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Hiring Employees
- It's Not Just Luck
By Terri Robinson
This is basic
information concerning the importance of planning and knowing what
kind of employee you need before beginning the recruitment process.
You will learn how to conduct a simple job analysis, establish minimum
requirements, screen candidate resumes and about the importance
of using tests, structured interviews and reference checks.
Qualifications
What kind of
experience and education should be required? The answer to this
question is important because it forms the basis of recruitment
and signals to employees what they must do to prepare for promotion.
It is essential
to have a list of duties or work to ACTUALLY be performed and to
define the level of responsibility related to each task or duty.
Of course, the selection of duties should be fine-tuned to the future
needs of the organization as seen in the organization's strategic
plan. However, unless these future needs are clearly defined and
specific it is best to remain with actual duties being performed.
Make sure to include decisions made by the person in the course
of their work, supervision responsibilities, and communication responsibilities.
When you get this listing compiled then rate the importance (a ranking
is good) of the tasks and the frequency (a percentage of the day,
week or month is easy to work with) each is performed. Look at the
top 10 to 15 most important along with any very frequent tasks,
which did not get listed, in this top group of most important tasks.
Next, list the
knowledge, skills and abilities it takes to perform each task well.
Count the number of times any knowledge; skill or ability is repeated.
Make a list of these starting with those which occur most often.
Also include any which are associated with the top 2 to 5 most important
tasks. Then cross out any, which can be learned in a week to 6 weeks.
When recruiting from outside the organization cross out those, which
are specific to the organization such as knowledge of personnel
policies or specific work practices. Be careful not to require anything,
which would form a barrier to your considering a top-notch candidate.
The remaining top 5 to 10 should be looked for during the selection
process.
This information
forms the basis for determining the education and experience qualifications.
Look at each of the 5 to 10 knowledge, skills, and abilities in
turn. Consider the desired end result, level of responsibility and
criticality of performing correctly when applying the knowledge
or skill and when using a given ability. To help you with this analysis,
it is good to refer back to your original list of tasks. Decide
the level of training and education needed to gain this knowledge,
f training or education necessary
to perform ACCEPTABLY is the educational minimum requirement. Then
double check by looking again at these same skills and knowledge
in congress with the 10 most important tasks, level of responsibility
and criticality of performing correctly. Only this time determine
the kind of work, if performed, which would cause a person to learn
this skill on the job and the amount of time (amount of practice)
it would take to perform the associated tasks at an ACCEPTABLE LEVEL.
The highest amount of time and the highest level of experience (analyst,
management, supervisor, and etc.) form the minimum experience you
should require. These are the minimum qualifications needed by any
new employee and should be placed in your flyer and advertisements.
Keep in mind that these requirements form the bottom and that you
should not accept any candidates below this level. If your recruitment
is successful you can screen for greater experience and education.
Knowing what the minimums are will keep you from making mistakes.
An analyst who
is used to this kind of decisions making working with a person who
understands the nature and kind of work to be performed is best.
The quality of the results depends on the careful consideration
of each step, the quality of analysis and the thoroughness of the
thinking involved. This is hard thought provoking work and will
take some time and lots of patience. Getting a group together to
brainstorm is a good approach. However, it is the most important
step in the hiring process because knowing what is needed is the
best way to assure the organization gets staffed appropriately.
If the qualifications and selection characteristics are not appropriate
then recruitment will not be written properly and selection decisions
will be inappropriate. In a well run personnel function this analysis
forms the basis of several personnel decisions such as pay, organizational
analysis, and evaluation.
Conceptually
the process of conducting a job analysis is simple. However, in
practice it is difficult and takes a lot of discipline and fortitude.
Be patient with yourself. For a more through understanding please
see hrzone's job analysis.
Choosing
candidates to interview
The only way
to do this is to trudge through the resumes and to begin making
stacks. It is easiest to start by choosing the most concrete requirement,
usually education. If you have decided that a B.S. degree is necessary
then start out by placing all of the resumes indicating possession
of a B.S. degree in one pile. Then analyze these for the other basic
requirements. If you still have too many to interview in one day
or the allotted time, then begin analyzing these to see which persons
have some of the more desirable abilities. (The desirable abilities
can be determined by going back to your job analysis. Look at the
top tasks and at the abilities needed. Determine what level of experience
and training is needed to perform very well.) Or another way of
doing this is by choosing persons who have experience performing
any of the top 3 to 5 duties. Consistency is the key to this. Always
look back through the stacks to double-check your sorting. It is
easy to make a mistake in this process because of the unique nature
of resumes. No consideration of race, sex, or national origin is
appropriate. Just be consistent and choose the best qualified.
Salary
Salary is a
sticky matter. It can be a matter of any or all of the following:
the going rate paid other similar positions at relevant organizations;
what the going rate is perceived to be; the internal relationships
among positions in the organization; the perceived relationship
among positions in the organization; the cost of living; the perceived
cost of living and housing in your area; and what you have to pay
to get the person you want.
It is a good
idea to get some understanding of what salaries are paid in your
area for the same similar position. This can be difficult because
some companies do not like to tell others what salary is paid. Indeed,
sometimes they do not want their employees to know this information.
Pick about ten companies who hire similar positions within driving
distance from you (or where you would be able to recruit employees
from) and do a survey. If you wish to be equal to the other organizations
in your area set your salary at the mean of this distribution. If
you want to be able to steal employees more easily set your salary
10% to 15% above the mean (higher is even better). Make sure to
maintain the internal salary relationships. Disrupt this relationship
if you must, but be careful. If you are not careful you may loose
some people who are upset over the new higher pay given to this
new position.
Do the candidates
meet the basic requirements?
It is best to
determine who are the most qualified candidates and who seem to
fit best in the organization before verifying the basic requirements
such as years of experience and education. You can require written
documentation such as a college or high school transcript to verify
education. However, to check years of experience and kind of experience
always conduct a reference check and while conducting the reference
always talk to at least two former supervisors. In other words,
talk to the people who actually reviewed and saw the quality of
the work performed. A second choice is an administrator or a person
who has seen the results of the work performed. When conducting
the reference always prepare ahead of time. Know what you really
need to find out before you start. ALWAYS GET THE PERMISSION OF
THE CANDIDATES BEFORE BEGINNING. (You do not want to be responsible
for the person being fired or missing a promotion over your reference
check questions.) Most of the questions you need to ask will be
easily generated from the minimum requirements you have previously
established. For instance in the case you decided supervisory experience
was important you would likely ask the following questions:
Has Joe been a supervisor with your company?
How long did this last?
How many people was he responsible for?
What did these people do?
Did he evaluate them?
Was he able to organize, plan and direct the work of this group
well?
If the answer
to this question is yes, then ask: What work process or problems
did he improve or change? At this point you need to ask follow up
questions until you understand exactly how well this person was
able to direct the work of others and to problem solve for a group
to improve efficiency or to improve a service.
Do you believe
the people under this person did their best?
If the answer
to this question is yes, then ask: What did you observe that draws
you to this conclusion. At this point you need to ask as many follow
up questions as necessary to understand what the person is talking
about and to understand the point of view of the person you are
interviewing. Caution, understanding the frame of reference of the
person you are talking to is very important. Otherwise, you will
not know what the answers to your question indicate about the person
that you want to hire.
Tests
After you have
determined what you need to know about candidates, via the job analysis,
then you must determine a way to evaluate the candidates, test them.
Whether they know it or not, everyone uses tests. Interviews are
tests because they are measuring devices. The accuracy of the test
(interview) is dependent on how closely associated the test (interview
questions) measure what the test is designed to measure (the important
stuff you found in your job analysis) and how well the interview
is conducted. Under the Uniform Guidelines everything including
screening criteria and reference checks are a test of a kind.
So, make sure
your advertised minimum qualifications, resume screening, tests,
interview questions and anything else you use to determine who to
hire are closely associated with your job analysis (the important
knowledge, skills and abilities it takes to perform the job) and
the job analysis is easily defended (can be shown to be a careful
and fair consideration of what the job is and what the important
duties of the job are).
To decide whether
to use a test and what questions to place in the interview look
over the important knowledge, skills and abilities. List these on
a sheet of paper while leaving a lot of space to write off to the
side. Immediately, write performance evaluation next to personality
characteristics such as integrity, tenacity, and the like because;
though they are important, they are very difficult to measure (find
out about in the selection process). Unless you have the help of
a well-qualified industrial or organizational psychologist it is
best to stay away from these. Even with professional help the interpretation
of results should be approached carefully. It is best to save these
for the probationary evaluation period. If you insist on finding
out about these before hiring, then attempt this during your reference
check when you can ask an observer, a supervisor, about the person's
working habits and ability to work with others.
The Interview
An interview,
like all selection devices, must be designed to measure important
knowledge; skills and abilities as discovered in the job analysis
you previously performed. A structured interview process designed
to assess past behaviors and accomplishments is best. Center your
questions on some well-defined important knowledge, which are needed
to perform the most important duties. If you ask candidates to indicate
how and in what way they perform duties that require the knowledge
you want to assess, you may also be able to find out about the person's
abilities. Ask all candidates the same 5 to 15 questions. Follow
each of these with follow up questions designed to find out the
person's level of knowledge and ability. Dwell on a few questions
rather than ask a lot of questions finding out very little. You
will find that you will understand the capabilities of a candidate
better by finding out a lot about their experience in relation to
one or two projects they worked on which are closely associated
with the work you will assign.
Example of
interview when finding out about knowledge of skilled trades work
practices when hiring a maintenance director
Provide us with
a general overview of your experience supervising trades persons.
Tell us about the trades involved and what they were building or
maintaining. Describe your responsibilities.
Tell us about
at least two problems you solved that are related to skilled trades
work?
During the answer
to this question you need to ask a lot of follow up questions which
will allow you to understand the problem involved, the quality of
the solution, the reason for the solution, and the candidates point
of view on the solution. From this you should gain a good understanding
of the persons knowledge of skilled trades work, supervision of
that work, and ability to solve problems.
Make sure to
take good notes so that you can verify some of this information
with this person's supervisor when you make your reference check.
The notes will also help you compare candidates.
Of course you
would have to ask additional questions to find out more information.
It is a good idea to have another person help you interview so that
perceptions of answers can be shared and analyzed. It is also a
good idea to use a rating sheet on which you have written the knowledge
and abilities you are measuring (finding out about) so that you
can rate candidates and then use these sheets to help you make comparisons.
The best
fit
Hopefully this
is a difficult decision to come to. It is always nice to have several
top candidates to choose from. In this case, pick the person whose
abilities are most closely associated with the problems or challenges
of the organization; whose skills compliment/balance the abilities
in the work group; or who seem to have formed working relationships
in the past, which are best for the work group at hand. (Likeability
is dangerous. Always tie your decision back to the important tasks
of the position.) It is best to list out the strengths and weaknesses
as discovered in the selection process and to consider each objectively.
If several people have interviewed the candidates, then it may be
best to gather these people together to discuss the matter.
Always remember
to stay grounded in what you understand are the needs of the organization
as discovered by the previously performed job analysis. Caution
it is easy to go a stray at this point. Slow down and be as deliberate
as possible.
Discrimination
The definition
of discrimination and what is illegal discrimination varies somewhat
from state to state. Generally, it is illegal to discriminate against
anyone because of race, religious preference, sex, national origin
or physical disability within the meaning of the Americans with
Disabilities Act. If you have conducted a good job analysis and
know what the salient duties of the position are and what it takes
to perform them, you are in a strong position to field discrimination
complaints. However, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires
you to be careful with inquires you make regarding the psychical
abilities of the candidates. YOU MUST WAIT until you have chosen
who will be best for your position before you inquire regarding
the person's physical abilities. That means: do not send them for
a medical or psychological exam until you make a conditional offer
of employment. The only exception to this is an inquiry regarding
any help needed to compete in the selection process. Unless a well-qualified
human resource person assists you, it is best to not attempt this.
Just except applications and move through the process.
Occasionally
during or before the selection process a person with disabilities
approaches you with a problem. When this happens, make notes regarding
what they tell you. Then attempt to assist them in the selection
process by making concessions to their needs such as allowing a
reader for a blind person to take a written test, allowing a signing
interpreter for a deaf candidate during an interview, allowing more
time to take a written examination for a person who is dyslexic
(accommodations). In this situation it may be best to seek assistance
but if you cannot then meet with the person and directly ask them
what they need to compete with the other candidates. If you can
accomplish what they ask then do so showing as much sensitivity
to the situation as you can. Alert everyone involved that the selection
process is for the purpose of finding who is qualified and that
the idea of accommodation will be addressed after the best candidate
for the job is chosen. Document the entire selection process.
Reference
check
You should always
do a reference check. You are liable for any problems, which may
come along later. For example, if you hire an employee who becomes
violent and who was violent previously with another employer you
are liable for placing that person in the work environment. However,
if you have done a through reference check then the courts have
generally found that you have done your best and are not liable
to a bad hiring decision. However, you are still on the hook for
any workers compensation ramifications. So, make sure to keep the
results of your check but not in the personnel file where the candidate
can see what the references said. Never, never divulge what references
say to you. If you do, then the reference will not give you a reference
again and may not give the next person candid information. We must
all stick together.
Make notes regarding
the basic questions you asked and the answers you receive making
sure to indicate whom you spoke to. Along with the questions you
will ask concerning qualifications (make sure to read the section
above regarding qualifications) you should ask how the person was
to work with and if there were any problems. Make sure to inquire
regarding their ability to follow instructions and receive comments
regarding their work. Making up a simple sheet of paper containing
the questions you will ask with places to write the answers will
make things easier.
ALLWAYS ASK:
Would you hire this person again; how do you see this person in
the xxx job; and would you hire this person to fill a xxx position.
Always find out the reasoning behind all of these answers.
GOOD LUCK!
Copyright ©1999-2004 by Robinson
& Associates. All Rights Reserved.
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