. Talon iN WLHiring Right the First Time SELECTING A ‘DREAM’ EMPLOYEE VERSUS A NIGHTMARE by BuapLey P. SMitHt IRING A NEW EMPLOYEE isa task most executives look forward to with groat anticipation, but also with a certain amount of apprehension. You now have an opportunity to bring in ‘fresh blood’—someone with new ideas, an enthust astic approach and the ability to help make possible even more growth. Bring in the right person for the job, and all of this may transpire, But hire the wrong person, and you might be in for a real nightmare. rom a coststandpoint, it's dificul: to putan actual igure on a hiring mistake butby some esdiates, it can aznount co 3s much as two or three ates the persen’s annual compensation. Consider some of, the numbers you can verify: the cost of ‘advertising the position, the time wasted fon sereoning and interviewing potential ‘caudidates, the money and dime wasted on. wwatning and retraining. and the salary and benefits paid te an individual wha is ‘not performing up ‘0 expectations. And even these costs may be minimal com pared to whatmay come next, An employee who's wrong for the job probabiy isnt going to provide tha pro- ‘ductivity you nod or the lovel of sorvice {your customers expect You nay los bus ness a5 a result. [t gets worse. Morale may drop among other employees forced te work with the new tire nd thelr job per formance may also ser, which may mec ‘an evor furthor less of customers and bash ness. Finally it may be moce difficult than, Considering that we're inan “employer's market,” with lots of potential employees available to help fill the open slots occurring at some companies, how do you go about finding the right one for your company? you realize to get rld of the person who Is ‘nota good fit forthe sob. So, considering that we're in an “em. ployor's market, with lots of potential em- ployeesvallae to help fill the open slot: becurringat some companies, how do you {20 about finding the right one for your company? ‘One solution is using systoms that assis “Soft sls” and workplace behavior (personal, valuss, team orlontation) that can correlate to actual job-sperifie tras necessary for optimal performance. Some bf the hetter sysiems are designed to accomplish a varioly of tasks, including oveeything from pre servening applicants te assisting in developing the interview questions that target key areas that will most likely be the cause of the greatest stress in the new work enviconment. Even ifyou hires candidate with les thar a por feet mateh, targeted taining arcas can be Identified that can be addressed ducing the fust few montls of thet empleyinert, Ditferent ccmpanies offering work- place behavior or sft skills assessment ss- tems for hising have difforent oppeoachoe tothe procedure, buta basicaniysis prob ably nll Ince dhe following steps: step ON Tho assessmont provider works with the company to identify key positions to bs filled, Job descriptions are developed or reviewed for the positions. Its inportant that every position has a complete and updated jad dotcription so that jab skills and competencies can ba matched for tach of the key tasks the employee will, be expected to perform, step TW Since hiring assessments mast bo designod to: measuiro traits specific to job perform: ance, the next step is to correlate the soft skills and behavioral teaits necessary for optimal job performance. Foc instance, an outside sales rap. foveloping.a new torstery may nood tobe very comfortable thinking "outside the box,” be self motivated, driven, flexible, Jucrinveuss 2003,outgoing, solution-acientad, ete, However, a new hire for a telemarketing position may need to feel comfortable Following scripts, using predetermined processesand procedures, be consistant, and stay within certain parameters for providing arswors and selutions. Both positions fall under the broad heading of sales, but the bebnvicral and soft skills ras that wil make each per son effective and successful are diame cally epposite each other step THRE A test group is assesied to validate the job shills defined and establish beniclanark for the behavioral trtts and soft sal ce {qicemen's that were defined forthe pos lone nosding filed. Soft skills consist of stems suchas teamwork interpeceonal dels (behavioral attitudes and motivators) work ethic/attude (values-based moxira as), ume mamgement and conflict man. agement ao Once benchmarks are determined and cual job-specific betnvioral traits and soft sklls are confirmed, highly valdated assassments are used 10 datermine the applican’s espontes to questians that will allow the employer to pinpoint the can didate’s strengths and limitatiors in key areas of ob performance steph IVE Potential candidates that meet all other Jb requirements may now be interviewed ‘ath highly targeted questions that addras the abiliy or vilingness ofthe carididate to complete certain key components of thoir job duties. Tha omployor essentially Joes into the interview process baving in formation that would otherwise be iff cult oc eren impossible to ascertaia with: ut using the hiring assessments specific the workplace behavior and soft sal. Those two areas of hiring causa tha high. set turover ratio, but are the aras least Identified during neemal screening and Interviewing processes seb The omploser may wish to resiew the final bining decision with the consultant, analyst or firm from wiaom they purchased the hr ing cepors/sjsiem. This will assure the proper selection procass and target arexs of training the new candidate might need (0 ecaiva to ensure their potential isreached, New online ystems have been devel oped to take the complexity cf these steps and ceduce the process into a very man- ageabie system that can be dene remotely va phone and Internet, Ts httorsystonrs can be implemented in a matter of days or weeks, since companies offering these services iyplelly have large databases of ‘workplace competenicles and are well Tersed inal specs of hiring and assessing personnel for jfasolection. (One more thing tolook for wher de siding on which behavioral and soft skills assessment system isright for your compa: fy: the better systems murumize the need fr outside personnel to come cesite and assist with the hiring. Thay maka it feadblo for any compary to go erlineand quickly and effectively hire right the fist ime. m Brady F Sai PD. incor ote situ or Motvanal Living an Cracve Cora Con ling, bse in How Catn Pa, ich pbs havea accent (nme DISC) and atta eras A ser carpany, Cred Caspr axe Consulting (on Cre anpCarslng co) provides nse caring to Rng ant ‘ensuing parsonnd (psig com)