In this competitive and litigious marketplace, small details in human resources can make or break a company.
Even though an organization’s performance matters, many managers unfortunately take shortcuts in the hiring process.
The reasons range from being too busy for due diligence in screening resumes to inability to take sober looks at applicants in the interview process.
This can drastically affect businesses’ cultures such as leading to lack of teamwork, inattention to details or poor customer service. Ultimately, profits are adversely affected.
All positions in the organizational chart, including receptionists, are important.
For instance, if a furniture retailer hires the first person to walk in the door to work in the warehouse, the wrong employee will hurt customer service and sales – either in the slow delivery of products or the delivery of wrong products.
Managers need to avoid five deadly sins:
Inadequate checking of references
True, in our litigious environment, businesspeople are increasingly reluctant to answer questions and to give accurate information.
But a skilled boss knows how to call the applicants’ former bosses and references about specific matters to ask open-ended questions, not close-ended questions. In this way, they get better answers.
Moreover, the questions should correspond to an HR tool: A reference-verification form.
The form asks the applicants questions such as how they believe their former companies will evaluate them in precise matters.
In this way, the bosses can compare the applicants’ answers to the answers of the former employers.
Complacency about honesty
Many bosses are too complacent about honesty and attitudes. The right applicants are people who want to do a job well. Don’t settle for just anybody who can do the job.
Astute bosses won’t focus on trying to catch applicants in lies. They have a process to help them determine that will prompt applicants to tell the truth.
Assuming applicants who interview the best will perform the best
Not true. Consider this fact: Applicants, who are mesmerizing in their interview answers, typically have the most experience in answering questions.
They’ve had lots of coaching and practice in smiling and answering obvious questions.
Case study:
As a business-performance consultant with a home office, I’ve had to be very careful in hiring personal assistants. I asked people I trusted for referrals. Once, I asked for a referral from the owner of my dry cleaners, who had been doing an outstanding job on my apparel.
She recommended a retired Air Force mechanic to me. But on the surface, there were some reasons for me not to hire the person. She appeared to be very shy with no bookkeeping experience.
But I saw something special in her. She was due diligent in showing up for the interview, asked good questions and asked her husband to interview me as the employer. Upon getting his blessing, she accepted the job.
Not only did she prove to be honest, accurate and extraordinarily dedicated in managing my receivables and payables, she did a stellar job in other unrelated tasks for three years.
She literally saved me a lot of time and money by performing at a high level. Years later, I’m told she launched her own business based on her experience in working at my firm. That’s a very proud memory for me.
The moral: Always keep an open mind to consider all factors.
Failure to place a high value on each position
If you hold your applicants to highest-realistic standards, you’ll benefit from their performances.
On the other hand, if you don’t place a high value on positions – at all levels – the employees will get the impression they don’t matter.
You should want people who want to perform well at the best company.
Overconfidence in hiring
If your instinct about an applicant is positive, look for every possible reason to disqualify the person. Don’t ever make a snap judgment in hiring. Make absolutely certain the person is right for the job.
On the other hand, if your instinct is not to hire an applicant, don’t. Always keep in mind this adage, “When in doubt, don’t.”
From the Coach’s Corner, here are related resources:
Hiring An Impact Person Starts with Screening Resumes — 5 Tips — If you want to hire an impact person, your hiring process is really important. The place to start is using best practices in screening resumes.
Risk Management in Hiring: Pre-Employment Screening Tips — Here are two questions about hiring: 1) what’s the biggest mistake companies make in hiring employees; and 2) what’s the biggest legal obstacle employers face in hiring? Here’s what to do about background screening.
Hiring a Personal Assistant? Hire for 8 Qualities — The right choice of a personal assistant can make a huge difference in your operation. Basically, you need someone who can manage you – represent you well in a variety of tasks – an assistant who can make you look good.
Increase Profits by Hiring Talent with the Best Trait — You’ll increase your odds for profits with high-performing employees with the right culture — if you hire for the right personality trait – enthusiastic people. That’s right. Look for people who have the makeup to being committed and who will care for the welfare of your company. You’ll increase your chances for the strongest results.
Hiring? 4 Pointers on Negotiating Wages with Applicants — Some employers have had difficulty in successfully extending job offers to applicants, especially Millennial professionals. Here’s what to do.
“If hard work is the key to success, most people would rather pick the lock.”
-Claude McDonald
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