company that doesn't conduct job interviews with managers or supervisors is making a huge mistake," he explains. "That's the only real way to figure out if a candidate is a good fit."

Conversations, not clichés
"Use questions that prompt conversations," explains Kador. "Try to keep candidates off of the canned, formulaic quotes or answers." To do this, avoid using old-fashioned questions like "What is your greatest weakness?" or "What would your former boss say about you?" Instead, Kador recommends employers have the interviewees describe themselves using one-syllable words and then give a reason or example that supports that word. Or, Podmoroff suggests eliciting real-life situations from the interviewee's past and how he or she handled them. "The best indicator of future performance is past performance," she explains. "So rather than asking a job candidate about what they would do, ask them what they did do."

The devil really is in the details
To better make sense of a candidate's answers and get sufficient information to make a hiring decision, Administaff's Massad says it's a good idea to employ the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) or SHARE (Situation, Hindrance, Actions, Result, Evaluation) formats when taking notes. "What we get in many instances from candidates are great sounding answers, but, in fact, they are really vague about their specific role or the outcome," explains Massad. Consequently, she says it's important as an interviewer to set a goal of always getting as specific an answer as possible, so you can determine if that given example or referenced skill set would be transferable to your organization.

Look for job fit and culture fit
This is essential, notes Administaff's Massad. "Most companies use job openings as the beginning and end of their search," she says. But smarter companies also ensure that the decisions made when filling staff positions also adhere to a larger vision of what the business is all about. As a result, interviewers should not only be thinking about whether a particular job candidate can handle the job but whether or not he or she would be happy and satisfied while doing it. "You screen for aptitude," she says, "but interview for fit."

Let the interviewee ask some questions, too
A promising candidate should have things they are looking to find out, things that likely won't be found on your web site or in your corporate literature. Specific questions about the co-workers and supervisors related to the position or current and upcoming projects as well as broader, long-term growth inquiries are signs that a candidate has done their homework and is legitimately interested in joining your team, says Massad. By the same token, she says that interviewees that display a more self-centered focus and only ask questions about pay, benefits, and vacation time may be telling you just as much about themselves as their earlier answers.

Employer Interview Resources
-Sample job interview questions for employers
(humanresources.about.com/od/interviewing/a/one_stop.htm)
(http://www.career.vt.edu/JOBSEARC/interview/questions.htm)
-10 common job interviewer mistakes
(articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10881_11-6179941.html)

How Many Current Employees are in Your Departure Lounge?

SBOCTeam — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:19:00 GMT

By HRExpert

Nobody likes to talk about it, even though it is happening in workplaces all across America - employees who have decided it is time to fly the coop. Departure lounges are overflowing with these types of employees - all waiting for their final boarding call.

Employees rarely start a job thinking they will tour around the company for a while and then seek greener pastures, and yet it happens all the time. Here are five things you can do to prevent employees from taking flight:

Guard Your Exits

Are employees exiting as quickly as you are hiring them? If this is the case, there is a malfunction in your hiring system. Closely examine all the parts of your hiring process to determine which pieces must be fixed. For example, suppose turnover is particularly high during the first 90 days of service. Ask yourself the following:

Are we hiring the right types of people for these jobs? Yes, it is nice to hire Ivy League graduates, but are they really well suited for beverage sales?
Are we accurately representing our jobs to candidates? If your administrative job descriptions sound more like the CEO's job, then it is time for another re-write.
Are we over-promising and under-delivering? Perhaps it is time to get real. Sure, we would all like to operate like Google, but few companies actually do. Accurately describe your work environment and let candidates decide if the fit is right for them.

Now is a great time to dust off plans you may have designed for a formal exit interview process. Start asking exiting employees what you could have done differently to have prevented them from leaving. You will then have the information you need to make changes before others fly out the door.

Formally welcome everyone onboard

Imagine a place where employees are welcomed before they even set foot on company soil. This would be a place where employees feel connected before their first official day of work. Some might even start recruiting their current co-workers to join them on this new journey. Welcome to the world of Onboarding.

Onboarding is the one chance you will get to create a positive new employee experience. Just think how productive you might have been during your first few weeks or months of employment had your current or former employer taken the time to make you feel welcomed, valued, and prepared. Come to think of it, if they would have done this, you might still be working there.

You might be thinking that you don't have time to hold someone's hand or that all employees should have to suffer just like you did. Would you feel the same if you knew that with a little effort, you would have more time to focus on other initiatives besides replacing newly-hired employees?

Make checking-in easy

Could your check-in systems use some improvements? Do your employees have to stand in long lines just to have a conversation with their manager? Are employees fully aware of how well they are performing? Or is last year's performance review still on your desk waiting to be completed?

Checking-in is a two-way street. When it comes to performance, both employees and employers should know what the other is thinking. Provide feedback throughout the year so employees can adjust their performance, while seeking feedback from employees regarding ways you can improve the management of the company.

Drop the Excess Baggage

Nothing weighs a company down more than excess weight. Do you have marginal performers hiding out behind strong team members? Are employees still in your employ who have received their fifth final warning?

In this economy, you cannot afford to have anyone or anything slowing down the momentum in your organization. Look around and begin the process of eliminating excess baggage. You will be surprised how many top performers change their travel plans once they see you are committed to building an organization of outstanding employees.

Throw in some perks

The trend of slicing and dicing employee benefits seems to be quite popular during lean economic times. Many organizations have started to charge employees for items that used to be free. But is this really a way to retain the people who you will be asking to take on more responsibility during tough economic times?

Show your employees you care. Figure out what types of perks motivate your team and then start thanking them properly.

Make these changes now and you will not have to fret the next time you hear the phrase, "This is the final boarding call..."

Bio

Roberta Chinsky Matuson is the President of Human Resource Solutions (http://www.yourhrexperts.com) and has been helping companies align their people assets with their business goals. She is considered an expert in generational workforce issues. Roberta publishes a monthly newsletter "HR Matters" http://www.yourhrexperts.com/hrjoin.cgi which is jammed with resources, articles and tips to help companies navigate through sticky and complicated HR workforce issues. Click here to read her new blog on Generation Integration http://generationintegration.typepad.com/matuson/. She can be reached at 413-582-1840 or Roberta@yourhrexperts.com.

Campus Candidates

SBOCTeam — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:43:00 GMT

Hiring recent college grads makes great business sense. Plus, given the chance, they could even teach you a thing or two

By Max Berry

Despite what some recent figures from America's job market would have you believe, companies of all sizes are hiring new college graduates at a higher rate than in years past. A recent survey conducted by CollegeGrad.com found that 60% of American companies surveyed plan to recruit more grads in 2008 than they did last year. The reasons for the upswing are many, as are the potential benefits of hiring some new grads of your own.

Graduate Perks
"Small companies drive the engines of job creation," says David Bedard, author of Graduate and Grow Rich. "Up and coming companies need young grads." In sluggish economic times, this may be truer than ever. Recruiting and training a new graduate at an entry-level salary is much more effective for a small business owner on a tight budget than seeking out a more experienced prospect who is already used to higher pay. Factor in the number of baby boomers reaching retirement age-not to mention the salary space they leave behind-and hiring an energetic young grad begins to look like the smartest move of all.

"More than anything, grads are looking for a break and a mentor," says Bedard. And a mentorship should not be taken lightly, especially when a young employee, just beginning their career and eager to make an impression, is so amenable to the ideas and strategies of a mentor.

There are logistical benefits to hiring new graduates as well: They're more tech savvy than generations past; they haven't had time to put down roots and are more willing to relocate than someone with a family; many of them are in debt, and will be extra motivated to get themselves back in the black. Plus, after 18 years of the classroom, new graduates are anxious to apply all that hypothetical knowledge to a real-world job-and they have the energy to do it.

The New American ‘Intrepreneur'
For all that new grads have to offer, an employer needs to offer just as much in return. "There is no such thing as a cradle-to-grave job anymore," says Bedard. "If [new grads] have any entrepreneurial spirit at all, they're going to want to test the waters."

This entrepreneurial desire to "test the waters" may have helped propagate the myth that Generation Y is a flighty bunch; pampered, demanding, ready to give their two weeks at the faintest whiff of a better offer. While Bedard concedes that the reputation may be earned in isolated cases, more than anything these children of the entrepreneurial age are, as Bedard puts it, "looking for the fit," the job that will satisfy their independent, hands-on ambitions.

When it comes to courting America's brightest graduates, the ability to offer them that may be the key advantage an independent entrepreneur has on a major corporation. A national or multi-national corporatioin is regimented in a way that may not appeal to this generation, one that subscribes to what Bedard has dubbed the "make-a-job instead of take-a-job mentality."

A small company can't offer a new graduate the signing bonus or inflated salary that a large company can. What it offers instead for a young person, hungry to find their fit and test their skills, is a stake in the future of a company, be it through stocks, profit sharing, or simply a more tactile handle on day-to-day operations. According to Bedard, a small company offers a twenty-something the chance to "be an entrepreneur within a job, to feed their desire to make decisions on the front line." Employees who look for the chance to do just that are what Bedard likes to call "intrepreneurs."

Small companies are also more likely to offer their employees flexible hours, providing for a better work-life balance, which, according to a recent CollegeGrad.com survey, now surpasses financial considerations for employees aged 21 to 30.

A Turning Tide
"More graduates are going for newer and younger companies rather than blue chips," says Bedard. He's right. Another CollegeGrad.com poll, conducted in February 2006, found that 70% of recent graduates surveyed would prefer to work for a small or mid-sized company than a large one. This may be due to growing suspicions-after years of corporate reorganization, downsizing, and, in the worst cases, outright scandal-about the scruples of many large corporations. "I see more emphasis in college and business school on ethics," says Bedard. "Ethics is a buzz word on campus and that's a good thing."

But as America's graduates begin to think outside the box as to where, and with whom, their first jobs can be found, America's entrepreneurs should keep their minds just as open. Don't rule anybody out too soon. Bedard recommends looking to smaller schools-those prowled less frequently by major corporations looking to make hires-and community colleges. "Community colleges are way ahead of four year schools when it comes to teaching entrepreneurship," he says. "They make it a part of their culture."

The benefits of making Generation Y a part of yours could be substantial.

Be Sure Whom You Hire

SBOCTeam — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 17:16:00 GMT

Big Business has long relied on personality tests and behavioral interviewing to find the right employees. Now small businesses are making use of these administrative power tools.
By Reed Richardson

Here's the unhappy truth: There is no surefire way to hire a perfect employee. No matter how thorough you are ... no matter how many references you check ... no matter which personality tests you administer, you still never know precisely what you're getting until the person waltzes into the office and begins working.

That said, it is possible for small businesses these days to get a pretty good sense of who's being hired-and whether that person is likely to be a good fit-using some of the same tools and techniques that have long been used by major corporations. This will require investing a little extra time and effort. But most small-business owners feel that the results are worth the investment-and some even consider the additional steps a mandatory part of the hiring process.

"If you're a small business, making a poor choice is much more devastating than with a big company," says Francie Dalton, founder and president of Dalton Alliances Inc., a business consulting firm in Columbia, Md.

To help business owners avoid such land mines, many companies provide diagnostic and personality tests that assess a candidate's "personal style"and, theoretically, his or her ability to blend in with the company culture. Typically, these tests focus on integrity, aptitude and personality-and are based on benchmarks that can help establish which personalities are suited for which jobs. For instance, you likely don't want a reserved person who's a stickler for standard practices in a freewheeling sales job.

Tons of testing choices are available to assist in the recruitment process. Business owners can administer written questionnaires that they can mail or fax back to the testing company for results. An increasing number of online testing and scoring services as well as software packages let owners score results on their own.

For instance, Hire Success (www.hiresuccess.com) provides free software that enables users to administer tests themselves, and features an online option that sends the applicant's answers to the employer's e-mail account almost instantly. Inscape Publishing (www.inscapepublishing.com) offers CD-ROM-based training and assessment kits. Wonderlic Inc. (www.wonderlic.com) and Birkman International Inc. (www.birkman.com) provide tools and consultants to help companies achieve personnel effectiveness.

Prices for these services vary, but most are affordable to small businesses-especially considering that the price tag for a bad hire ranges from an estimated $8,000 to $10,000. Wonderlic, for instance, offers a package of five "comprehensive personality profiles"for $125. Hire Success customers pay between $10 and $30 per report, and some in-depth tests can run as much as $500 each.

And some testing companies are now tailoring their products especially for small business. PI Worldwide (www.pi worldwide.com), for instance, offers a scaled-down version of its famed Predictive Index (PI) for small business. "This test is valuable because it does more than measure qualifications,"says Dennis LaRosee, senior vice president of PI Worldwide in Wellesley Hills, Mass., which publishes, administers and scores the test, and also offers consulting and training. "It assesses fit in relation to a job position and a corporate culture. The more a new hire is in sync with his workplace, and the more a position meshes with his innate personality traits, the happier and more productive he'll be-and the longer he'll stay."

When Dave Ratner, owner of Dave's Soda & Pet City, a (you guessed it) soda and pet shop with four locations in western Massachusetts, is looking to hire employees to work in his shops, he uses another small-business-oriented testing product, the National Retail Federation Customer Service Assessment, which goes for about $20 at www.nrf.com.
"The NRF test is great for customer service and customer ‘attitude' skills in general,"he says. "And it asks some hilarious questions like, ‘If a customer is annoying, should you yell at them?' You'd think they're pretty obvious answers, but it's amazing what some people say."Bonus: You can score the test yourself-or have NRF score it for you.

But you can't rely on diagnostic tests alone. "There are pros and cons to using personality tests or emotional IQ testing,"says Smooch Reynolds, CEO of the Repovich Reynolds Group, a recruitment firm in Pasadena, Calif. "A lot of people consider diagnostic tests to be the defining factor for whether or not they should hire someone-and there's real risk in that. People should use them as just one of several lenses through which they analyze a candidate."

According to Ben Dattner, Ph.D., a business consultant and adjunct professor in the Industrial and Organizational Psychology M.A. Program at New York University, one of the biggest problems many startups and small companies face is that they don't have standardized systems or human resource departments in place.

"Consequently, they use superficial criteria to hire people, such as how they look or how they come across in an interview,"he says. "Basically, they are looking for a certain stereotype that has been successful in similar roles. Not stereotypes based on gender or other demographics, but more on the order of a person who went to a certain school or has a certain professional background."

So, before you do anything, start with a clearly defined job description. "It doesn't have to be etched in stone. But until members of the organization reach a consensus about the tasks, responsibilities and level of authority for the position, it's not even worth placing a job ad,"he says.

Truth or Dare?

Background checks are equally vital. Recent studies have shown that 34 percent of résumés and 73 percent of job applications contain false or embellished information-even at the highest professional levels. To counter this trend, Gerard Major, Ph.D., an organizational psychologist in Manhattan, suggests that employers get at least nine references. Yes, nine.

It's also important to get work samples. "The best predictor of future performance and behavior is past performance and behavior,"says Dattner. "If you want them to write business plans for you, have them submit one they did in the past. Or get them to write a new one."

You also should have other people interview the candidate-ideally, those who know your value system. And make sure all interviewers prep for the big face-to-face meeting. "Too many employers interview candidates without first compiling a list of questions,"says Marc Savage, who runs Cohn Executive Search in Manhattan. "Begin the interview by giving an historical outline of the company, then get into the specifics of the position and why it is currently available,"he says. "While the candidate responds to your questions, take copious notes. Observe the candidate's demeanor. Discern how well he or she knows your business. Note details like, did the candidate do research, take notes and ask relevant questions?"

Francie Dalton suggests conducting "behavioral interviews"-that is, not just asking standard questions but framing them in a way that seeks clearly defined examples. "If I ask whether you are someone who takes initiative and you say yes, what good does that do me?"says Dalton, who suggests asking applicants to describe specific scenarios when they took initiative and succeeded-and at least one example of when they failed. "If a person is only comfortable talking about successful outcomes,"she says, "that can be significant."

When inviting serious candidates back, Savage recommends doing second interviews in a different venue and including lunch. "This allows for a more relaxed encounter where the candidate is more likely to reveal himself or herself,"he says.

Finally, don't overlook intuition. If you get a feeling about a person one way or another, pay attention to it. "I can't tell you how many times my gut has said something is wrong, and I say, ‘Oh, forget it,'"says Dalton. "And then I really regret it."

Reed Richardson is managing editor for Business 24/7 magazine.