Best Hiring Practices

I am working with a client in helping them to fill a key management position within their organization.  One element of this particular search is that there are members of the team who have been with the company for a period of time who are interested in this opportunity.  This is a not-so-unique challenge that hiring managers face when key positions become available - do we promote someone from within because they have earned it by putting in their time?  The way this particular client chose to handle the situation is unique.  Rather than just "giving" the position to an internal person they opted to have these individuals go through the same assessment and selection process that other candidates are going through.  This means that the resumes of those internal candidates came into my inbox just like everyone else's and even I did not have a heads up that the internal candidates were interested!  I found this to be a particularly interesting piece of the client's recruiting strategy.  It allowed all candidates to be placed on the same playing field and all of them were put through the same applicant screening process.  It may not seem unique but even though a best hiring practice is to hire the best person for the job sometimes hiring managers settle for the "best I've got" right now.  They take this approach in order to take the hiring project off of their plate and move on to new and usually more exciting things.  Hats off to those hiring managers and companies who take hiring seriously enough to make sure that the person they bring in to a key position fits well with the bigger picture of their organizational alignment.   

• Aliah Wright wrote an article called "Millennials: Bathed to Bits" in the July 2010 edition of SHRM's HR Magazine in which he states, "Old style interviews are out.  Two way dialogues are the way to hire."  If you've not seen this article, be sure to check it out.  Great perspective on a new hire's first three months and a new paradigm for the employee lifecycle.
• Diane Spiegel's posting, "7 Questions You Wouldn't Expect During a Millennial Interview" aligns perfectly with Wright's article. The questions she presents are great examples of a candidate engaging the interviewer in a real dialogue.  Are you ready to answer these questions? 

At this point, we've all read or even experienced ourselves the open position that had 500 applicants.  With such enormous candidate pools and so many people looking for work (and even desperate for work), this means that employers have maximum control of the process, right.  Well, not really.




Even with lots of candidates out there..., 

• Candidates will have other opportunities (part 1) - If you drag out your candidate screening process over weeks and weeks, you are increasing the chances that candidates (even finalists) will move on to another opportunity.  The "hotter" the candidate, the more opportunity they'll have, even in this market. The company who can put them through their process quicker and offer an equal opportunity may beat you out.
• Candidates will have other opportunities (part 2) - The great candidate may also be one who is in pretty dire circumstances.  He/she may have to take the first offer they get of any work. 
• Candidates will get uncomfortable and withdraw - If your process drags on, candidates can start to think, "Jeez, even if they offer me a job, it doesn't seem like they're really that interested in me.  I'm not sure if I want to work somewhere where I'm not valued."  Even if a candidate doesn't officially withdraw, they'll just go silent.

Indeed, even with unemployment high, best hiring practices still hold true when it comes to working with candidates.  It's still critical to move through your hiring process expeditiously.  here are some thoughts to help with that. 

1. Set an 8 week deadline.  Commit to no more than 8 weeks between posting a position and making your final decision on a candidate (or to restrategize the search and start over). 
2. Make sure that internal stakeholders agree on the position and search parameters before you launch.  When there is internal dissention about the scope of a job, qualifications, compensation, etc., it drags out the hiring process because these matters are being worked through while candidates are being considered.  Figure out the position first, get everyone in agreement, then launch.
3.  Have the infrastructure in place to move through the process.  If you don't have the capacity to quickly process resumes and move candidates through quickly, consider engaging additional help.  (Note that our RPO service is perfect in these situations!)
4. Communicate to your candidates.  Be clear about your timeline for hiring and where they are in the process, especially if they're real contenders.
5. Keep the top candidates engaged. If the hiring manager just interviewed someone fabulous but is going on vacation before the final decision can be made, make sure that the candidate is contacted by the company in a meaningful way during that week.  It's not enough just to tell them that you'll be away - keep them connected.

I can't pass up an opportunity to reinforce the kudos my colleague Todd Gross offered to our ADVISA Hiring team today in his posting Best In Class Recruiters.   Our Hiring Partners Gina, Sally and Beth are truly exceptional at applying best hiring practices, smart recruiting strategy and savvy applicant screening to the searches we do on behalf of our clients.  Thanks, Todd, for recognizing our team and thanks to all of our team members for your great work every day. 

Learn more about our unique Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) work by clicking here or contacting me directly.  I'd love to explore how we can enhance your employee recruiting efforts.

We just added “Special Projects Consultant” to the “Advisa Hiring Manager” title held by our Dana Harrison. That makes sense for us and our clients because Dana both enjoys and is good at delivering results on “Special Projects”. This work involves evaluating a specific problem within a client; putting forth a solution that they find satisfactory; and finally implementing that solution to the clients’ satisfaction.

Recently, she's partnered with our consultants on “Special Projects” which have included:

· Diagnosing a national organizations’ hiring processes and putting HR best practices into place

· Analyzing and strengthening the employee recruiting process of a multi-national organization and training the revised effort to multiple locations around the world

· Providing coaching for better self-understanding to a group of sales managers to yield stronger teamwork, communication and better performance

· Facilitating the development of a strategic planning approach for the HR function within an organization

Dana has a gift few others have. She can analyze a situation; combine her experience with research and common sense to conceive a plan; and then discuss and finalize it in partnership with the client. Once the plan is agreed to, she then works like crazy to implement it to assure the desired result is accomplished. Our consultant’s know that when Dana is given a “Special Project”, their clients will be happy with the result. And that’s good for everyone.

If you have a “Special Project” – a business or personnel problem you just don’t know how to solve, give us a call. It may be beyond our capabilities (and if it is, we’ll let you know). But there’s also a real good chance that our team's involvement could yield the results you desire.

Before the time comes to fill a position - any position - within your organization it is important to get your ducks in a row before you just jump right in.  The ducks to which I am referring have to do with the important pieces you need to have in place before launching a search to fill a vacancy.  The first "duck" to have in place is a job description that effectively captures the job you need someone to do today.  Many times Hiring Managers continue to work from a job description that was created years ago and as with most positions the duties of the position have evolved to a point where the original job description does not look much like the job that you need to have done today to effectively achieve organizational alignment.  The second "duck" is to have an effective applicant screening process in place to  identify benchmarks necessary for candidates to meet in order to successfully do the job you need them to do.  Whether you partner with the Advisa Hiring team to help with this piece or you do this on your own it is important to make sure candidates not only have the type of experience that is necessary for the job but they also need to fit in with the culture of your company and the job itself needs to motivate employees to be the best they can be.  In the end, having your ducks in a row will not only help you to hire the right candidate, it will also make the process more simple for hiring managers and prove to be helpful for engaging employees because you will have taken steps to make sure they are the right person for the job. This is one of the best hiring practices you can follow to ensure the search process runs smoothly.   

The review system we use within Advisa has been an evolving process.  We try to follow and update best hr practices and use what we learn both internally and with clients.  It only makes sense to practice what we preach.

Here are the highlights of our own evolution.

Shortly after hiring our first employee, I heard a terrific presentation about cascading Key Performance Requirements (KPR’s) to individual employees that were derived from implementing strategic planning.  I used what I’d learned to create balanced scorecard metrics for our people that dovetailed with our plans.  We began having year-end reviews to discuss progress against the measures and what the business could do to help employees accomplish them.  All the numbers were published and managed monthly, but we did a full fledged review at the end of the year.  The process assured that our people knew what they were supposed to be doing, how it was being measured and how what they were doing fit into our strategic planning framework. 

Several years later, I’d read “First Break all the Rules” by Buckingham and Coffman (if you haven’t read it, you should.  It’s a must read business book).  One of the 12 questions listed in the book that research had shown distinguished the best run companies was:  “In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress”.  It became apparent one review per year wasn’t enough.  We moved to two.  That assured that our people had regular discussions about their progress and how it helped accomplish their goals and the goals of the organization.

When Heather Haas (our COO) came back from an assignment with one of our clients who had adopted a competency model to augment their performance metrics, she had seen the benefits that were derived from the effort.  As a result, we investigated adding competency evaluations to our review process and concluded it would add value to our process.  We now evaluate 7 job-specific competencies as part of each employee’s review.  This addition allowed us to successfully evaluate some of the softer skills that allowed us to dig deeper into a person’s success (or struggles) than what we were able to achieve with KPR’s alone. 

Some of the employee development programs that Heather and Dana Harrison (our Advisa Hiring Manager) have been creating for clients have led us to another tweak of our process that’s beginning with this set of mid-year reviews.  We’ve found that hr best practices show that more commitment is garnered from employees when they help to drive the look and feel of their own goals.  Thus, we’re asking our employees to have a much more active role in providing input, doing their own goal-setting and encouraging management evaluations at mid-year reviews.  The process is just beginning, but so far, it seems to have opened up communications and done a better job of gaining personal commitment to where people are trying to go.

What’s the take-away for you?  Nothing’s ever perfect.  Always evaluate what you’re doing and keep your eyes and ears open to what others are doing and what the research says.  The opportunity to get even better than wherever your performance level is might be just around the corner. 

And, of course don’t be afraid to call us at Advisa if you think we can help you get even closer to perfection.  We probably can. 

In my Organizational Behavior class last Saturday (I'm slowly, but surely, working on my MBA), my professor uttered a line that I'll be quoting for years. 

"If you need a squirrel to climb the tree, hire the squirrel.  Don't hire the duck." 

Ding, ding, ding!!!! 

We were talking about the use of personality assessments, which is a niche of the professor - his work in a Fortune 500 company includes determining what assessments to use and managing their use, especially in hiring.  He gave very specific examples that quantified the impact of using a reliable and valid assessment in hiring.  Fascinating and meaningful, but the squirrel/duck analogy said it all.  Don't hire the duck.

There are several layers to why I found his summation so powerful.  These relate to previous posts I've done about best hiring practices. 

1. Know what you need.  In this case, a tree must be climbed.
2. Any personality assessments you use  should help you quantify and "package" the behaviors you need.  You need a squirrel.
3. Then the candidate assessment should help you see what you have in front of you.  You have a duck. 
4. Finally, you have to do the fit/gap analysis.  Can the duck climb the tree?

• Is your search attracting squirrels?  Do you need to do more to attract a squirrel (e.g., offer stronger compensation or add relocation)?
• Can you wait it out until a squirrel comes your way?
• You need a tree to be climbed because you need to get what's at the top.  Is there another way to get what's at the top?  What about a bird that can fly more than the duck? It's not a squirrel, but it'll get the job done.

• Recruiters don't seem to truly understand the role they are recruiting for or that much detail about the clients needs.
• I am not sure if the post-interview feedback is honest or I don't get feedback at all.
• Most headhunters don't return my calls or acknowledge that I applied for a job.
• As a hiring manager, I hate when recruiters sling resumes at me and don't take the time to understand my needs."
• Dishonesty about a position, company, or the requirements for a role
• Recruiters seem unethical and will do anything to make a placement; their tactics to recruit or develop accounts are dishonest.
• I feel like job postings are not real jobs some time, the Bait and Switch.
• Recruiters are only working for the company and aren't looking out for my best interest through the offer stage.

            

• Each of these individuals specializes in executing searches.  They are highly adept at understanding your company and what you need – your Partner will take great care of you utilizing best hr practices and hiring assessments.
• They instill confidence that a thorough assessment of the candidate pool occurs, and that the process is as efficient as possible.
• If you are a PI® client, your consultant receives communications about the progress of your search. 
• Gina, Sally and Beth are committed to representing you accurately and we will always have your needs and desires at the forefront as we review candidates. 
• Keeping you informed is important to us, so each week you will receive a summary of the search, including the number of applications received, the strength of the candidate pool, and how many candidates are in each process of the screening. 
• T  he ADVISA Hiring Partners are not compensated by commissions.  They work for their clients as if they are on the clients' payroll.  Like all of us, they put pressure on themselves to please our clients, but they don't feel any pressure to submit unqualified candidates.
• The candidates, both successful and unsuccessful are treated professionally, with respect and sensitivity to their personal situations. 

We had the unfortunate situation come up this week in which a client really liked a candiadate for a position but because of a delay in the timing of communicating this to the candidate, the candidate accepted another opportunity. Ugh!  A good one got away!
 


This reminds me of a time last summer when my then 9-year-old son was fishing in a local pond.  He may or may not have been convinced that he would ever catch a fish, so he didn't really plan on "next steps" in the event that this actually occured!  Well, as luck would have it a fish did bite and it was a big one; but because he did not plan in advance, he did not know what to do once it actually took the bait.  It got away.  He didn't act swifly enough to actually catch the fish and reap the benefits of such a feat!  This was very disheartening for him as you can imagine.

The same was true for the client/candidate situation mentioned above.  Unfortunately, timing is everything and not being able to respond swiftly when you find a candiate who matches what you are targeting often times leads to losing them to another company.  It is very disheartening for a hiring manager to think they might have a position filled only to find out that by waiting or even just hesitating that candidate moves on to another opportunity.

All of the candidate screening processes in the world will not guarantee a good hire for a particular position within your organization unless you have put into your organizational planning the action steps needed in the event that you find the right candidate for the job.  In addition to identifying when a new hire is necessary and taking the steps to effectively screen candidates for the position you should also include in your best hiring practices a plan to actually move a candidate through the selection process quickly!  

With real estate the old adage is location, location, location.  Wiith hiring the adage may just be "timing is everyting" - especially if you want to avoid letting one get away!

Last Saturday night the band “The Fourth Wall” debuted in a small restaurant / pub in Nashville - four guys who'd been together a couple of weeks who were just looking to have some fun and play some music.  My wife and I and our two eldest sons were there for the performance.  Brandon, our middle son, is the leader and front man for the band.

What got us here is an interesting story.  Brandon moved to Nashville initially because he had a job opportunity that covered two of his secondary areas of interest – theatre and teaching.  Jacob, his older brother, was already employed at the private school doing the hiring and suggested Brandon interview for a part time job in technical theatre.  Brandon liked the idea because if he got the job, he thought he could pursue his primary interest (at the time) – becoming a rock star.  He thought the best track for that would be the open Mic circuit - and Nashville would be an ideal place to start (Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe is one he's played at and perhaps the most famous of them all).  Three years have passed and Brandon’s not only teaching full-time but become head of the arts' department of the school he was brought into.  He’s really enjoying the teaching.  And recently, he started his own open Mic to see where his music would lead.

Personnel selection for “The Fourth Wall” wasn’t what you’d call “best hr practice” or a part of a larger "recruiting strategy".  People who showed up for the open Mic on Wednesday would do their own songs individually and jam together later.  Those that got along, had some talent and were willing to practice a few times for the Saturday Night band gig were in.   Those that failed on any of the qualifications were out.  Brandon sang and played guitar, Neato played the keyboards, Todd drums and George bass.  They’d all had some professional (money making) musical experience, but none had hit the big time.  They got along well enough and figured their joy of music would carry them.

At about 8:15 Saturday night everyone was ready and the music commenced.  I’ve heard many iterations of Brandon’s music, but this was the best I’d heard – a professional band really does make a difference.  The fact that they were having a great time helped too.  The four men were united by the joy of making music together – work satisfaction in action.  The crowd was pleased and the band took both energy and tips from them gratefully.

Time will tell if “The Fourth Wall” lives on or not.  If nothing else, it was a Saturday night of fun and good music.  That's all the band and crowd wanted - a one night gig and good times. 

I'm not sure Brandon or the band are looking to review their personnel selection or strategic planning systems.  They're not thinking about hiring strategy or the future of the band all that much.  Maybe they'll play again, maybe not.  They're not looking to make a living out of their efforts or turn their band into a business.  They're just having fun and if and when the fun stops, so will they.  It's a different approach than I'd suggest for a business, but for them, for now, why not?

Once or if the band starts thinking about their tomorrow's, Bran and I will probably have a chat. At that point, they may need to be a tad more rigorous in their approach to many of the fundamentals what could become their business - and in that, I could help.  But perhaps, if or when it becomes a business, it will cease to be a fun Saturday night.  That may not be the direction things take.  We'll see what happens...

I'm a sports freak...I love every sport and I'm an excellent, knowledgeable spectator. Football, basketball, tennis, baseball (well, just the playoffs because the regular season is simply too long at 162 games) - the list goes on and on. The only sport I actually play is tennis and I can tend to be just a tad too competitive on the court but I love being out there. Plain and simple, I like winning but more than that, I hate losing.

My job at Advisa is a Hiring Partner. I'm here to assist clients in hiring selection, utilizing applicant screening, the PI® behavioral assessment tool and best hiring practices to help them fill positions. These could be any positions, such as a Synergy Group Leader position in China or a Network Engineer  in Dayton.

I take great pride in filling any position, but especially the "needle in the haystack" ones where our clients have come to us because of our expertise and ability. I'm always aiming for a 1.000 batting average and when I'm not able to find the perfect candidate and my average slips a little, as occasionally happens, it bothers me...a lot.

Nobody throws a touchdown pass or hits a home run or serves an ace every single time but that doesn't mean they're not trying to. And it's the same with not only me but the entire Advisa Hiring staff as all of us are committed to providing you with the highest, most professional assistance with employee recruiting...every time out.