Did you know that an estimated two-thirds of employee hiring decisions may be mistakes? This article will provide you with information that can help you improve your employee hiring and screening practices so that you can cut costs and maximize productivity in your organization. Whether you’re an owner, an executive or a manager, the following information will be beneficial to you.

From your experience you know you have hired some excellent employees and some who failed. Now take a moment and think back. Did you use the same employee screening method to hire both? Typically we find that employers do employ the same methods for each position. This suggests that your existing employee selection process may produce inconsistent hiring results.

Assessments are invaluable employee screening tools for increasing consistency in your employee selection system. What makes them so invaluable? Job Fit technology. By combining tested and reliable data derived from pre-employment screening assessments with a customized job analysis survey, you can create a benchmark by which you can hire an employee who best fits your job and company.

How does it Job Fit technology work? Based on objective criteria, the management team selects top performers in a given position. The top performing employees are assessed on their mental ability, behavioral traits and occupational interest, which include the following 20 core characteristics:

- Learning index
- Verbal skill
- Verbal reasoning
- Numerical ability
- Numeric reasoning
- Energy level
- Assertiveness
- Sociability
- Manageability
- Attitude
- Decisiveness
- Accommodating
- Independence
- Objective judgment
- Enterprising
- Financial
- People service
- Creative
- Technical
- Mechanical

This data is used to create a unique Job Fit profile that lays the foundation for the skills and characteristics required by your company for screening and hiring talented people.

With the job profile analysis, multiple managers have the ability to weigh their opinions and express views regarding a specific position. Once the 57-question analysis has been completed, managers’ responses are entered into the assessment center for processing. The result is a unique Job Fit profile.

In addition to providing information about a candidate’s personality type and behavioral characteristics, the Job Fit Assessment will provide customized, tough interview questions that are prepared specifically for a particular candidate based on their assessment results. These Department of Labor approved, specific interview questions can be used in the second interview. This gives managers a critical advantage in the hiring process.

Including Job Fit as a key factor in your employee hiring and screening process will make your allocation of human capital significantly more effective and give you a competitive edge in your industry as you increase consistency and success in hiring talented employees. Matching people with the work they do creates a solid workforce that has the right people in the jobs they were born to do.

Most employee hiring decisions are made with inadequate information; however, assessments will deliver the information you need to know before tendering a job offer and making a hiring mistake.

Author: Jim Sirbasku
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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One of the top frustrations I hear from small business owners is about hiring correctly. They want to know how to find the right people: really good employees who will stay, people who will understand them, how they work, and match their personality. They want people who will fit in and support them so they can do their genius work – what they started their business for in the first place.

As an entrepreneur, you might have the same frustrations. You might really need to hire someone to help you with your overload – whether you need an employee, a part time worker, a virtual assistant, or a whole bunch of people – but you may be holding off for the fear of hiring the wrong person. And if you’ve ever hired the wrong person before, like I have, you know that it can often be worse than not hiring and continuing to do all of the work by yourself, or overloading current team members.

Hiring the wrong person can cost you a lot of money. And every day that you wait to hire because of indecision is costing you money. And both of these scenarios can cost you lots of time and stress. You don’t need any of this!

8 Proven Strategies for Finding and Hiring the Right Person

These strategies are for small businesses, and are very different from what big businesses will do to hire their “superstars.” In fact, many of them are the exact opposite – that’s why if you go to books written for corporate teams or consultants who working with large companies, the strategies you find there won’t work for you. You may have been using some of those tactics already, and you know they don’t bring you people who match your unique style and align with your personal culture.

1. Don’t talk about the job at first. Talk about your company and your philosophy and see how interested they are.

2. Ask them what they do in their spare time. People who can use their natural talents and preferences in their work will be much better suited for and happier in their work.

3. Ask them why they want the job. It’s amazing what people will tell you if you ask.

4. Get references and check them. All of them.

5. Have multiple interviews. The person may not present the same later, and you’ll get fresh insights.

6. Have team members interview prospective employees. They’ll have great insights.

7. Test prospective employees. Make up a test that can be completed in 15 to 20 minutes, related to the job requirements.

8. Hire on 30 to 90 day trial periods.

Taking the time to implement these strategies will give you worlds of insight into how prospective team members will fit into your unique company’s culture, and how well they’ll sync with you.

Author: Marcia Hoeck
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Critical Hiring Mistakes

Most organizations could improve their hiring practices. Interviews are frequently poorly done and psychometric assessments are not used to help predict success.

Companies and law firms frequently hire an industrial/organizational psychologist to conduct a pre-hire assessment of final candidates. Final candidates are given online personality and ability assessments. The psychologist meets with each candidate and conducts an extensive semi-structured performance-based interview asking competency-based questions. Clients receive comprehensive Selection and Development Reports.

Could your hiring practices be improved?

Most managers find employee recruitment and hiring to be frustrating and time consuming. With this negative attitude, they hire impulsively, basing their decisions on the feelings they experience in interviews with candidates. However, a study conducted by John Hunter of Michigan State indicated that the typical employment interview is only 57 percent effective in predicting subsequent success. This is only 7 percent better than flipping a coin!

In a survey by Lou Adler, (Hiring with Your Head, 2002), 95 percent of managers said they had made bad hiring decisions, 95 percent indicated that hiring is number one or two in importance, and 95 percent admitted to not liking the hiring process.

As important as hiring talented people is, not enough time or energy is being allocated to establish a reliable process. With a 40 to 50 percent error rate, hiring processes are not much better than random. No other processes in organizations are permitted to be so random. Companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to reengineer flawed processes that have only a 5 to 10 percent error rate.

A major problem revolves around the interview itself. This is a random process that does not work very well, and is one of the reasons most managers find the whole effort frustrating. Emotions, biases, chemistry and stereotypes play too big a role. True knowledge of the performance requirements of the job usually is weak. There is an over-reliance on the interaction between the candidate and the interviewer, and too little on the ability of the candidate and motivation to do the job.

A candidate is often hired because of his or her ability to interview well; presentation is more important than substance. The candidate is judged on first impressions of his or her personality, social confidence, assertiveness, appearance, extroversion, and verbal skills. Instead, the candidate needs to be assessed for initiative, team skills, achieving objectives, technical competence, management and organizational skills, intellect, leadership and emotional intelligence.

It is hard work to counteract the natural tendency to judge people based on first impressions, personality and a few select traits. Overcoming this problem can eliminate 50 percent of all hiring errors.

Lack of real job knowledge is another major part of hiring mistakes. It is necessary to know the required competencies of the position, based on the performance requirements of the job.

When an internal person is promoted, the predictability of his or her performance is very high as much as 80 to 90 percent. Performance predictors for an external hire are only 55 to 70 percent accurate. Predictions about the success rate of internal hires are more accurate because the past performance of the individual is known: attitude, work habits, intelligence, leadership and team skills, ability to learn, management style, potential, commitment, and other intangibles such as ability to handle stress.

But with external hires, there is often an over-emphasis on skills, academic record, personality and first impressions. There is insufficient analysis of what they have actually accomplished with their skills.

How effective are your hiring practices?

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the BarOn EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become a leader who can assess and select emotionally intelligent people. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of the company.

Author: Maynard Brusman
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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How can managers improve their “batting average” in the employee selection, hiring, evaluation, retention and discipline processes?

Selection, Hiring, and Evaluation

The employee selection process can be abbreviated due to pressing staffing issues or truncated because of hiring priorities, a limited applicant pool, unsound evaluation processes, or any of a number of reasons. The standard process results in businesses hiring and retaining certain employees that they should not have.

Businesses generally hire employees, then give them a probationary period of from six months to a year. During the probationary period employees can be released without much fuss or fanfare as long as State and Federal regulations are observed. However, unsatisfactory employees often get through this probationary period due to managerial neglect, ineptitude, or conflicting priorities. Managers, caught up in their day-to-day work responsibilities, oftentimes fail to:

1) adequately monitor and evaluate the performance of new employees,

2) document unsatisfactory performance, and/or

3) submit the required paperwork on time.

In addition, there is a perception problem. New hires (probationers) are viewed as permanent employees by their colleagues, management and themselves. Furthermore, the new employees become ensconced in the organization and its social network even if they are not high-quality.

Retention/ Discipline Issues

As indicated, the standard process results in businesses hiring and retaining employees that they should not have. This, in turn, causes training and discipline hassles and expenditures, while prohibiting the company from having the competitive advantage of the best available talent. This environment can also “contaminate” other members of the workforce, particularly as they observe the behaviors and performance of the under-performers.

A Better Approach

A reasonable and realistic remedy is DON”T HIRE THE EMPLOYEE in the first place. Instead, make new employees Contact workers.

Hiring on a Contract basis for a defined period gives the employee the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities, while providing management with the time to observe their performance (WITHOUT HAVING THEM ON THE EMPLOYEE PAYROLL). Then, following the contract period, if there are any doubts, just don’t renew the contract. This is a much simpler, straightforward and less risky process. Following expiration of the contract, management will have the flexibility to renew the contract, not renew the contract, or perhaps (and, best of all), hire the employee.

A caveat

As with everything it is not as simple as it appears. While this approach has attractive features, there are some potential drawbacks. The best employees may not wish to be hired as “only” a contractor.

And, there is the sticky matter of Employee Benefits.

Despite these issues, the realities of employee selection and hiring make the Contract Employee approach a better one.

Copyright 2008, Dr. Ben A. Carlsen, MBA. All Rights Reserved Worldwide for all Media. You may reprint this article in your ezine, newsletter, newspaper, magazine, website, etc. as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, leave my name and bio box intact, and you follow all of the EzineArticles Terms of Service for Publishers.

Author: Ben Carlsen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Perhaps the hardest part in the hiring process is making the final decision. This is no surprise. Countless hours of resume reading, preliminary interviewing, and background checking have been done in order to find that perfect new employee to fill your organization’s needs. It’s true, in some cases, that making the final hiring decision is made easier by a standout candidate; however, many times there may be multiple candidates who you think could make a valuable contribution to the organization. With this in mind, here are few ways to make the final hiring decision a little bit easier:

• Be very clear on the three or four competencies that will make the difference between success and failure for the candidate on the job. Grill the candidates about their abilities and track record in these areas.
• Talk amongst yourselves, don’t get pheklempt (are Mike Myer’s SNL catchphrases from circa 1992 still relevant?) – Have multiple interviewers question the candidates and give you their feedback and recommendations. Take a poll amongst your trusted colleagues and upper management to see which candidate they believe to be the best one for the job. If there is a clear consensus, or even a close winner, you have your answer. Having the support of knowledgeable colleagues will help you make the right decision.
• Take a look at the numbers – If there is a real struggle to make the final decision between a handful of candidates, take a look at their assessment scores (assuming you had the candidates take assessments). Base your decision on how the candidates’ scores align with the job requirements and your organization’s culture and goals.

Author: Benjamin J Nash
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Do you have an employee that you think might be spending more time building up their Facebook friends or shopping on ebay than they do working? Unfortunately, excessive personal computer use on the job is an all too common problem, and it can be a real drain on productivity.

We’ve found that having a complete record of activity on our business’ computers can be a huge productivity tool. Not only can it identify excessive personal use and time wasting, it can also be a helpful record to refer back to.

We use the powerful Webwatcher pc monitoring software solution. It’s powerful and full-featured, easy to use, and affordable. Webwatcher records all websites visited, online chats, images, and emails. You can limit access or block access to any sites. And all of this information can be remotely accessed from the web without accessing the individual computers. Very powerful productivity tools.

Read our complete Webwatcher Review and check out the great discounts with Webwatcher Coupons.

Wouldn’t it be great to get off the “turnover treadmill?” If you’re serious about realizing that dream, you need to look at the totality of employee experience in your organization. You cant wait till the a new hire has been with you six months to start worrying about how long they will stay. Better to plan for longer retention before the hiring process is complete.

If you want to improve your ability to retain staff, your hiring process is the place to start. A serious candidate should leave their first interview with a clear understanding of the mission of your organization and the requirements of the job for which he/she is being considered. The applicant should know what the organization has to offer and should have a clear answer to the question…”Why would you want to work here?” All of this means that whomever is doing the interviewing needs to be prepared for this initial discussion, which should help both applicant and hiring officer get a sense of whether or not there is a “match” between the applicant and the needs, culture and characteristics of the organization. Increasingly, the hiring process includes an objective assessment of the candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, temperament and other critical factors. Sometimes organizations make productive use of multiple interviews to complete the initial assessment of the applicant, including interviews by potential colleagues. This enables the applicant to directly hear about some of the pros and cons of the work environment. All of this takes a lot of time and a willingness to pay attention to the findings and conclusions of the process. In other words, the hiring officer needs to be prepared to say “no” if the match is not strong enough, regardless of how badly the position needs to be filled.

The rush to hire is an important obstacle to good hire decisions. This panic to fill a position is especially typical of entry level vacancies in human service organizations or other situations where vacancies create real operational problems. It’s always a mistake to hire a “body” just to have the vacancy filled. You can count on starting all over again before the person finishes the first year. That truly is the “turnover treadmill”. It’s expensive financially and it’s disastrous for whatever process is being managed. So you’ll be better off by paying overtime to fill the vacancy temporarily rather than hiring someone whose qualifications are marginal or non-existent.

Author: Larry Wenger
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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When I first started out in this business, my hiring practices were a little haphazard, to say the least. I met a person, and if they had been referred by someone I knew, that was good enough for me. I hired them.

After getting burned a few times, I am still learning how to (and how not to) hire people. Overall I have gotten a lot better at hiring the right people for the job the first time out.

A great many CEOs like to have a long, drawn-out employee interview and selection process, and that’s fine. I’ve found it’s best if all potential new employees are interviewed at least three times, by three different executives in our company. After each interview, each executive submits his or her own thoughts and perceptions on the candidate.

Some companies have much, much longer interview and selection processes that include live case studies (like Google), with days and days of interviews. There was a time when I thought they were crazy and just wasting time – but now I think they are brilliant.

But there’s one aspect of hiring that is often overlooked. Hiring is not just about checking someone’s competency level. It’s about seeing if someone “fits” your company. Just because someone is good at what they do doesn’t mean that they will be a great employee in your organization.

Here’s the #1 mistake you can make when hiring someone: You hire them because they have a great talent, great skills, great everything…but you pay no attention to how well that person will fit within the existing corporate culture.

You see, every office has a particular atmosphere. Every company has a certain “mood” and “attitude.” It’s often hard to put your finger on what that mood or attitude is, and it’s virtually impossible to quantify. But believe me, it’s there – and it should be an important factor in any hiring decision.

So no matter how wonderful the candidate is, the question you MUST ask is “Will this new employee fit nicely into the status quo? Will they mesh with us and our corporate culture?”

If an office is populated with a very competitive, sales-driven group of people, then an easygoing, laid-back person won’t be the right fit for that office – even if they are incredible at selling and have proven it time and again. The high-key atmosphere would almost certainly cause stress, and a laid-back person would soon be ready to climb the walls!

The opposite is true in my office. All of us are very laid back, sometimes even goofy. We like to have fun, and you almost have to have a good sense of humor to be in the room with us! Someone who was by nature a serious type would be a really bad fit. In fact, I recently had to let go of a lady who was smart and competent, but so grimly serious that she scared all of us to death!

True Story: Why I Didn’t Even Interview the Best Salesman in the Industry!

Just a few weeks ago I found myself seated at a table with one of the best of the best salesmen in our entire industry. His sales feats are legendary. His Rolodex is eye-popping, everyone knows him, and everyone is already very accustomed to buying from him. On the surface, he is the PERFECT salesman.

I actually had a chance to interview him – possibly even snap him up for our company. But I didn’t.

The minute we sat down and started talking, I realized that this super salesman was just not a good fit for our company. I could just tell that he would make all our team conference calls more tense, the whole office more tense, and just make everyone feel more reserved (including me). His style was simply counter to our corporate culture.

He would undoubtedly make lots of sales, but he would also make me and the rest of our team a lot less happy with what we do…and we ARE happy with what we do!

I had a nice chat with the super salesman without ever asking one typical interview question at all. One great salesman is not worth ruining the WORKING dynamics of the rest of the team.

So the next time you are thinking about hiring someone, remember that personality is a key element. You should ask yourself, “How would this person get along with my team? Does this person fit?” Sometimes your answers will be a surprise even to you!

Author: Nick Siegel
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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By some estimates, over 700 employees are attacked by their fellow workers each business day. Many of these incidents are the result of problems that existed at the time these workers were hired (such as drug abuse). Most states now recognize the potential liability that companies have in these matters. If an employer is held liable for the damaging actions of its employees, that exposure could literally bankrupt a company. In this article, I’ll explain the employers’ potential liability and how companies can avoid negligent hiring lawsuits.

Negligent Hiring Lawsuits Make Employers Liable

The basis of negligent hiring lawsuits is that an employer should have known there was a risk in hiring an employee. Further, the employer should have taken reasonable precautions to eliminate a job applicant from the pool of candidates. If an employer fails to properly screen its employees and a worker causes the injury of another employee, it’s possible that the employer can be held responsible.

According to a report released in 2008 from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 13% of the 5,840 workplace fatalities that happened in 2006 were the results of assaults and violent acts. A recent article released by HR Management said the average settlement of a negligent hiring lawsuit is nearly $1 million. In the event that employment background checks were not conducted, the employers in these cases could be held legally responsible for the incidents.

How To Avoid Negligent Hiring Lawsuits

First, your company should establish clear pre-employment screening procedures. These procedures should detail the types of information your company will seek from applicants for each position. Second, your human resources executives should follow these procedures consistently. It does little good to approach employee screening arbitrarily.

Third, if you’re hiring people for jobs in which they’ll be operating a company vehicle, heavy machinery, or handling sensitive client information, you should investigate applicants for signs of a criminal past. These are the basic steps that you should be taking to avoid negligent hiring lawsuits.

Finding Evidence Of A Criminal Past

It’s a common misconception that employers can simply access an exhaustive database in which they’ll find record of an applicant’s past criminal misconduct. In truth, such a database doesn’t exist. Instead, employers should review county, state and federal records. Reviewing these records can require an enormous amount of time. Many employers retain the services of an experienced employee screening company to manage the investigation. They’ll conduct employment background checks that will uncover any existing red flags.

Whether you choose to use in-house resources for doing background checks or hire a dependable screening service to do the job for you, it’s important to understand the priority. You can protect your company from negligent hiring lawsuits by establishing a strict employee screening program. This program should include background checks that are completed prior to offering an applicant a position. A small investment in time can literally save millions of dollars in the long run.

Author: Christopher E Miller
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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After more than 30 years of interviewing and hiring leaders and managers, one axiom has served me well and provided a basis for sustaining business operations success for years into the future. The axiom I refer to is “When hiring, think two positions up!” I know, I know. I ended a sentence with a preposition. However if you will forgive the faux pas for a few moments, I will turn my erroneous preposition into a practical proposition. Business policies and personal hiring preferences will vary from one business to another and from one hiring manager to another. At the same time, there seems to be no end to the options for commercially available interviewing training programs, talent acquisition software, and candidate evaluation tools and techniques. I have used many of these through the years and have my favorites. However, despite the fancy hiring models, gadgetry, and testing tools; I still evaluate candidates for employment with emphasis on the candidate’s potential to be successful in both the immediate position and any of the positions that would represent a logical progression from the open position. Let’s look at an example of this approach then consider the advantages and value of blending this thinking into your hiring practices.

The Senior Vice President of Operations has an opening for a Regional Director of Operations in a processing center located remotely from the Home Office. The Regional Director of Operations is one of six Regional Directors of Operations positions, three of which are located in the Western Region, and three in the Eastern Region. Each of the East and West regions has a Vice President of Operations reporting to the Senior Vice President of Operations. Company policy requires the Senior Vice President of Operations and the regional Vice President of Operations participate in the selection process since this position is considered a junior partnership level candidacy position.

Assuming the role of the Senior Vice President of Operations in the candidate evaluation process, you will likely have only the short list of candidate finalists referred to you for evaluation. As you prepare for these interviews in the customary manner, consider whether your evaluative processes will give you insight to the candidate’s future potential and ability to succeed either of the Regional Vice Presidents or yourself. Of course your evaluation will assure the candidate representing the best fit and opportunity for success will be the primary component of your evaluation process. However, thinking two positions up throughout the evaluation process represents a mutually beneficial approach. You can be assured the candidate is evaluating your company with an eye toward future advancement opportunities.

Three distinct advantages come from a hiring approach that includes thinking two positions up. Employee retention, leadership succession, and business continuity are all improved through two positions up thinking. As I mentioned above, the candidate for employment is thinking about the longer term advancement opportunities and so should you. Openly discuss this philosophy and evaluation tactic with the candidate.

Interviewer: Our company culture is supported by values and strategies emphasizing retention and leadership succession. What would you do in an environment like this to prepare yourself for future opportunities in our organization?

Candidate: It is reassuring to learn that retention and leadership succession are important to this company since there is a mutual desire for advancement and long term viability. I credit my past ability to move progressively through positions of increasing responsibility to activities that keep me sharp intellectually, and up-to-date from an industry standpoint. These activities have included mentoring with senior level leaders, reviewing industry related literature, attending industry related seminars, networking within my industry, and continuous learning. How do those activities coincide with your company’s expectations for those preparing for leadership succession opportunities?

By selecting the best candidate for the position, and thinking two positions up, you have positioned your leadership succession program for greater success. Your key leaders will not likely be around twenty years from now, however you owe it to your shareholders, employees, and customers to assure your company will be viable for years to come. This is a serious matter and not one to be treated with cavalier procrastination. Companies with the strongest cultural character will define and commit to a philosophy, strategic initiatives, structures, and tactics supporting this concept along with an abiding appreciation for leaders that groom their own successors. Reward your leaders for their ability to position their direct reports to run their divisions’ independent from close senior leadership support. Accomplishing this takes time, effort, and devotion so reward the accomplishment. Accomplishing leadership succession and operational independence also positions your business organization to gracefully absorb the unexpected loss of key executives. For some of you, this may require a paradigm shift in organizational culture and personal reevaluation of how you fulfill your leadership role in the organization. You and your colleagues may have to redefine your value to the organization to not only focus on the here-and-now, but your obligation to the future success of the business organization.

Retention and leadership succession provide a third business organizational benefit of business continuity which also begins with hiring for two positions up. When I mention business continuity, I mean the long term viability of the business, versus disaster event strategic planning. Your customers and vendors will have more confidence in your business organization when they see a pattern of succession and familiarity for those in your business organization they know and respect. Your business organization is vested in its reputation for consistency in building relationships and dealing with vendors and customers. You earn credibility and maintain confidence with your vendors and customers through a sense of continuity in these relationships.

Hiring for two positions up represents a long term competitive and strategic advantage for leadership retention. This advantage is further strengthened by blending the approach with a solid leadership succession strategy, and long term business continuity plan. I challenge you and your organization. If you are not already hiring for two positions up, give it a try for twenty four months. Develop a methodology to measure your retention, your readiness for succession, and your customer and vendor perceptions at the outset, and after twenty four months. Establish a fair reward mechanism to cascade this approach throughout the organization. Measure your results at the end of twenty four months to see if your business organization is stronger in its relationships with vendors and customers, stronger in retention, stronger in leadership succession, more operationally independent and resilient. Following your twenty four month review, celebrate your success sharing your results with your staff and stakeholders. Fine tune your program as you see fit for additional strength and viability.

Treat the axiom and concepts around hiring for two positions up just as you would any solid financial investment opportunity and get going on it now!

Author: Michael Mccarty
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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