Finding staff is one of the most troublesome challenges in business. In my experience, there are consistent issues that make hiring harder than it needs to be. Record low unemployment is not one of them.
Over the years I see the same four errors being played out repeatedly regardless of industry segment. Here’s how owners, managers and HR departments get in their own way and miss the opportunity to get great staff. Read on to find ways to solve these errors and likely ease some of your headaches on this topic!
Error 1: Waiting until the last minute to interview.
Schedule Interviews on a regular basis instead of waiting until a staff member offers notice or just quits. Waiting to interview until someone gives notice sets up what I call, “hiring a pulse.”
Ongoing scheduled interviews accomplishes two goals: 1. Effective interviews build interviewing skills. 2. When an A+ player does show up, hire them and raise the performance bar of your team. There’s a big opportunity here to keep interviewing.
Remember that Culture = Brand™! Do not settle for someone that doesn’t fit your culture. Your brand experience will suffer. Keep interviewing until you find the right person. This is likely to be one (1) person out of twenty (20), not one (1) out of five (5). Regularly scheduled interviews set up success.
Error 2: Signage that just says, “Now hiring”
Tell a story with your job posting. Lose the “now hiring” signs and post something akin to “We’re always hiring folks that love “food” (e.g., helping people, troubleshooting, being part of a great team, etc.)” With Craig’s list, Indeed, or any other posting platform, tell a story about the way your culture feels and the outcomes the person in this position achieves! Create a story line for each position in your company regardless of department or level of hierarchy!
Error 3: Interviewing from a list of questions
Most interviewers ask questions from a check list. Question answered, move on. Skilled applicants go through this rote with the interviewer as bored as the applicant. Unskilled applicants get off the hook easily. Instead, go deeper. Ask the real question.
A commonly asked question is, “What do you see yourself doing in 5 years?” Applicant responds… an example of the real question is, “Of all the things you could do, why that?”
One of my favorite interview queries is this, “Define Common Sense.” The follow up question is: “On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being “all the time”, based on your definition, how would you rate yourself using/having common sense?”
Another opportunity often lost is this: when someone mentions a school you went to, mentions a place you know well, or shares a passion that you share, typically the interviewer gives away critical information, “oh, I’ve been there”; “I play guitar too”; etc. Instead, hold back your information and go deeper with questions about the applicant’s experience. If the applicant is misleading you here, they’re likely mis-speaking about other parts of their interview. Pay attention.
Error 4: Keep Talking; Just Talking
Two opportunities here:
- All too often the candidate is just allowed to ramble on with answers. Once you’ve made a decision (e.g., no; move to a second interview; yes to a hire) stop the interview by thanking the candidate for their time and information shared. Do not feel obligated to keep going just because of some artificial deadline.
- In addition to dialogue and asking questions, set up work exercises (not roll plays) with as little explanation as possible. Let the exercise show the applicant’s skill set relevant to what they’ve said or not. Whether they do well in the exercises or not, the interviewing team gains immediate information that verifies or negates what’s been heard from the candidate.
Exercises can be as simple as greeting a guest, selling a random item, adding a list of numbers (with a pre-determined total), carrying a tray, etc. Have two or three exercises ready for each position you interview; have props ready in advance of the interview so there is easy flow from a question to an exercise.
Take advantage of these recommendations to make hiring easier and more effective. This is just the tip of the iceberg with hiring. Let me know how it goes!
And, there’s more information coming in Rudy’s new book, soon to be released, From Purpose to Profit! Be in touch with Rudy at: rudy@miick.com
