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Screening Job Applicants
©uschamber.com
Once the word is out that you have a job opening, expect to get phone calls, in-person visits, and resumes in the mail. But what do you do once the calls, letters, and people start coming in?
Managing a Culturally Diverse Staff
by Matt Krumrie
According to Census 2000 one out of every four Americans identified themselves as a member of a minority group, up from one in five 10 years ago. This means that workplaces are becoming more culturally diverse, which often requires managers and others to continually rethink the ways they work with people.
“Cultural competencies are not something that you can learn in a four-hour diversity training,” says Kelly, principal consultant and trainer of St. Paul, Minnesota-based Lila Kelly Associates. “They are developed through a lot of hard work, just like other skills and abilities. Diversity is the way of the future, and there’s no turning back. If you want to be successful as a manager, working to become culturally competent is one way to get ahead.”
For the past 15 years Steve Morris of Singapore-based Steve Morris Associates has worked with Global Fortune 500 firms headquartered throughout Asia, promoting diversity management into workplace cultures. He says awareness and acknowledgement are imperative for the future success of any manager.
“The main thing to remember is to respect each person as an individual. Everyone has a unique background and heritage,” says Morris. “Show respect for others' heritage, traditions and most importantly, them as individuals. Don't generalize. No ethnic or cultural groups are exactly the same.”
Caleb Fullhart is an Area Manager for Ajilon Office, a national administrative staffing firm. He manages eight direct reports and about 100 indirect reports, who together form a melting pot of ethnic backgrounds.
“Managers should take the time to learn about the skills, knowledge and backgrounds of their staff,” says Fullhart. “These conversations will allow managers to find out about the differences and similarities in the cultural values of their staff and build on those differences for the benefit of the group.”
Fullhart says that managers should embrace the value of diversity, which helps employees to work collaboratively and in turn be more productive. Morris, meanwhile, says it’s important for managers of culturally diverse workplaces to dedicate time to bond as a team, including holding team sessions to discuss ideals or values, or where people can discuss their culture, heritage and history.
“When involved in a project, play to people's strengths - some will like to research, others will like to hunt for resources; others will like to suggest ideas, find out each persons talent of preference and assign roles that way,” says Morris. “Ask people to play a particular role, involve everybody, and acknowledge everybody’s contributions, particularly the ones that brought in something new to the team.”
Kelly says successful managers must provide and demonstrate open and non-judgmental communication with all staff members by demonstrating respect, knowledge and awareness of the differences that are present in their workplace.
“If the manager is uncomfortable with the differences, it will show and affect all employees,” says Kelly, who offers these tips:
“Working with a culturally diverse staff is an exciting opportunity to learn, grow and develop a better understanding of the world we live in today,” says Fullhart. “Your management and leadership skills will also benefit as you focus on building a well-integrated team. As the team works together, and learns from one another to achieve a goal, everyone benefits, including the overall atmosphere at the company.”
Why Good Employees Leave
By Louise Kursmark - Monster Contributing Writer,
In any employment market, good companies want to keep their best people. But when labor becomes scarce, as the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects it will for the next decade or so, employee retention becomes an increasingly critical priority.
What, then, can companies do to retain the people they worked so hard to recruit? From an informal survey I conducted of more than 100 executives recently in a career transition, several important facts emerge.
Compensation
The Issue: While just 31 percent of respondents indicated making more money was their primary reason for job hunting, it's evident that paying competitive salaries is an important retention tool.
What You Can Do:
Management and Retention
The Issue: In the survey, comments about poor management abounded. For 29 percent, the fact that they "did not like, respect or get along with their manager" was a significant factor in their decision to leave.
According to Irving Stackpole, president of healthcare consulting firm Stackpole & Associates, "It's absolutely clear that the reason people stay in jobs are the relationships that they have -- primarily with their supervisor." And when those relationships are strained, many people leave.
What You Can Do:
Communication
The Issue: When asked what advice they would give management to keep talented staff on board, survey respondents repeatedly mentioned better communication of company goals, performance expectations and value/appreciation of staff work.
What You Can Do: Consider this sampling of ideas from the survey, and compare how your own company and its managers operate:
Case Study: Why One Good Employee Left
For one senior executive, the decision to leave his job came down to listening and respect. After leading a successful turnaround of his division, he was excited to learn that the board of directors was launching a CEO search to replace the departing top executive. Because of his knowledge of the company and undisputed successes leading one of its most challenging divisions, he felt he was a strong candidate.
After drafting a resume and cover letter that put forth his vision of the key challenges and growth opportunities facing the organization, he assembled a strong list of references and alerted each to expect a call from a board member. He sent in his package with confidence that he would be able to expand on his ideas during an interview.
A few months later, he is actively searching outside the organization. His interview turned out to be a 20-minute meeting with a board member who clearly hadn't read his documents or contacted any references. "I felt disrespected," the worker says. "It's not that I thought I was a shoo-in for the job, but I expected to be given a fair shot."
Thus, the company will lose a top performer, because an executive didn't take the time or extend the courtesy to listen.
Be Proactive
Rather than finding yourself in a serious staffing shortage a few months or years down the road, take the time now to address retention issues at your company. You can create strategies to improve your company's ability to carefully preserve and develop its most valuable asset: Its people.
How to Check References: Be Thorough, Minimize Your Risk
By Jamie Hamlin,
You've completed second-level interviews, and you've narrowed it down to a finalist whom you hope is the right person for the job. Don't make an offer too fast. Thoroughly checking references will affirm that you're about to hire the right person and will save you from a costly and potentially embarrassing mistake.
Supervisory References. It's good practice to check three supervisory references. Before you start, however, make the candidate complete and sign an employment application that includes a disclosure statement allowing you (or an independent agency) to investigate the applicant's work history. It should also authorize previous employers, schools, and people named in the application to provide all information relative to an employment reference. The agreement should further release organizations and people from all liability for any damage resulting from disclosure of this information.
What to Listen for. Generally, the best and fastest way to check references is by phone. Here you can listen for subtle clues such as the reference's tone of voice, hesitations, and overly cautious word choice. In a conversation, people often provide information that they wouldn't put in writing.
What to Ask. Consistency is imperative to compare one candidate's references with another's, so use a script, with space to fill in the answers. Start by verifying the basic information your candidate supplied—such as employment dates, title, salary, and job responsibilities—to ensure that the resume isn't enhanced. Next, dig for important information like attendance, reliability, job performance, strengths and weaknesses, professional growth, communication and organizational skills, ability to multitask, initiative, and how the candidate gets along with others. One particularly good question is, Did this person consistently meet deadlines? Then, ask specific questions tailored to the job description.
As an example, for a sales job, inquire about the person's ability to prospect, generate revenue, and close deals. You could also ask where the candidate ranks among the sales force. Don't forget to ask the most important question, Would you rehire this person?
Red Flags. You will occasionally encounter companies refusing to provide a reference other than verifying dates of employment. If this happens, be sure to ask if this is a companywide policy or if it pertains to just your applicant. If it's just your applicant, it's an obvious warning signal.
While some companies extend job offers contingent on reference checks, doing so may place you between a rock and a hard place if you uncover red flags. By not hiring the applicant after making a contingent offer, you're essentially telling the applicant that someone has provided a bad reference—a situation that could open up complex legal issues for you and your company.
Preemployment Questions
Scott A. Lathrop, Esq.
Because of our various discrimination laws, during the job application and hiring process employers may not make any pre-employment inquiries which might reveal someone's protected status, such as sex, race, religion, age or handicap. Also, certain specific inquires have been prohibited by statute. Thus the list of prohibited inquiries can be quite long and sometimes surprising. For example, all of the following are questions cannot be posed during the job application and hiring process:
Workers Compensation
Workers' compensation is a statutorily required employee benefit that has been around for decades. But it is easy for an employer to fail to grasp the essentials of the workings of workers' compensation. Here then is an over view.
As stated, an employer is required by law to provide workers' compensation insurance. If an employer fails to do to so (or fails to become a licensed self-insurer), the injured employee may bring an action in tort for personal injuries without having to prove negligence and is not limited in the amount that he/she can collect, as would be true when the employer does have insurance. This can create a serious exposure.
Workers' compensation benefits are paid when an employee receives a personal injury "arising out of and in the course of" his employment. It covers the medical bills associated with such injuries, and if the injuries cause an absence of five or more days, it also covers part of the wages lost.
If the injury is due to the employer's serious and wrongful misconduct, the amount of compensation to the employee is doubled. The employer is ultimately responsible for payment of this additional compensation even if it is insured.
Employees who have received workers' compensation benefits are entitled to preference in reemployment over new applicants. And an employer cannot discriminate against an employee for exercising any rights under the Workers' Compensation Act or co-operating in an inquiry under the Act. If an employer violates these two requirements, it can be liable to the employee or former employee for all lost wages and fringe benefits, for pain and suffering damages and for attorney's fees.
The primary benefit to the employer for having workers's compensation insurance is that the employer is then immune from suits by the injured employee, his spouse and family. Their remedy for any injury is limited to whatever workers' compensation provides.
Management is Such a Farce!
Okay, now that I have your attention I'd like you to think of all the managers you have had in the past, or even those you have now and ask yourself if you would work for each one again. Maybe you're one of the lucky ones who has had a string of good luck and each manager you have had has been a great one, but if you are like most, you've had some good, some bad, and for myself, I can think of only a select few that I would consider working for again.
Think of the skills and attributes those "good", (effective) managers have had that might draw you back to work for them again, what were they?
Management consultants agree that "effective" managers have similar qualities. See if some of these skills listed below match up to your "good" managers. Effective managers have:
As you can see from the list above, we ask a lot of those who manager our organizations, and in addition, most corporations want their managers to be up to date on the latest technology, processes, tools and information in their respected field, and to be able to deal with rapid changes in the workplace such as virtual teams, distance workers, faster time to market a more diverse workforce! Does "superhuman" come to mind?
It's surprising then that there is so little attention paid to building management skills in corporate America. Western culture tends to focus on the task more than the people. Getting results, not building people and relationships. It seems many, not all; organizations seem to follow the theory that "a good engineer will make a good manager". This type of thinking makes no more sense than that of "a good manager will make a good engineer". Both disciplines need a desire to want the job, and both need to be trained and the both need the skills to do the work. We manage our lives, our money, our homes, our time, our careers (most of us) and at work we manage products, emergencies, even people and despite the millions of articles, books and WEB sites on the subject, we continue to see corporations promoting technical (and other) individuals into "management" positions, despite the fact they may not be trained, capable, ready, even worse, they are employees who do not want to be managers!
So have we done these managers a disservice by putting many of them into a position they are not capable of handling? Would we allow a pilot to fly, an engineer to design, a doctor to operate without proper training?
If an organization, group or team wants to survive, it must be well managed. If it wants to be well managed, it must have competent, skilled and effective managers, and more than that, leaders. Leaders who have the ability to bring all those wonderful new and innovative products and services to a hungry and progressive world market.
So, is management a farce? A sham? A travesty? We don't think so. Management is, however, something that corporate America needs to pay more attention to and continue to make investments in. We believe that People, employees, are the most important asset any company can have. Those assets need to be cared for, or they will move on. Especially important are those leaders who are headed for or already in management and supervisory positions, getting proper training, coaching and tools to do their critically important jobs.
So look at your own organization, your management staff or yourself if YOU are a manager. Have you been trained? If so, have you been trained on management lately? Do you have the skills to manage, to lead? As managers and leaders we can always be honing our skills.
The business that defines their goals and communicates those goals to their employees, invests in their people and builds-in the skills and capacities to achieve those goals will be the winners of tomorrow's customers and will control their own future.
Professional Coaching as a People Tool
As children, many of us were fortunate to have several "coaches" at our disposal; parents, teachers, big brothers and sisters, relatives, even the police and firemen. These people surrounded us and gave day-to-day guidance and direction. It was difficult not to move through a day without someone "coaching" us on the right or best thing to do.
Entering adulthood, we loose some of these influences. Coaching moves from teacher to boss, from parent to self, and as adults, we very typically have the responsibility of coaching others as well. It's a natural and selective process of evolution called "growing up".
As adults however, I believe we all still need coaching in one way or another. It doesn't mean we are weak or have faults, in fact, just the opposite, it shows that we are strong, able to recognize what we need and wise enough to go get it.
Since most organizations are comprised of adults, coaching has become an effective tool in the proverbial toolbox of the new millennium manager. You may have heard it as business coaching, executive coaching, or even project coaching, but the concept is the same, taking a vested interest in someone, because the human asset is still the most valuable.
More than ever, organizations are finding it difficult to retain good and effective employees, especially those who are innovative, creative and can think tactically. Not to mention the added cost of finding and replacing an employee.
With that, I offer a simple and effective tool that you might consider when coaching an employee in your company to be more effective, solve a problem grow professionally or to meet a challenge. It's called the I COACH method.
Using this simple tool to coach people is an effective way to begin helping employees move ahead in their careers, strengthen the organization and build confidence in their abilities.
Oh yeah, and don't forget to celebrate their accomplishments. Even adults need a little fun from time to time!
The Do's and Don'ts of Interviewing
Any successful employer will tell you that one of the keys to its success is hiring the right employees. But interviewing and hiring employees is loaded with legal land mines. There literally are dozens of interviewing questions and topics that an employer is prohibited by law from raising. For example, because of our various discrimination laws, during the job application and hiring process employers may not make any pre-employment inquiries which might reveal someone's protected status, such as sex, race, religion, age or handicap. Also, certain specific inquires have been prohibited by statute. Thus the list of prohibited inquiries can be quite long and sometimes surprising. For example, all of the following are questions cannot be posed during the job application and hiring process:
And there are several topics that an employer by law must raise. For example, because it is illegal to knowingly hire or recruit aliens who have not been lawfully admitted in the U.S. or who are not authorized to work in the U.S., an employer must swear that it has verified that each individual being hired is not an unauthorized alien.
The Importance of Human Resources
The role of Human Resources in a company of any size is to maintain that company’s most important asset….its employees. A Human Resources department's primary function is to establish, develop, maintain, and communicate personnel policies to the entire company and to represent, help, advise, and consult with the employees of the organization while at the same time always representing the best interest of the employer.
Am I really interested in dealing with Human Resource issues or would my time be better spent growing my business?
You are not alone! Many small business owners honestly do not have an interest in dealing with the issues that fall under the function of Human Resources. They are time consuming, cumbersome, and complicated - and so much of an employer's time is taken up with managing other aspects of business operations. You don’t have the time to deal with the employer and employee related issues like….hiring plans, recruiting, reference checks, compensation and salary administration, affirmative action, employee relations, separations, contracts, performance reviews, benefits, 401k and pension plans, documentation, coaching, workplace ethics, employee handbooks, employee development and training programs, award programs, community connections…etc… There is a tendency to put these issues to the side until they become problems.
As an employer can you afford to ignore Human Resources issue till they become a problem?
The answer is no and there are several reasons why. Employees are aware of their rights today. The role and responsibility of the Human Resource function is an awesome responsibility at all times dealing with and overseeing the most important, complex and valuable commodity a company can have…its people. Should you as an employer be doing anything less than the providing the best possible services you can for your most important asset?
Another reason why you can’t afford to ignore Human Resource issues is the legal compliance role of Human Resources. Today’s federal and state employment laws are very specific and companies are responsible for operating within compliance of these laws no matter what size you are. Any willful violation of company policies, industry regulations, state and federal employment laws like FMLA, FLSA ADA, VII, ADEA, OSHA, ERISA, IRCA, COBRA, HIPAA etc…could result in large monetary fines and/or could put the employer in an indefensible legal position. Most small to mid-sized businesses could not afford to pay the price of not being in compliance.
Is my Human Resource Department currently overwhelmed with work? With more projects coming up how can we meet the business objectives and stay within budget?
Companies with Human Resource departments have cut back on their budgets to save costs. Some have even cut back on personnel and out-sourced some of their Human Resource duties. But regardless of the changes, Human Resource departments today find themselves overwhelmed with all the day to day roles and responsibilities that fall under the Human Resource function. Hiring another person may not be an option. But hiring someone on a temporary basis, part-time or long term contact…could be.
Virtual Teams -- Future or Fad?
Challenges for virtual teams are many:
The term virtual team is a new and emerging work concept and as such does not appear to have a single definition. However, a general way of describing virtual teams is those teams that are geographically dispersed. By this, we mean team members are not located in the same area. The team members may be in different buildings, states or countries. As companies "go global" they find their employees and their subject-matter-experts can be literally anywhere in the world.
To understand virtual teams we must first understand the evolution of teams and how we have reached this new work model. Team or small group development has evolved over time, influenced by mankind's economic eras. Each of the great ages (Nomadic, Agricultural, Industrial and the Information Era) also has initiated a new social configuration.
In the Nomadic age teams were used in hunting. In the Agricultural age feudal groups formed to aid in harvesting. The next economic age was the Industrial age. At this time segmented, specialized work ruled, the new bureaucracy gave way to formal representation under law, constitutions, etc. These laws became the norms or operating principles of societies.
This brings us to today, the Information Era where families are made up of a diversity of styles and types. In the work environment decentralized, flexible organizations are replacing many collocated groups. The increase in technological capacity for groups to share information is laying the foundation for work-groups to move and evolve into virtual teams.
So why do we see and hear more about virtual teams today? The short answer is technology.
Until recently the technology could not have supported the work model of virtual teams. The technical communication vehicles, video teleconferencing, high-speed telephone lines, the World Wide Web, etc., have only recently reached the level of sophistication and technical capacity that will now allow these teams at-a-distance to communicate and meet effectively.
This capability now allows project or team leaders to build their team utilizing the best person for the job. These team members may include anyone in or outside their company as many virtual teams include employees from partnering companies as well.
You may ask what are the benefits and challenges of choosing virtual teams?
One benefit of virtual teams is the one we have already mentioned, that of the ability to expand the workforce of a company and to build teams with those team members best suited to the task.
In the past, teams could have members that were not co-located. However, there would also have been a considerable expense incurred in order to have this team meet face-to-face on a regular basis. Technology now makes it economically possible for non-co-located (virtual) teams to exist.
Although there may be an initial cost to meet face-to-face during the formative stage of teambuilding, the overall expense for travel is greatly reduced. It is this ability to build the best, most flexible and diverse team with anyone from anywhere in the world that gives this new team model, and the companies that use it, a competitive advantage.
One area where virtual teams and classic teams converge is that it is imperative for even virtual teams to meet face-to-face initially. It is in the forming stage that the team builds relationships and trust. However, other team stages (storming, forming, and performing) can be done very well in different times and places as long as this initial foundation (that of meeting face to face to build trust) has been made in the forming phase of teambuilding.
Challenges for virtual teams are many: communication and work standards being some. Because teams work "at-a-distance" and work different hours, it may be important for the team or organization to establish designated work hours and meeting times. In addition, setting standards for email and phone protocol may also be beneficial.
For those virtual teams that choose to communicate via video teleconferencing, special attention to effective communications will be needed as body language and hand gestures are lost through this medium.
Global teams also take on the issues of language and cultural diversity. Operational challenges that face regular teams are even more important to virtual teams because of their distance from each other. These operational challenges include
The challenges that this new team model presents are not just challenges to the team members. Corporations are challenged to change cultures and managers are challenged to change their work style to meet the needs of managing virtual teams.
So the benefits of competitive advantage, increased value to customers, etc., are many if companies can harness this new work model and work out the logistics of communication, work process, management, control and technology.
Retirement Plans for Small Businesses
By Renee W. Senes, Investors Capital Corporation
Securities Offered Through Investors Capital Corporation,
Before implementing any retirement plan you should consult with your tax advisor, legal counsel and investment advisor
SEP's are easy to operate and inexpensive to administer. Each employee, including the employer, has a separate IRA account. The plan gives the employer the flexibility to choose how much will be contributed annually. The employer may even choose not to make a contribution in a given year. The employer must contribute the same percentage (not the same dollar amount) for each employee.
The plan must be adopted by the employer's tax filing deadline with extensions. Contributions are due by the employer's tax filing deadline with extensions.
The business owner can contribute up to 25% of compensation (or 20% of your self-employment income if you're a sole proprietor), to a maximum of $44,000 for 2006.
Unlike a 401(k), SIMPLE's have no complicated non discrimination tests. This makes them very useful for companies that are top heavy. You may establish the plan and make contributions for yourself even if none of your employees choose to participate.
SIMPLE's are easy to operate and inexpensive to administer. The plan must be adopted by October 1 for contributions to be made for that year. Employee contributions follow the calendar year. Employer contributions are due by the employer's tax filing deadline with extensions.
The SIMPLE employee contribution limit for 2006 is $10,000 with an additional $2,500 catch up allowed for those over age 50. The employer then matches up to 3% of compensation.
A solo 401(k) plan is a regular 401(k) plan combined with a profit-sharing plan. You can contribute up to 100% of the first $15,000 of your 2006 compensation or self-employment income ($20,000 if you'll be 50 or older at year-end). In addition, your business can make a maximum tax-deductible contribution to the plan of up to 25 percent of your compensation, or 20% of your self-employment income. Total plan contributions for 2006 cannot exceed the lesser of $44,000 or 100 percent of your compensation.
Each Solo 401K must be set up no later than December 31 of the calendar year to be
eligible for tax deductions in that tax year.
The chart below demonstrates the 2006 contributions available for an incorporated business owner in various IRA plans, at different income levels (assuming no "catch up" for age 50+):
All plans are funded with pre tax dollars and allow contributions and earnings to grow tax deferred. They also offer the business a tax deduction for the contribution.
Penalty free distributions from the plans are available at age 59 ½ or upon death or disability. Both the SEP and the SIMPLE plans have provisions for penalty free distributions for qualified higher education expenses and qualified first time home purchases. The 401k offers the ability to take a loan which SEP plans and SIMPLE IRAs do not. You may borrow up to 50% of your account balance (up to a $50,000 loan) and repay it over five years (or over 15 years, if the loan is used to acquire a principal residence).
Before implementing any retirement plan you should consult with your tax advisor, legal counsel and investment advisor.
Employment Law Posters
Laws. Laws. Laws. There are over thirty different laws in Massachusetts which govern some aspect of the employment relationship. It is hard enough for labor law practitioners and human resources personnel to keep up with all of our employment laws. For the average employer it can be nigh unto impossible.
Because most of us struggle to understand and keep current on the substantive portions of our employment laws, we often dismiss the procedural portions of these laws as not being worthy of our attention. But this can be fraught with danger.
For example, many of our employment laws require employers to post notices in prominent and accessible places where they can be seen by employees, job applicants and union members. Such requirements appear in all of the following statutes: Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disability Act, the Equal Pay Act, Executive Order 11246, the Rehabilitation Act, the Vietnam-Era Veterans' Readjustment Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, the Family Medical and Leave Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act, the Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Act and the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act.
Even though the above list is long, employers are well advised to comply with all of these requirements. Most employment laws have very short statutes of limitation, meaning that if an employee does not bring his/her legal claim shortly after it arises, it will be dismissed. However, an employee can be excused from complying with the applicable statute of limitations if the employer has not posted the applicable poster. Hence, if an employer fails to post an employment law poster, it can be making itself more susceptible to a lawsuit, a result that should certainly be avoided.
Who is an Employee?
Anyone who performs services is an "employee" if the one for whom services are performed can control what will be done and how it will be done. This is true even when you give the worker quite a bit of freedom of action. What matters is that if you have the legal right to control the method of the services — the how, when, and where — rather than just the results, the individual meets the IRS common law rule and is going to be considered your employee. If not, the individual is classified as an independent contractor and is not your employee.
More specifically, an individual is an employee when he or she:
The IRS has a 20-factor test that it uses to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or is really an employee in disguise. The factors can carry different weights, depending on the factual situation. Generally speaking, if the worker would be considered an employee under at least 10 of the factors, you should treat him or her as an employee.
If in doubt, look at IRS Form SS-8, which is the form used by the IRS to determine individual status for purposes of income and employment taxes. You can use it to determine whether workers are employees. The IRS takes a strong stand on misclassification of workers as independent contractors when they are really employees and frequently imposes back taxes, penalties, and interest equal to tens of thousands of dollars when workers are improperly treated as independent. To ensure independent contractor status, for example, an employer must allow total control over the performance of the job by the contractor.
How Do You Publicize a Job Opening? - Nov 06
Once you've determined that you need to hire someone and figured out what you need done, you're ready to let the world know about your job opening.
There are several ways to let people know about your job opening:
How to Hire a Good Sales Rep: A System Proven to Work!
Hiring an unqualified sales rep costs you more than a failed sales call. It's a decision that means lost productivity and lost opportunity. And it's not quickly corrected; the wrong hire doesn't go away easily.
While there will always be risks in hiring, conducting a behavioral-based interview, which uses a candidate's past job behavior to predict future performance, reduces such risk by focusing the search on the best hire in your candidate pool. Conducting these interviews takes practice, but even if your technique isn't polished, the results will still be worthwhile.
The key to successful behavioral-based interviewing is soliciting answers that demonstrate P-A-R (Problem-Action-Result). This technique is especially useful when hiring sales professionals, as it allows you to break apart the sales cycle, directing the candidates to walk you through their especially difficult sales.
Conducting a Behavioral-Based Interview
Conducting the Follow-Up Interview
Checking References
How Do You Make the Hire?
After you've interviewed your top candidates for a job and checked their backgrounds, you must decide which one you want to hire. Use the notes that you've taken in interviews to help you.
Now you're ready to make a job offer to your top candidate.
A job offer may be made orally, either in person or over the phone, or in writing. We recommend that you do it over the phone, so you get a quicker answer to the offer and so that your chosen applicant doesn't get snapped up by some other employer while your written offer is still in the mail.
No matter what the form of the job offer is, the principle is the same. Do not make promises, or statements that can be construed as promises, that you cannot or do not intend to keep. Those statements can sometimes lead to expensive litigation if you later decide to terminate the employee.
When a job offer is extended, it should include the following information about the job:
While making a job offer is usually a positive experience, there are some areas to be mindful of and things to beware of. Don't create an employment contract with an offer.
Monster Contributing Writer
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©uschamber.com
U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Recruitment Director
©uschamber.com
Scott A. Lathrop & Associates
By Scott A. Lathrop, Esq.
Scott A. Lathrop & Associates
By Bob Vear and Linda Trowbridge,
Change Dynamics, Inc.
By Bob Vear and Linda Trowbridge of
Change Dynamics, Inc.
By Scott A. Lathrop, Esq.
Scott A. Lathrop & Associates
By Kathleen Mills
HR Off Site Resources, Leominster
By Linda Trowbridge and Bob Vear
Change Dynamics Inc., Ayer
What is a virtual team and why is this term so prevalent in today's business community? Are virtual teams the future for workgroups or a fad of the 90s?
communication and work standards being some. Because teams work "at-a-distance" and work different hours, it may be important for the team or organization to establish designated work hours and meeting times.
1) Being sure that expectations are clear and understood,
2) That roles and responsibilities have been agreed to, that
3) Common tools and processes defined and agreed upon.
Member NASD, SIPC
Advisory Services Offered Through Investors Capital Advisory
230 Broadway, Lynnfield MA 01940 800-949-1422
Small business owners and self employed business people all to often do not take advantage of the retirement plans that are available. Whether you are a business of 1 or a business of 100, there's a plan that's right for you and your company.
Think of this as a super IRA that allows bigger contributions than a traditional IRA. The plan is funded by the employer and is appropriate for a sole proprietor, partnership or a company with no employees. It may also be used when a company has a small number of employees, or all of the employees are family members, and the employer wishes to fund their pension plans. Employees are 100% vested immediately.
Like a 401 (k), the individual employees fund their plan through payroll deductions. There are two flexible employer contribution options of between 1% and 3% of compensation. SIMPLE's are appropriate for companies of fewer than 100 employees, sole proprietorships, partnerships and corporations. If you are self-employed, you may make a contribution to the plan as both the employer and as the employee.
Projected W-2
Wages 2006Plan Type
Traditional/
RothSEP Ira Simple Ira Individual (k)
$10,000 $4,000 $2,500 $10,300 $12,500
$50,000 $4,000 $12,500 $11,500 $27,500
$100,000 $4,000 $25,000 $13,000 $40,000
By Scott A. Lathrop, Esq.
Scott A. Lathrop & Associates
©uschamber.com
©uschamber.com
By Jamie Hamlin, U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Recruitment Director
©uschamber.com
Examine the job you're looking to fill. Edit the job description to accurately reflect day-to-day responsibilities. Make a wish list of the experience and intangibles the ideal candidate should offer. Double-check to determine if the experience you seek is realistic for the salary you can afford. Although you may not find the perfect candidate, your wish list helps when it's time to narrow your hiring choices. Then, develop interview questions based on the job description and the wish list. Here are some basic questions to ask:
It's a good idea to cover a few of the same questions again. Compare answers to reveal inconsistencies. Have a respected employee interview the candidate to see if there's a good fit for your office. Ask the candidate to bring records of previous sales numbers for the last year and/or give a sales presentation. Inform the candidate when you'll make a decision. Look for a thank-you note in the mail; it may seem old-fashioned, but it's often an indication of genuine interest. Refer to your wish list and see how the applicant scores.
When checking references, focus on supervisory references, and verify education, income, and employment dates. Ask the references for specific information supporting a good recommendation and listen for phrases that can raise a red flag. Always ask if they would rehire the applicant. Other background checks to consider are drug testing, criminal, credit, and driving records, especially if you're hiring a salesperson who will use a vehicle.
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