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 How to Hire the Best where to look, what to look for, what to ask By Pat Stahl A bad hire can wreak havoc on even the most professional organizations and highly trained staff. In fact, cost of turn-over can be at least 25 percent of the position’s annual salary plus benefits, according to the Saratoga Institute, a large national HR research firm.So it’s no wonder staffing is one of an association executive’s most critical responsibilities. Experts say hiring the best is more art than science. Yet, there are techniques for recruiting, interviewing, and evaluating candidates that can improve your chance to hire the right person for the job the first time. Where to look Associations are known to hire mostly from within—if not from within their own organization than from within the Realtor® family. And according to hiring expert and veteran recruiter Lou Adler, that’s a great tactic. He recommends that internal networking and referrals represent 50 to 60 percent of your hiring. When there’s a position to fill at the Houston Association of Realtors®, Executive Vice President René Galvan looks first for internal candidates and referrals from colleagues, vendors, and staff. Then, to cast a wider net, he posts the position on hotjobs.com. Online job boards are less expensive than newspaper ads and attract more computer-literate candidates, he says. Other popular online posting spots are the AE jobs page of REALTOR.org (free) and the careers section of the American Society of Association Executives Web site at www.asaenet.org ($200). Job postings should be written to be more marketing and less advertising, Adler says, meaning sell the position to potential hires by talking about opportunities and the character traits your company values, rather then cataloging the desired skill set. What to look for The most unsuccessful hires are a mismatch of values, says Holly English, a business consultant in Montclair, New Jersey, who advises associations to identify talent rather than to simply assess competency in a job candidate. “Take the time to think not just about the skill set you’re looking for, but also about values.” You can teach computer skills and event management, but you can’t teach motivation, humor, compassion, or dedication, she says. Look for candidates who will fit into the overall culture of the association, echoes Jim Link, CEO of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors® in Van Nuys, California. “We’re a people business,” he says. “Our members are our customers, and our employees have to understand the Realtor® mindset.” Another key attribute to look for in job candidates is sincere interest in your organization, not in just getting a job. Gauge this by how much they’ve researched your organization before the interview, how many questions they ask, and how curious and truly motivated they are, says Shannon Skousgaard, an associate professor of philosophy at George Mason University and a trainer with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Organization Management. What she values in a job candidate is respect for others. “Think of everyone in the office as an interviewer,” she says. “The way a candidate treats the receptionist on the way in is just as meaningful as the way he or she treats you during the formal interview.” What questions to ask Most candidates have standard responses to the stale and predictable career-track inquiries, such as “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” or “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” So to liven up the process and test how your candidates think on their feet, try these questions to get a glimpse of personality and values: “If you were independently wealthy and didn’t have to work, what would make you want to go to work?” “What attracted you to this position?” “What has been your biggest accomplishment in your current job?” “What three things did you like best about your previous job?” “What led you to attend XX University or take up this hobby? (Focus your decision-making questions on areas they might not have prepared for.)” “You have had success in your career. Tell me about people who have helped you along the way.” “What does the day look like on those mornings you get up and say to yourself, “I can hardly wait to go to work today because ...” “What does the day look like on those mornings you get up and say to yourself, “I really don’t want to go to work.” because ...” Be sure to ask about other aspects of a candidate’s life, such as hobbies or community involvement. “You might learn, for example, that the person volunteers at a local soup kitchen,” says English. “This tells you not only that the person likes working with people, but also that he or she isn’t motivated by money alone. That’s an important consideration if you’re a small association that can’t compete with a corporate salary structure.” One mistake employers make when trying to match the candidate’s skills to the job is being too vague, says Adler. “Don’t talk in generalities about the need for ‘strong organizational skills’ during the interview,” he says. “Get down to ground zero and explain that the position entails arranging six meetings a year or three workshops. Then ask the candidate if he or she has done that before and, if so, how often.” Check background and references The result of not doing a background screening could be hiring a candidate with a history of theft,embezzlement, assaults, or lawsuits, to name justa few. The first step in background checking is to interview candidates’ former employers. Ask what duties the candidate performed, if they would hire the employee again, and how they would rate the employee’s job performance on a 1-to-10 scale. Although many companies believe it’s against the law to provide any information about their former employees aside from confirming employment, most states have passed laws protecting employers from civil liability when providing employment verification if the information is truthful and without malice. More employers today are turning to both criminal background checks and credit checks to try to get a better picture of job candidates. Yet the Equal Employment Opportunity Com-mission and many states prohibit the use of arrest records and financial information for employment decisions because they are inherently biased against applicants in minority groups or other protected classes, except if the applicant’s conviction or financial status is job-related. Skousgaard is not a proponent of drug testing or personality profiling in the workplace unless it’s strictly job related, as with air traffic controllers, for instance. “The more we rely on laws and tests in our hiring decisions, the less responsibility we assume as individuals,” she argues. “And testing sometimes eliminates people who could be retrieved—who could turn out to be great hires.” She and others do, however, believe in checking references. “When calling a reference, don’t just accept what the person says about the job applicant at face value,” English cautions. “Evaluate the person you’re getting the information from. Ask pointed, factual questions. ‘Did the applicant meet project deadlines?’ But at the same time, strike up a conversation so you can get a sense of what the reference person is like and how well he or she really knows the applicant.” In the end there is no foolproof method for determining the bad apples from the hot prospects. But taking the time to conduct thoughtful and thorough candidate recruitment and screening can save time, money, and headaches. 10 Interview Don’ts 1. Don’t be afraid to ask tough questions. If you uncover anything during the reference checking or employment history review process that warrants tough questions, don’t be afraid to ask about it during a follow-up interview. It is important that you begin your relationship with a new hire on a frank basis. 2. Don’t oversell your company. Don’t paint an unrealistic picture of your company in order to lure an applicant on board. Interviewers make mistakes by bragging about how things are booming, while not giving specifics about the strengths and weaknesses of the firm and putting them in perspective. 3. Don’t ask for information you already have. This shows a lack of interest in the candidate since this information was obtained earlier. The interview should be used to obtain new information or to confirm or reject tentative information already acquired. 4. Don’t allow yourself to be interrupted unless there is an emergency. Too many interviewers allow the interview to become disjointed by not taking steps to prevent interruptions. Your office door should be closed. Put calls and messages on hold. 5. Don’t talk too much. At the most, an interviewer should say one word for every four spoken by the person being interviewed. 6. Don’t use the interview as your therapy. When interviewers use their sessions to spout out their concerns about the company, they may feel better, but may lose a prospective employee in the bargain. 7. Don’t be afraid to spell out in detail the requirements of the position. It is imperative that people know what is required of them before beginning a job. The interview is the time to outline the job’s requirements, as well as your criteria for evaluating success in the role. 8. Don’t gossip or swap war stories. Many interviewers try to find familiar ground they can tread over with the applicant. Though this might seem like a comfortable way to get an interview under way, inquiring about friends and relatives can get things sidetracked, wasting a huge amount of time. The interview should be devoted to obtaining as much information as possible in order to make a sound hiring decision. 9. Don’t put the applicant on the defensive. There is no point in creating unnecessary tension during the interview. Knowing an applicant’s personality strengths and weaknesses is vital to making the best hiring decision. A speech embodying a long-held philosophy is inappropriate, but a frank discussion of the importance of detail in the job—and how she might deal with the detail aspect of the job—would be constructive and would allow both people to make a more reasoned decision. 10. Don’t be afraid to make the interview as long, or as short, as you deem necessary. The final mistake commonly made is that interviews are concluded in an unnecessary rush. There are no set guidelines on length, so long as you clearly spell out the anticipated length of the interview and so long as the time is spent wisely. Adapted from How To Hire & Develop Your Next Top Performer by Herbert Greenberg. Copyright © 2001 Winter 2004 Click here to Send feedback on this article. |
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