The Strategic Interview Advantage

How to hire the best and brightest (and how not to)
 
Roger Bakken - October 2005
   
If you make strategic business decisions more prudently than you make people decisions, you're not alone, "Typically Companies spend more time selecting a major equipment purchase than they will on hiring decisions," and that can cost you the manager and your company time and money. Replacing an employee can cost you anywhere from 25% to 150% of an individual's salary.

So why do we make hiring mistakes? The five most common hiring errors and how you can overcome them:

BEING UNPREPARED: Managers often don't take the time required to determine exactly what it is they want in a candidate. If you want superior performance you must define it first. Take the time to put in writing and concentrate on the deliverables (what you want the candidate to do and how you want the candidate to perform), not so much on the must haves (experience, degrees etc). This is especially important when doing group interviews where there are no defined deliverables or performance objectives for the position. Without the proper information, the group will just pay attention to superficial things like image, chemistry, personality and interviewing skills. Do not try and qualify the person before you define clearly what you want this person to do and how you want them to perform.

BEING OVERWELMED BY GUT FEELINGS:. Studies show many interviewers make an emotional decision to hire someone within the first 10 minutes or even sooner and then spend the rest of the time justifying that decision. Wait at least 30 minutes before you make a gut reaction. If you like the candidate in the first 5 or 10 minutes, ask them tougher questions. If you don’t like the candidate in the first 5 or 10 minutes ask them easier questions, it will create a good balance. Studies have proven over and over that how a candidate performs on the interview good or bad has little to do with how they will perform on the job. Performance based interviews are the key to hiring great people, because their past performance is the best gauge of how they will perform in the future. Most Managers get caught up in superficial things like presentation, chemistry or image of the candidate on the first interview, rather than proof of performance.

Using the gut check only, you can hire some who reach the peak of their career on the interview and pass up some real diamonds succumbing to the Halo Effect. Letting one factor influence everything else ("He went to Harvard, he must be smart," "She worked for IBM, they train people well there") is a no-no. Going to Harvard or working at a high profile Name Company does not necessarily mean that they will fit or perform well in your environment.

OVER SELLING THE POSITION: Once you settle on a suitable candidate, interviewers tend to go into the overselling mode, omitting to convey significant challenges of the job. New employees who receive unpleasant surprises on the job tend not to stay long.

Placing an emphasis on haves, instead of will-do. Qualifications such as education years of experience should not outweigh the will-do such as attitude, motivation temperament and past results. Past performance is always a better predictor of future results than experience, personality and interviewing skills.

What can you do to reduce hiring blunders? Here are top tips to hiring and keeping the best:

Ask the right questions. Keep in mind that if you ask hypothetical questions, you'll get hypothetical answers. Likewise, typical interview questions, such as "Where do you want to be in five years?" or Why do you want this job?" won't reveal information on how they will perform. Past performance based on what you want the candidate to accomplish is the best indicator of how an employee will behave in your organization. Include questions that begin with “Tell me about your most recent significant accomplishment and what it meant to your current or previous organization” and "Tell me about a time when ..." Drill down deep with follow up questions.

Take a second look. For more entry level candidates, consider using an assessment tool, such as skill or behavioral tests. Always ask candidates back for a second interview and consider inviting colleagues and peers who will work with the individual to sit in and offer feedback and insight. But only…. if they understand clearly what the needs are of the position that the candidate is interviewing for.

Give potential employees an assignment. Similar to the traditional test given to an IT professional, ask sales candidates for example to perform something that allows you to observe the individual doing the job and assess his or her capabilities first hand. Give them an easy subject to cover using a Power Point presentation and have them prepare a simple 30-60-90 day business plan. Probe deeply to find if they have had similar accomplishments in the past to your deliverables.

Conduct pre-emptive reference checks. Early in the process, ask potential employees for the names of references they'll be supplying. This signals your intentions of checking on past performance. Steer clear of candidates who can't supply solid references. But at the same time be cautious about asking industry contacts about a candidate that you may be talking with for fear of compromising their current position.

Match your people. Studies show that the key reason people leave a company is most often as a result of a conflict with their direct supervisors. "People generally leave people, not companies,” Consider comparing the behavioral profile of a candidate with the profile of the prospective manager. Getting the correct answers to 3 questions…….1. Can they do it? 2. Will they do it? ……..and finally 3. Will they fit? …are very important keys to a successful hire.

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