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What are some good tips to ensure that we don't make the mis-hire mistake again?
My partner and I have run a successful window cleaning business for the last two years. We are finally making money and increasing our repeat customers. We want to move the company forward by adding a new truck to the team, but we haven't had success with our last couple employees. I guess our interview process hasn't been successful in choosing the right guys. What are some good tips to ensure that we don't make the mistake for a third time? How can we evaluate an individuals work ethic through a resume and interview process? Any tips would be appreciated.
Best Answer
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- Caty Kobe
You mentioned that you used an interview and resume process for your last unsuccessful hires. While those are good to use you also need to do due diligence in checking references.
When checking references you need to listen closely to what is said and what is "not said". You must have very specific questions ready for the reference process. Just as in the interview process you are trying to decide if this person has the traits you are looking for in an employee. Ask for specific examples and see if the examples given in the interview and the examples given in the reference check present you with the traits you are looking for.
Remember past performance indicates future performance.
Aki, in addition to Cormac's excellent advice, are there other local providers of window-washing or similar services in your area? If so, at least some of those workers are likely seeking new opportunities AND may have been around long enough that there's word-of-mouth information available directly from customers and/or other employers -- good and bad. This approach could help you immensely in screening candidates from such sources.
If you aren't doing this already, you should also check MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Craigslist and any other local online gathering places to see if any of your candidates have a presence in any of them. I'm constantly amazed at the ever-growing range and number of people outside of technology-focused arenas using these venues to communicate with others and/or to promote themselves -- and they often post MUCH more (and sometimes VERY different) information from what you'll find in their resumes or CVs. Good luck, and please let the Focus community know what happens!
See the good discussion going on in the HR group on top interview questions to ask during the hiring process.
http://www.focus.com/groups/human-resources/topics/view/what-interview-questi...
Cormac,
Thanks for your response. You really hit some key points that we need to reevaluate when we go through the interview process next time. You cleared it up for us. We'll be sure to take references into consideration next time.
Thanks for your responses guys and I appreciated the article Michael. I enjoyed seeing some of the responses to the presented question on your URL address. That also provided us with some useful information.
Cheers!
-Aki
Interviewing is a very difficult thing if you keep making mistakes at it. YOu become suspicious. You can evaluate people for two things: Behavior and Values. I would talk on the phone and ask questions that find the values of a person. YOu can change someones behavior but NOT their values. People will be passionate about their values...behavior shows. If you want a couple fo free assessments, call me or e-mail me at my website and ask for a pair of evaluations. I will send them to you FREE. www.TrainYourCallCenter.com
My favorite way to interview is to tell them. This is a very hard job, it's like climbing a mountain, don't stop half way up. We are a family here. If you can be a part of the family, we want you. If you are only here for the $$$. STOP now because you will not like it here. If you want a fair wage, respectful treatment and hard work, big expectations of you...you are in the right place. Try that....if they run...you should be glad.
As someone who has been on the ground floor of several companies who achieved moderate growth, my first observation is that you and your partner are at a very early stage of growth where expansion is challenging because you don't yet have the infrastructure to manage layers. You not only need people who are trustworthy, have a strong work ethic, are self managed, and all the other things that we look for in employees, but at this stage of your company's grwoth you also need people who are passionate about the business and will do what it takes to help you grow. For that reason, you might want to consider the benefits of a longer-term relationship that might even have the benefit of ownership options at some point in the future. Raise the stakes and improve the talent pool.
Heard this many times in the past. There are tools to help match the right employee to the job. I use a tool called fitability -- perfect for the level of employe you are looking for, and very inexpensive. People fail in jobs not because they are bad people -- they just don't fit the job. Contact me and I can tell you more and see if this would work for you. Glad to help
Dan Moran
518-641-8968
Harrison Assessments is an online questionnaire with very high degree of accuracy. Getting candidates to complete this can reduce costs as you only interview suitable candidates who match your work ethic critera, and shows strengths of each trait such as persistence, wants challenge, etc. So you ensure that interviewees have the traits you are looking for. It also has an interview guide with questions to ask for each trait.
Here's a link with more information and some sample reports you can download.
http://www.quadrant1.com/Profiling-Tools/harrison-assessments
Very best
David.
Everyone has solid advice for you. But my strongest input is: get help with your interviewing skills. Get good at observing what is not said, the non-verbal cues, the avoidance of direct responses, etc.
I train therapists for over thirty years, and have been struck by their reliance on what the client verbalizes, which tends to be only a small part of the story.
this is a minor problem budy no need to worry you told about interview but i feel to judge qualification //knowledge interview is ok Reason:At Interview candidate Immitate to be what he is not and this loophole is creating misery And it,s must to judge his Personallity genral reaction toward minor Activities candidate never open himself from Shell and this act will resolve your Missery
Don,t wory and all the Best Vinod
Regardless of the tools available, hiring a star is a gamble. There are, however, some things to do which might lean the odds more in your favor:
~ REALLY identify your needs. This includes the characteristics of the person who can do this job. (He/she may need to be patient, curious, engaging, etc.)
~ Write an ad for just that person. Use lots of filters in that ad so that it is clear to the reader whether or not there might be a good fit. In the ad, ask applicant to include a SHORT introduction which speaks to the filters you have listed. (Don't included personality characteristics because the applicant then becomes who you are looking for in that moment.)
~ Phone screen. Write the questions you will ask the applicant very extreme care. Think: What do I really want to know from this applicant? Which words can I use to get that information from the applicant?
~ Bring in ONLY the top three. Have "next layer" questions ready. Include others in your company in the process, but be sure you know what you want them to glean. Document. Everyone must document.
~ Lead an interviewers' debriefing meeting. Have top priorities/characteristics on a white board or flip chart. Matrix it and give each priority/characteristic a point factor and run the applicants down the side. Discuss each candidate and agree on the points for each priority/characteristic. (usually 1 - 5)
~ Do deep reference checks.
You should have a winner.
Although you've been give some great advice, I'd encourage you to find someone to work with you in recruiting your own employees. You have to remember that there are individuals who are experts at recruiting, just like you're an expert at running your business.
The advice you've been given is good, but what people haven't shared is how difficult it is to do. Just like the time I watched a bunch dry wallers hanging dry wall, I convinced myself it was easy. I guess someone forgot to tell me that they've hung thousands of sheets and this was my first, guess what, I didn't get the same result.
We tend to oversimplify the talent that's required to interview and select good candidates, there are people in corporate america that have been doing it for years and they still don't get it.
Selecting Winners offers workshops, elearning classes and kits which are reasonably priced. By going to the website you can also get free tools -even
videos that help with some of the common problems. Select Winners is exceptional - even the free information. Here are some links:
The Selecting Winner Training Program is an on-line, self-paced training for individuals. The website is https://selwin.infusionsoft.com/go/SWEC/ambooth1/
You can also see sample videos from the course including The Hiring Goal (the key to hiring success), Recruiting UHP (your unique recruiting proposition), and Bad Questions (types of questions to avoid) by going to
https://selwin.infusionsoft.com/go/SWEC-S/ambooth1/
* Small Business Guide to Recruiting and Hiring Success is a complete kit and is found at https://selwin.infusionsoft.com/go/SBP-P/ambooth1/
If you want to get a sample of the program you can view a 3-part video including Strategic Staffing, avoiding the common mistakes that sabotage your hiring efforts and the single most powerful predictor of success. This is found at:
https://selwin.infusionsoft.com/go/SBP-O/ambooth1/
* to Hire the Perfect Sales Person is also a complete kit and found at
https://selwin.infusionsoft.com/go/PSP-P/ambooth1/
In addition, you can download a copy of Maximizing Your ROI On Every Sales Person” white paper at https://selwin.infusionsoft.com/go/PSP-O/ambooth1/
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Well, if you aren't trying to cut corners in your selection process, and it doesn't sound like you are, I could make a whole string of suggestions. I've been in the business of advising companies on effective recruitment and selection strategies.
Sounds like there is a whole ocean between us, so I'm not going to try to sell you. The expenses would make the cost rediculous. So here goes.
Point 1. Behaviour is the most important factor in the success of a hire. By the time you get to meet a candidate you are likely to have established that the individual has the ability to do the job. All the interview is really about is assessing whether they can do it for you.
Point 2. Just exactly what are you looking for? Forget about the CV stuff, much of it is fictional anyway. Think about your top performers, or in the small business environment, talk to some of your customers about that it is in your people that brings them back as customers. You need to focus on behaviours, detailed work, good communicator/listener, do they need to make decisions on the spot etc.
Point 3. Unless you are looking for a Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie lookalike, you can actually make a better assessment of the candidate by checking their references than by meeting them. Of course, you should get their permission to check references before you do.
Point 4. Using a good personality assessment tool can help immensely. In the past 20 years working with the system I represent here in Ireland, I would expect to see a 50% minimum increase in the success rate of new hires. If you like, I could point you in the right direction on this.
Point 5. Interviews are about listening and interpreting responses, rather than asking questions. The questions are the easy bit. But if you deal with point 2 in detail, you should be better equipped to spot the key indicators in the answers. Again, a good personality tool can provide you with guiding questions.
Point 6. Don't interview alone. Ideally you should use someone who will take a different view of the candidate than yourself. You can hire experienced behavioural interviewers who can help Indeed, someone like that can be a good investment if your current experience is hurting your business.
Point 7. Once you have hired the person, make sure you give them all the support they need. Apologise to them in advance in case you sound like you are spoon feeding them, but make the point that you need to make sure they know all they need to know and that they are always to check back if they are unsure about something. By the time they get to 3 months, they should have stopped calling and should be fully up to speed.
I hope this helps or gives y9ou food for thought.