Whatever side of the table you have found yourself on, you know how time-consuming, stressful, and uncomfortable interviews can be. They are also necessary and incredibly impactful. Staff are the determining factor in an organization’s success, and hiring poorly has significant consequences. In fact, Harvard has found that up to 80% of employee turnover can be attributed to poor hiring decisions. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, the research consistently shows that we simply do not hire well. Whether it is the processes we use, the people facilitating these processes or our multiple biases, the way we assess candidates does not correlate to how they show up to and perform at their jobs.
So what do you do?
Of course, you need some type of system to choose your staff. Nothing is more central to your organization’s success than the people within it. How do you do it more effectively?
For starters, it is important to examine your hiring process, and in almost all cases, trim the proverbial fat. Knowing that traditional hiring systems do not correlate with great hires, a simple vetting process with some good old-fashioned finger crossing and a willingness to cut ties if it does not work out may not feel comfortable but is likely your best bet. It may feel counterintuitive and downright uncomfortable, but it will save you a great deal of time and energy.
You may also consider shaking things up a bit. Most organizations adhere to a traditional interview process: post the standard job description, ask for resumes and cover letters, phone screen a select number of candidates, bring in a handful for a first round, bring in a fingerful for a second round and potentially more. (I was once on step four of a rigorous process to be a dogwalker before finally asking how many rounds there were. Eight. There were eight rounds.)
As you examine that process, calculate how much money it is costing you. Every hour you and anyone else on the hiring team spends creating the job description, posting it, vetting resumes, scheduling, interviewing, discussing, drafting the contract, fielding questions. It is an incredibly costly process. That, once again, does not have a great track record of being all that successful. Consider ways to make it shorter and less costly.
As you do so, here are some research-based best practices to keep in mind.
EXAMINE WHO SHINES AND WHO DOES NOT
Look at your current team. Who is thriving and who is struggling? What is the difference? What kind of people do well on your team and stick around? Find out why. Examine past interview processes. Which were successful and which were not? What was the difference? Examine what you are posting and where. Do some A/B testing. What components of the compensation package attract candidates and what pushes them away? How do you know? Commit to examining each part of the process to determine what is attracting the people you want to attract and what is pushing them away.
TALK TO PEOPLE WHO KNOW BEST
Talk to your staff who have gone through your process. What made them apply? What made them accept? Did they have any concerns throughout the process? What would have made it more enjoyable for them? Reach out to people who dropped out of your process and ask them why they dropped out. Learn as much as you can from as many people as you can, particularly those who have gone through your process. Look for patterns and adjust accordingly.
KNOW WHO YOU’RE LOOKING FOR
During an interview process, it is easy to get enamored by personality, and it is just as easy to overlook a potentially great candidate because their personality doesn’t “wow” you. To avoid some of these biases, it is essential that you know who you are looking for before you start looking for them. Decide what is essential for this position and what the person needs when they walk through the door versus what you are willing to teach them. Think about the things that theoretically can be taught but that will be so much easier if someone is naturally inclined to them. Reconsider traditional requirements (degrees, years of experience) that do not correlate with job success.
STUDY YOUR HISTORY
Hypothetical scenarios seem like they would be helpful, but research has shown that they are not. Anyone can come up with a good answer and what value does a good answer provide when you have no idea what the candidate would actually do in that situation. It is far better to ask about past experiences that are pertinent to what the position entails. “Tell me about a time when…” These types of questions can help demonstrate the hard skills the candidate already has as well as the “soft” skills that most every job requires- whether people hold themselves accountable, follow through or engage in difficult conversations. Focus on those areas you know are essential for success in the position you are hiring for and find out if they have experience and/or are willing and able to be taught.
FIND OUT WHY
Being a manager requires a lot of skill, but skills are not sufficient. To be effective, managers need to want to be managers, and they need to be committed to investing in being effective managers. One of your most important jobs as the interviewer is to try and gauge how committed the candidate is to being successful. If you get the sense, as is often the case, that being a manager is collateral damage for the position, you need to keep looking. Whoever you choose to lead others has to be committed to doing it well. Find out what they consider their role to be, what brings them joy about that, what their vision is, and how they support their team members.
SIMULATE THE WORK
One of the most salient indicators of how someone will perform in a position is seeing them perform in that position. This is much easier in some positions than others (e.g., a teacher coming in to do a lesson, a violinist playing a piece.) In other positions, it will be far more challenging to see them in action, but do your best to find a way. What is the closest you can get to seeing them in action before you hire them to officially be in action?
(*It is important to note here that you should not expect candidates to do work outside of interviewing time and you should not expect them to provide deliverables that you end up using in your work).
INTRODUCE THE RIGHT PEOPLE
Successful interview processes are an opportunity for both parties to assess mutual fit. To do so, it is important that the candidate meet those they will supervise, whoever will supervise them and other people they will work most closely with. This is both empowering for your staff to have input into the process and helpful for the candidate to get a sense of who they will be working with. Whenever possible, include other stakeholders such as board members, volunteers, and clients. The better feel everyone gets for each other, the better the process will be. Having multiple voices in the process provides the added benefit of checking one another’s biases.
REMOVE ARBITRARY PROBATIONARY PERIODS
Many organizations continue to enact 90-day probationary periods that, outside of Montana, do not legally mean a thing. An employee’s status is no different on day 89 than it is on day 91. Instead of assigning this arbitrary amount of time that in most cases ends up being a formality, understand that sometimes, for any number of reasons, a job is just not a good fit. Be open to admitting that and letting your new hire admit it too. Do not wait for something egregious to happen to let someone go. Sometimes people do all the right things yet they are just not going to be successful in the way either of you wants them to be. You do not need to punish these people, but you also do not want to keep them in a position they will not be successful in because you feel bad. If they have a lot to offer but are in the wrong position and you have flexibility to move them to another position, try that. If not, be honest and be a good recommendation for future opportunities.
DON’T DRAG IT OUT
Knowing that interview processes can only tell us so much, there is no need to drag them out. To improve efficiency, make the process as quick as possible. Do not continue to put candidates through excessive rounds that waste everyone’s time and do not prove valuable in making a good choice. Set up a strong process, be clear about what is expected and what you are looking for, vet as best you can and see what happens.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
Of course, interview questions should be different based on the specifics of the position, and you want to make the interview(s) as conversational as possible, but you also want to make sure you are asking about what you really need to know. For managers, here is a good place to start:
- What motivates you to be a manager?
- What do you find rewarding about managing others? What do you find most challenging?
- When was the last time you had to have a difficult conversation with someone on your team? What would you do differently next time?
- What mistake will you be sure never to make again? What mistake do you keep making over and over again?
- What is something you are currently working on?
- What is something you have realized you are just not ever going to do very well?
- What gifts do you bring to your role as a manager?
- What do you think your role is in intervening in conflicts between team members?
- How do you invest in your team’s development?
- How do you balance your role and responsibilities with your team and with those above you?
- Which staff seem easiest for you to work with? Which staff do you struggle with?
- How do you work on confronting your biases?
- What about managing do you think is flexible? What do you think is not?
- What would be great about having a team of people just like you? What would be challenging?
- What are you proud of?
- Tell me about a day you came home and beamed the whole way.
- Tell me about a day you came home and questioned yourself.
- When you need help, how do you go about getting it?
- How do you go about team building?
- How do you balance making sure everyone feels appreciated and recognizing staff who perform at a higher level?
- How do you use coaching skills with your team?
- What is a piece of feedback you have implemented?
- How many meetings is too many meetings?
- What is something that surprises people about you?
- What has changed about you since you started your career? What has stayed the same?
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Hiring well is one of the most important things you can do. Let us help you do it well. You can reach us at: coachkat@katherinespinney.com or 703-688-2394.
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