By Jim Hartigan
February
19, 2013
We’ve all heard the saying “garbage in, garbage out.” Abbreviated
to GIGO for all our texting,
tweeting, and liking followers, the phrase was first used in the field
of
IT. According to our good friends at
Wikipedia, it was used to “… call
attention to the fact that computers
will unquestioningly process the most
nonsensical of input data ("garbage in") and produce nonsensical
output ("garbage out”). But,
GIGO can be applied to hiring practices as well. With
unemployment rates slowly (and I do mean
slowly) coming down, job movement will soon accelerate as the best,
most
productive team members gain the
confidence to test the job market to measure their value to other
organizations. If your organization isn’t already
practicing
these five tips for better hiring, you are risking having a perpetual
revolving
door of turnover as you make bad hires (“garbage in”) who don’t last
(“garbage
out”). (Note: we also subscribe to the notion that one person’s garbage
may be
another person’s treasure!)
- The
Foundation - Comprehensive Job Descriptions. Good hiring
practices center around competency-based
job descriptions. These documents permit
you, the employer, the opportunity to clearly articulate the required -
and
desired - background, skills, education, and behaviors from candidates
eventually filling these rolls.
Additionally, well written job descriptions give less desirable
candidates the opportunity to “self-select” themselves out of
consideration. The best fit candidates
will possess the necessary skills or education AND be excited about
performing
the tasks listed in the job description.
- The
Marketing - Intriguing Job listings.
After you have your job description, writing interesting job listings
will increase the likelihood you will attract the best
candidates. Effective
communications help you catch your audience’s (the best candidates
out
there) attention. Which of these listings catches your
attention?
Amazing
Account Execs Wanted! Our
customer-obsessed firm seeks solution oriented sales professional with
least 3 years’
experience. You bring the background and
desire - we’ll bring a great team, and all the tools and resources
you’ll need
to be wildly successful! |
Account
Executives Wanted. Seeking sales
professionals with at least 3 years’ experience. Apply online or
in person. |
- The Team
- Group conducted behavioral interviewing.
Bringing the successful members of your current team into the interview
process improves the selection process. The
job interviews should ask the candidates to describe specific
examples of their skills from previous assignments. Having
multiple team members interview
potential candidates will help to surface inconsistencies from less
qualified candidates
and helps ensure your organization is communicating with one
voice.
- Test
the Water First – Pre-employment assessments. While a
majority of organizations still fail
to utilize this valuable tool, assessments can predict whether
candidates are capable of doing the job and the extent to which they
are a good
“fit” for your organization and share the values of the firm.
- Cross
your T’s and dot your I’s - Check references. Experts
agree that consistently conducting thorough
reference checks for every new hire is the most frequent “corner cut”
in the
hiring process. It is essential to have
a telephone conversation with at least two references for every new
hire. Since there are many legal hazards around
providing references, listen to what is not said as well as what is
said. In other words, if the reference is reticent
to say much at all, perhaps it’s because their mother taught them the
lesson of
“if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
Comprehensive job descriptions, interesting job listings, group
behavioral interviewing, pre-employment assessments, and checking
references. It may not sound particularly
innovative or easy, but it is the best way to prevent having to take
out avoidable
garbage. Until next time, remember take
care of the customer, take care of each other, and take care of
yourself!
Jim Hartigan,
Chief
Business
Development Officer and Partner joined OrgWide Services, a
Training/e-Learning,
Communications, Surveys and Consulting firm in April 2010 after nearly
30 years
experience in the hospitality industry, including the last 18 as a
senior
executive with Hilton Worldwide.
Jim’s last position was that of Senior Vice President
– Global Brand
Services where he provided strategic leadership and business
development and support to the $22B enterprise of 10 brands and more
than 3,400 hotels in 80 countries around the world. His team was
responsible for ensuring excellence in system product quality, customer
satisfaction, market research, brand management, media planning, and
sustainability.
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