Step-by-Step Selection

By Dr. Larry Craft

Most managers have such little time available that they have a tendency to short-cut the employee selection process. They'll administer a brief test, ask a few unstructured questions, and make an impulsive hiring decision. Nothing could be more dangerous and foolish.

First, and most important, you aren't going to save time. When you hire an incompatible employee or one who lacks the motivation or self-discipline, you'll spend much more time training, motivating, or holding the new employee accountable than you would have spent following a longer, but efficiently structured, selection process. Secondly, if you don't follow a structured process, you can bet your bottom dollar that someday you'll be spending a few weeks of your precious time attending EEOC hearings on some discrimination charge.

Here are a few ideas to help you structure your selection process to avoid costly hiring mistakes. Let's take a look at Step One of the formal selection process, the introduction. Remember that this step is intended to produce an informal bond between you and your candidate that will later transcend the formality of the personal interviews.

Your staff assistant should greet the applicant with traditional hospitality and then guide the candidate into a waiting room where your assistant asks the candidate to complete a brief job application, if it has not been previously completed on-line. Your assistant should discount the use of the candidate's resume for this purpose, since most resumes are designed as marketing tools to compliment the candidate.

As soon as the application is completed, your assistant should ask the candidate to review any recruiting materials or videos you may have on your industry, your company, and your office in preparation for meeting you for the first time. Without these recruiting materials, you will find yourself pulling too hard and pushing too little. These recruiting materials will do the selling for you, allowing you to take on a professional demeanor during the interviewing process. If the candidate tries to take control by asking questions, you can gently refer the candidate to your materials and go on with the interview.

Your role begins with what is called the 'Walk-around.' This formal process begins after your candidate has completed the job application and reviewed your materials in the waiting room on the first day of the selection process. This is where you introduce your candidate to the facilities and your staff, including your highly successful sales personnel. You can reference their success and establish them as role models in your 5-15 minute walk-around period.

Now, let's move on to Step Two, the Initial Interview. The purpose of this interview is to assess your candidate's 1^st Dimension 'Can Do' skills, knowledge, and experience.

As soon as the Walk-around is complete, you should invite your candidate into your conference room and seat your candidate at the head of the table. Avoid the temptation to describe your formal selection process, since this may be your candidate's only interview if you decide to reject him or her. Feel free to mention (if it is true) that you will be interviewing 'quite a few candidates for his position and therefore need to take extensive written notes.'

Whatever you do at this point, it is essential to stay structured and not allow the candidate to take control of the interview by asking you questions. If your candidate begins to ask questions, refer the candidate back to your recruiting materials. Also, let the candidate know that, based upon the results of the interview, you'll be more than happy to answer any other questions. Remember, Push and Pull. This is the time to Push.

When it comes to the interviewing process, there are five 'quick tips' that, if followed, will help you to become a better interviewer.

1) Don't recruit (Push, don't Pull) during the 1^st Dimension (initial) Interview

2) Ask all the questions the same way in the same order for every candidate

3) Protect yourself against potential litigation by taking extensive notes

4) Avoid the 'Halo Effect' (awarding too many high scores)

5) Don't forget to ask probing (follow-up) questions

You may wonder how many total interviews are necessary to pick the best applicant. Remember that, if your selection process lasts more than a few weeks, your competition may be much quicker than you are and make an offer your candidate cannot refuse. The major reason some companies use five or six interviews is that they are typically not using employment testing to shorten the process and therefore must rely upon multiple interviews to measure the candidate's personality and motivation.

Because QuickStart Selection relies upon testing to cross-validate the personal interviews (and vice versa), only three interviews are necessary: The Initial Interview, the Follow-up Interview, and the In-depth Interview.

Step Three, the Testing, provides the most objective and compliant (EEOC/ADA) phase of the selection process.

This Testing phase can either be administered in your office immediately after the Initial Interview via your computer or remotely from your candidate's home as a pre-screening battery of tests administered via the Internet. You'll most likely choose the former if you have very few applicants and the latter if you need the prescreeners to deliver only the most qualified candidates.

The Testing should include an aptitude test to measure the candidate's competence, an intelligence test to predict his or her learning curve (training), and a personality test to measure compatibility with the job, the culture, and your Leadership Style. Remember that your best protection to avoid time-consuming EEOC litigation is a professionally developed test battery that has been proven to be non-discriminatory against protected classes. Before using the tests, require the developer or distributor to provide you with published research reports showing 'adverse impact' research.

Step Four, the Follow-up Interview, is designed to review the test results and interpret the candidate's feelings about any incompatibilities that were discovered by the tests, especially the 'Will Do' personality questionnaire.

Candidates who 'pass' the testing should be called the second day and personally invited back to your office to continue the selection process. If the candidate agrees with the test results and is concerned about the impact upon his or her productivity, you should also be concerned.

Step Five, the In-depth Interview, is intended to assess your candidates' 'Follow-through' dimension of success.

These job-related questions should relate to your candidates' reliability, work ethic, self-discipline, and persistence. Beware. Interview-wise candidates can 'read through' most 3^rd dimension questions and say what you want to hear. Remember to use only questions that are scientifically designed to generate honest responses.

Step Six, the Career Presentation and Job Sampling phase of the selection process, is a most important step that is too often neglected by managers who are in a hurry to fill the vacancy.

The Career Presentation and Job Sampling are designed to provide both you and your candidates with the information you need to make a final, informed decision. The Career Presentation's purpose is to answer the candidates' questions and uncover areas of concern that relate to the following four areas:

The Career Opportunity: Daily duties, staff support, compensation, advancement, employee benefits, recognition, etc.

The Office: Training, support systems, product and pricing competitiveness, etc.

The Company: Facilities, corporate support systems, professional relationships, recognition, management opportunities, etc.

The Industry: Professionalism, service to the community, etc.

If possible, it is recommended that you prepare a formal notebook that graphically responds to these four areas and answers the FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions). The notebook can include pictures of your staff, honors earned by your office or company, and descriptions of a typical workday. If income is based upon productivity, you can use graphs to show income expectations based upon low, average, and high productivity.

The purpose of Job Sampling is to give candidates a feel for what they will be doing and monitor their attitude toward the job. Whether it's for a few hours or a few days, make sure the candidates perform the actual job duties and have an opportunity to answer the following questions:

1) What can new employees expect to be doing on a daily basis in the office from the time they arrive until the time they leave?

2) Is the position/career what they expected?

3) Is the position/career what they want?

4) Can they see this as a long-term career?

The hiring decision can be made either after each step (the 'hurtle' method) or at the end of the Job Sampling (the 'composite score' method). The most efficient way is to make the first decision after the Initial Interview, the second decision after the Follow-up Interview, the third decision after the In-depth Interview, and the final decision after the Job Sampling. This way, you won't be spending your time interviewing unqualified candidates.

Assess the Assessment! If you are a manager with 10 or more employees, business owner, or a consultant, we invite you to complete our complimentary 10-15 minute CPQ personality profile and receive its personalized reports as well as a copy of Dr. Craft's "Developing HorsePower" audio cd. All information will be kept confidential and will not be distributed without your written permission.