May/June 2004
The Hiring Game
Hiring the best and brightest and then keeping them has always been a challenge. As the economy picks up, that task will only get more difficult, though not impossible. This issue of Duck Tales™ focuses on hiring top-notch employees. Readers of this newsletter already know the ingredients to retaining employees: respect, trust, appreciation and praise, open communication, growth opportunities, and other qualities we tout in this newsletter. Companies that strive to follow these examples certainly have less difficulties retaining employees, but they still may have problems making the right hiring choices.
So before you place your next ad or interview another candidate, take a gander at this issue of Duck Tales™.
Matching Values
While it may be fairly easy to assess job applicants’ experience, it’s far more difficult to determine their value system. Yet compatible values between employees and organizations can make a tremendous difference in profits and productivity. For example, employees who enjoy “flying solo” and acting on creative impulses may not fare well in an organization that focuses on teamwork and discipline. How can you accurately assess the value system of a potential employee? Consider these suggestions:
- Define your values first. Make a list of actual values, those that are practiced daily at work. Keep these values in mind while interviewing job candidates.
- Question applicants about “inconsequential” matters. Applicants are more likely to reveal their true values if you ask them about issues that they’re not prepared to discuss, such as their choice of university, hobbies, etc.
- Ask open-ended questions. Phrase your questions without hints of your own viewpoint, so that applicants can answer without being influenced by your opinion.
- Share your values. Explain your company’s values to potential employees, so they can determine if there is an appropriate fit.
- Analyze the results. Review your interview notes to decide what values the candidate seems to emphasize repeatedly. Then use that information, along with other interview data, to determine whether the applicant is an appropriate choice.
Attitude Counts
Not only should you seek job candidates with values that match those of your organization, but you should also consider attitude. You want people who will assume responsibility and think and act like owners. More important than what people know is who they are. After all, skills can be strengthened through experience and training, but personality, work ethic, and fundamental values rarely change. Here are four techniques that can help you find people with the right attitude:
Look for the stars in your organization. Identify effective employees, and then ask their peers, supervisors, and customers what they like about them. Use those attributes to create an employee profile, and then hire new people whose attitudes best fit that profile.
Design creative job announcements. If you are looking for innovative, unconventional people, create an innovative ad—one that gets people’s attention, makes them think, or makes them laugh.
Ask the right questions. To learn about a candidate’s typical behavior and attitudes, let the person share specific experiences with you. If you would like to know how the person handles difficult situations, for example, ask questions such as, “Tell me about a time when you made a serious mistake. What did you do to reconcile it?”
Focus on previous accomplishments. Rather than asking candidates about what they can offer your company, let them talk about how they have proven themselves in the past. Every duck likes to preen now and then. You will learn a lot about candidates when you give them the chance.
The Loyalty Factor
Companies that practice the golden rule in employee relations are earning a little more respect themselves. While some organizations question the value of focusing on “soft issues” like trust and fairness, employees say these issues really matter to them. In one study, 56 percent of employees said their employers didn’t show concern for them and 45 percent said their employers failed to treat them fairly. As a result, in part, only 24 percent of the employees surveyed said they were “truly loyal” to the companies they worked for.
Those less-than-loyal employees create real expenses for today’s organizations. Replacing an employee eats up about one and a half times his or her annual salary. Those companies that pay attention to “soft issues” do see a payoff. According to a Watson Wyatt Worldwide study, companies that have highly committed employees have much higher shareholder returns.
What exactly do employees expect from employers? Basically, respect, trust, fairness, care, and concern. In fact, according to the Wyatt study, trust in leaders is one of the most powerful factors in retaining committed employees.
Making the Most of Talent
Organizations are increasingly recognizing that talent is a valuable commodity, equal to knowledge and surpassing equipment and service. When managers effectively leverage talent among their employees, they are essentially leveraging the success of the business.
Customers recognize talent through a variety of means, including the finished product, but also through less tangible elements such as creativity and organizational leadership. That’s not to say that managers should focus only on the most creative or intelligent employees. On the contrary, they should recognize and help develop the talents of each worker, thereby creating a “value chain”
that connects the customers with the organization. Managers must ensure that people at each link of the chain—from concept development to sales and support to the finished product—know that they are essential to the success of the chain.
Managers should continually be asking these questions to their employees in order to develop and leverage talent: (1) How is your job going? (2) Are you learning something new? (3) Based on what you’ve learned, what are your new goals? (4) What can I do to help?
Investing in People
Your workforce is perhaps your most important asset. That’s why it’s crucial to invest in it. One of the best ways to invest in your people is to foster their intellectual growth. It’s a win-win situation. Your employees will appreciate the opportunity to learn and grow, and you will get a smarter, more loyal group of people. Here’s what your buddy Trust E. Duck® recommends:
- Show employees the big picture. In order to make useful contributions, employees need to know what the goal is, how to play the game, and what role they play. Employees must understand the big picture intellectually and emotionally. Only then will they have the ability and desire to think about improving processes, products, and services.
- Share information. Giving employees concrete information has a way of unleashing creative thinking. One company’s billing department, for example, discovered that its turnaround time was four days—twice the industry average. Within a month, the department cut its turnaround time to two days, and within three months, turnaround time was down to a mere four hours. Neither new technology nor directives from management was the catalyst for change; what spurred employees to take action was simply knowledge.
- Reward managers who coach—and don’t supply answers. Smart companies understand that managers with all the answers tend to cultivate employees with no answers. Encouraging managers to always provide solutions stifles creativity at every level. At smart organizations, leaders are comfortable not having all the answers. Instead, they coach employees to find their own.
The Pitfalls of Hiring
In theory, background tests, preemployment testing, character assessments, and extensive interviews make a lot of sense. But in practice, companies routinely neglect these hiring procedures and choose new employees all too subjectively. You’d do well to avoid these emotional pitfalls when hiring new workers:
- Desperation. If you are desperate for new help, turn to employment agencies. They will make sure that candidates have completed standard employment testing.
- Quick decisions. Most often, employers make their hiring decisions within the first 10 minutes of the interview. For the remainder of the interview, they justify their decision. To avoid these hasty judgments, always include at least two people in the interview.
- Too much to do. While struggling to keep up with work demands, many employers simply decide to “get the hiring over with.” These attitudes often lead to poor hiring decisions because the employer simply hasn’t applied enough time or effort to the process.
- Falling into stereotypes. Much as we hate to admit it, some employers still consider certain jobs appropriate for men and others for women. These stereotypes can mean that the best person for the job does not get hired. The New York Philharmonic began using “blind auditions” in which musicians played behind a curtain. Since this process went into effect, the orchestra has hired twice as many women.
- Birds of a feather. Networking has its place, but don’t rely too heavily on a friend’s recommendation of an applicant. Make sure you put every candidate through the same testing and questions.
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