"What's Up e-Doc?"

I don't have to tell you that your company's most valuable assets are its employees. You already know that having the right people in the right jobs increases productivity and morale. The trick is in finding them. How can you make sure that you're hiring the right people for the job?

The standard interview process is way out of date. When was the last time you heard an applicant admit that they have a bad attitude or that they have a time management problem? Hey, these people are trying to get a job! They're going to tell you what you want to hear. Consider this: How many times have you been fooled using the standard interview process? Chronic job seekers know how to interview well. What you want are people who perform well!

The new hiring process includes six facets. We call it the "Hiring Pie" (See Hiring Pie, below). Companies that put all the pieces of the "pie" together when hiring get the right person for the job. Companies that don't; it's back to want ads and revolving doors! Not to mention the loss of valuable customers as a result.
While the order and structure of the hiring pie is individualized for each organization, the pieces remain the same.

First Interview: A first interview is all about finding out whether or not this person fits with your company. Is the candidate willing to put in the required one- Saturday-per-month? Is their salary requirement realistic for your company and the position offered? Does the person fit the company image, converse appropriately, and dress accordingly? Once you've filtered out some potential candidates, move on to the assessment test.

Assessment Test: Okay, you've weeded out the unqualified candidates, leaving only those who meet your minimum qualifications. Now you need concrete information about your candidates. A University of Michigan study showed that 38% of resumes are false, and that the reliability of an interview to elicit correct information is only 13%. So how do you know your candidates aren't just telling you what you want to hear? You need to develop an assessment test to get some accurate information.

To develop an assessment test, first take your employees who currently fill this position. Classify each employee as either an A, B, or C employee (no need to tell your employees which classification they've earned). An 'A' employee is a star; the ones you wish all of the others were like. A 'B' is a mediocre employee; and the 'C's' are the ones you kind of wish you hadn't hired. Now, identify which qualities make the 'A's' (and the 'C's') unique. Are they outgoing? Competitive? Organized? Flexible? Use this information to discern a pattern and create a profile of the perfect employee for the job. Then, use this profile to screen your potential applicants. While the accuracy of an interview has been shown to be about 13%, the accuracy of a careful assessment test is 50%.

Once your candidates have taken the assessment test, look for any aspects that concern you. Any areas where the applicant scores outside the benchmark you've established as the perfect employee should act as a traffic light: proceed with caution.

Second Interview: All right, you've identified some potential candidates and given them your assessment test. Now you're ready for the second interview. A second interview should be focused on probing into areas that may cause concern, as identified by the assessment test. Did the person score unusually high in communication? Ask questions to make sure that this person isn't too outgoing to listen to their clients' and co-workers' input. Did the candidate score high in competitiveness? Explore whether this person might be too aggressive to take no for an answer, annoying to both co-workers and clients. A high score in attention to detail may indicate that this person is too detail-oriented to finish their work in a timely manner. Could a high score in organizational abilities indicate that the person might be inflexible? Ask questions to probe these areas until you are satisfied that this candidate is, in fact, right for the job.

Background Check: Now you have a candidate that you feel pretty good about. With invalid resumes becoming more and more common, I highly recommend that basic background verification (name, address, and social security number) be run on every candidate before hiring. This could save you a lot of headache down the road.

Drug Testing: The importance of drug testing is obvious. It is well known in the drug community which companies do and do not do drug tests. Where do you think drug users are more likely to apply? For your and your employees' safety, run a drug test on every new hire.

Training Plan: Unfortunately, this is the most overlooked piece of the pie. No employee can become a star, (an 'A'), without a personalized training plan. This plan should be developed before the person's first day of work. The training plan should be comprised of those areas that raised concern in the assessment test. If the person's attention to detail was in question after the assessment test, include this issue in their training program. Emphasize that deadlines must be met. If flexibility is a concern, build that into to the training program, as well. Any area that could become an issue down the line should be addressed in the training program. A company is only as good as its employees. Just don't rely on the standard interview process to find them.

Paul Nolan is the president of Personnel Profiles, Inc.; a Greater Cincinnati-based human resources consulting firm. Personnel Profiles, Inc. is dedicated to helping companies and individuals reach their full potential through the appropriate use and interpretation of selected personnel assessment devices and other human resources management tools. To contact Paul, please visit his website at www.persprofiles.com, or call 1-800-490-8860. In the Greater Cincinnati area, call (859) 655-4600.

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