Another business owner suggested that I consider testing job candidates before I hire anyone. Seems like it can get expensive. Does it really help? Business is looking up and we”™re planning to add some people before year end and I want to make sure I get the right people on board.
Thoughts of the day: Hiring is both art and science. Make sure you have the basics in place before you start advertising and interviewing. Testing can pay off if you”™re focused on the long term.
Personal interactions such as interviewing, hiring and employing people are often emotionally based. An analytical, rational approach can give you perspective, but by itself is not enough to increase the odds of success. You need a mix of both.
Define what it means to have a successful hire. In today”™s fluid work environments, people are constantly coming and going. Retention is just one measure of success in hiring. Other factors include contribution to short- and long-term profits; addition to intellectual property and systems; fitting with the company”™s mission, vision and culture; willingness to pitch in as needed; and readiness to move on when the time is right.
Set up tools that will contribute to increased odds of success in hiring. Before posting an ad or interviewing, write up a detailed job description. Profile people who have previously held the job for success and failure factors. Define both attributes and skills needed to be successful. Look for tests that can help clarify candidates”™ skills and attributes.
Set up an interview queue: first, second and third steps that successful candidates go through. Have multiple people take multiple looks at candidates, repeating critical questions to compare answers over time. Hone in on candidate specifics, from basic history to recent performance, to future goals. Check references well before making a job offer to be sure that a candidate”™s story matches with facts and observations from former employers. Test to validate what you think you”™re seeing or use tests early on to narrow the field.
Avoid the temptation to make excuses when things don”™t line up. Set up a scoring metric to keep on point. Define a dozen factors on which to rate the candidate, including: skills; fit to job description; attitude; behaviors; compensation; references and testing results.
Testing can be used upfront to rule in or rule out candidates, or later on to confirm or challenge assumptions about the candidate. If you want to do research on what kinds of candidates are out there, or how different companies are approaching the job you plan to fill, you may want to interview a lot of candidates first, then hone in on ones you”™re most interested in and test later. If you”™re clear about the job you want to fill and what you”™re looking for in an employee, you can test early on in the process, saving interviewing time by focusing on likely “best fit” candidates.
Whether you test early on or later in the interviewing process, use tests to identify candidates with the best likelihood of delivering long term value. Test for both soft skills ”“ human attributes ”“ and hard skills ”“ requirements for the job. Value comes from people who are committed to excellence, who can fit onto your team and who have the ability to accomplish the tasks at hand while moving your business toward its long-term goals.
Testing can get to be expensive, no doubt. However, take into account the cost of mis-hiring. A week”™s salary paid to the wrong person might well cover all of the testing costs for a whole raft of candidates. Three months of nonperformance by the wrong employee could set the company back many times what it would have cost to profile candidates pre-hire.
Looking for a good book? Try “Hire With Your Head: Using Performance-Based Hiring to Build Great Teams” by Lou Adler.
Andi Gray is president of Strategy Leaders Inc., strategyleaders.com, a business-consulting firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurial firms grow. She can be reached by phone at (877) 238-3535. Do you have a question for Andi? Please send it to her, via email at AskAndi@StrategyLeaders.com or by mail to Andi Gray, Strategy Leaders Inc., 5 Crossways, Chappaqua, NY 10514. Visit AskAndi.com for an entire library of Ask Andi articles.Â
