Proper approach to hiring helps you get right person

Q: How do I hire the right people? I’m shooting 50 percent. I have a small company, and I cannot afford to keep making the same hiring mistakes.

A: Small-business owners all too frequently make hiring decisions based on gut feelings about people. Unfortunately, you can be easily fooled by your emotions. It’s absolutely critical that you invest in learning how to conduct a “behavioral” interview, where you ask questions that require a candidate to answer how they have performed versus how they might perform. You need to assess what they have done, not what they think they will do. You need someone who has “been there and done that”. Making a poor hiring decision can cost you plenty when you have a limited workforce. Imagine what would happen if you have five employees and one of them turns out to be a bust – 20 percent of your manpower is as good as gone. Who’ll be left to fill in for that person? Three basic tools a manager must learn to use appropriately to hire the right staff are: Job description, resume with cover letter, and the interview. The search to fill a staff position begins with a job description prepared by the manager overseeing the employee. The best job descriptions have detail measures. They reflect the job accurately, specifically list to whom the employee reports, include the compensation range for the position, and list the skills and requirements that are essential. The process of evaluating candidates always begins with a resume. Never consider a resume with typos or mistakes. Since a resume represents a candidate’s best step forward, we expect one that is professional. Always look for a cover letter since it’s a writing sample to use in your skill evaluation and provides you with information about the candidate’s personality and style. To find top employees and hire the right job candidates, you need to use smart interviewing tactics to uncover a candidate’s true skills, strengths and weaknesses. This means going beyond standard questions such as “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” and focusing on the work habits of the candidate sitting in front of you. Don’t search for a perfect match. A candidate who is smart and ambitious, who was successful at his or her last job, and has good work habits will learn what he or she needs to learn to perform well. Behavioral questions require candidates to relate real situations and demonstrate how their strengths and weaknesses are manifested on the job. For example, rather than asking customer-service candidates to describe their people skills or problem-solving abilities, ask them to explain a recent problem or situation they experienced with a difficult customer and how they handled it. The real-life answer is much more useful than a skill description because it provides insight about how candidates apply their skills. Behavior-based interviewing requires practice and preparation, but the results are well worth the time and effort. The following steps will help you compile a list of questions that will enable you to assess whether a person is a good fit for a particular position and for your organization. n Establish a friendly climate. For instance, choose opening questions that are not threatening to the interviewee. n State the overall purpose and format of the interview. n Question, listen, observe and evaluate to gather information. DO: Ask questions that assess the applicant’s skills, knowledge and abilities. Follow the same order for all applicants. Ask all the questions of each applicant. Let interviewees answer the question completely before evaluating the response. Maintain an objective, positive and friendly attitude. Eliminate internal and external distractions and focus on the speaker. Maintain eye contact with the candidate. Listen for central themes, key points, content and feelings. Allow the applicant to talk 80 percent of the time. Share information about the position, the company and anything else that appears relevant. DON’T: Make judgments on the basis of nonverbal cues (i.e., limp handshake). Talk too much. Simply review information on the resume. Overreact to words or ideas that are emotional to you. Show disagreement or disapproval. n Tell applicants what the next steps will be in the selection process. n End the interview on a positive note. Ask if there are any additional questions that you might answer. Thank the interviewee for participating. I will be going over this process and more information on PDPWORKS during the upcoming Bixpo roundtable discussions, Sept. 14-15 at The Ranch. Please come by my table for more information.

Windsor resident Russell Disberger is a founding member of Aspen Business Group, a Northern Colorado-based specialty consult-ing and venture capital firm. He can bereached by e-mail at russell@aspenbusiness-group.com, or at (970) 396-7009.

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