Single Key to Attracting the Best Hires
The Interview—it's not a time to chat and visit, it's a time to dig and investigate.
Preparing is a two-step process.
First, use the job description to identify the traits, skills, and abilities you need. (No job description? I can help you write one.)
Second, determine how you will figure out if the candidate has the skills you require.
It's one thing to say you need a sharp financial analyst who can meet deadlines and knows about corporate reporting requirements. But how do you figure out if a candidate can meet those criteria?
It's easy, right? Just ask:
•Are you a sharp financial analyst? ("Yes.")
•Can you meet deadlines? ("Yes.")
•Are you familiar with corporate reporting requirements? ("Yes.")
That's a pretty quick interview. And a pretty meaningless one. Instead of yes/no questions that telegraph the desired answer, figure out some other ways to get at the information.
•Ask about the types of projects the person has done (biggest, most interesting, most challenging, for whom, with what help).
•Ask about the environment the person works in (what sort of deadlines, how many projects at a time, what he or she does when priorities conflict).
•Ask about the boss (likes and dislikes, pet peeves, time you pleased or annoyed).
Go through the job description, pick out key issues, and design questions that will help you get at those issues.
A side benefit of this work is that you'll end up with a set of questions that you can ask of all candidates, ensuring consistency in your interview process.
Otherwise, you'll end up asking different questions of each candidate, and you will have little basis for comparison (except, perhaps, the basis for a discrimination charge).
Finally, don't forget to ask routine questions that are deal breakers. For example:
•If a certification or degree is required, be sure the person has it.
•If travel is required, be sure the person can travel.
•If relocation is required, be sure the person can relocate.
If you're bringing someone in from out of town for the interview, get these questions answered by phone before the visit—you don't want to have to report to the boss and the hiring manager that you just flew someone in from the coast for an interview, only to discover that he or she was missing a key criterion.
Summarized from Today's HR Daily Advisor Tip, July 15, 2010
Amoung many others, two of my areas of expertise are in writing job descriptions and helping clients prepare for interviews that will be meaningful, provide the information needed to make a good hiring selection and help reduce liability associated with a poor hire.
Contact me at TheWhitfordGroup@aol.com
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Why Bother With a Reference Check?
One-Third of Résumés Lie—Reference Check, Anyone?
Everyone agrees that reference checks are important, but actually doing them is difficult. Employers want to get information about candidates, but when other employers want the same information from them, they don't want to give it.
One-Third of Résumés Contain a Lie
According to industry experts, up to one-third of résumés contain material falsehoods. Remember, for employers, the résumé is a factual document, but for applicants, it is a marketing tool.
What Can You Achieve with Reference Checks?
Achieve better hiring fits. Often, the best indicator of future performance is relevant past performance. And the best way to find out about that is the reference check. A general rule: Information often trumps intuition.
Unexplained gaps. By verifying dates of employment, an employer can make sure that there are no unexplained employment gaps that might signal trouble.
Protect the investment. Employers make a substantial investment when hiring. Bad decisions create untold administrative, financial, and legal difficulties, not to mention substantial cost, wasted time, and delayed productivity.
Honesty and accuracy. Verification also confirms the honesty and accuracy of the résumé.
Verification means checking factual matters, like start date, title, and salary.
Reference checking refers to qualitative matters (job performance, strong points, weak points, and so on).
Policy and Legal Considerations
As we mentioned above, unfortunately, employers want to get reference information, but they don't like to give it. Employers fear defamation lawsuits if they give any information beyond basics like dates of service and title. And if the employee in question has filed any sort of suit or made complaints, there's the added possibility of retaliation lawsuits.
Some states provide protections for employer references. For example, in North Carolina, an employer giving a reference has protection, provided the information is:
•Job related
•Based on credible evidence
•Made without malice
But even with that protection, many legal sources still believe that the risk of a defamation claim outweighs any benefit to an employer from giving reference information. Furthermore, they point out, what constitutes "credible evidence" and "job related" can be open to interpretation.
If You Can't Say Something Nice …
One alternative for employers is to provide only positive reference information.
However, even that policy can lead to legal difficulty.
First of all, some courts have found that employers have a duty to provide full and complete recommendations. In one California case, an employer gave a positive recommendation, leaving out important negative information. The court ruled that the employer providing a recommendation owes a duty to protect employers and third parties and could not misrepresent the qualifications and character of a former employee where there was a substantial risk of physical injury.
A similar problem occurs when employers give recommendations only for employees with good records. Employees who are not given recommendations may sue for defamation on the basis that no recommendation is equivalent to a bad recommendation.
No Such Thing as 'Off the Record'
There's no such thing as "off the record" when it comes to references. Whatever the reference provider says to a reference checker must be revealed during a deposition.
There is no privilege involved.
Reading Between the Lines
Sometimes you'll get a lot of information when you get "no information.
Two examples:
An HR manager asked for a reference says, "Why don't you ask the applicant to send us a release for his performance appraisal files; they would make interesting reading."
In another case, a reference checker said to the applicant's former manager, "Everything says I should hire this lady, but I have a gut feeling that something's wrong." The former manager said, "I always think it's a good idea to go with your gut."
Summarized from Today's HR Daily Advisor Tip
Recently a lot of my supervisory and management training sessons with clients have focused on the hiring process, reference checking and preparing defensible appraisals. Some people think these activities are busy work and a waste of time, however, it is clear from this post and many of my other recent posts that they are very important and if done correctly, can potentially save a company a lot of time a money.
Let me know if I can help you with these or any other human resources issues. Contact me at TheWhitfordGroup@aol.com
Everyone agrees that reference checks are important, but actually doing them is difficult. Employers want to get information about candidates, but when other employers want the same information from them, they don't want to give it.
One-Third of Résumés Contain a Lie
According to industry experts, up to one-third of résumés contain material falsehoods. Remember, for employers, the résumé is a factual document, but for applicants, it is a marketing tool.
What Can You Achieve with Reference Checks?
Achieve better hiring fits. Often, the best indicator of future performance is relevant past performance. And the best way to find out about that is the reference check. A general rule: Information often trumps intuition.
Unexplained gaps. By verifying dates of employment, an employer can make sure that there are no unexplained employment gaps that might signal trouble.
Protect the investment. Employers make a substantial investment when hiring. Bad decisions create untold administrative, financial, and legal difficulties, not to mention substantial cost, wasted time, and delayed productivity.
Honesty and accuracy. Verification also confirms the honesty and accuracy of the résumé.
Verification means checking factual matters, like start date, title, and salary.
Reference checking refers to qualitative matters (job performance, strong points, weak points, and so on).
Policy and Legal Considerations
As we mentioned above, unfortunately, employers want to get reference information, but they don't like to give it. Employers fear defamation lawsuits if they give any information beyond basics like dates of service and title. And if the employee in question has filed any sort of suit or made complaints, there's the added possibility of retaliation lawsuits.
Some states provide protections for employer references. For example, in North Carolina, an employer giving a reference has protection, provided the information is:
•Job related
•Based on credible evidence
•Made without malice
But even with that protection, many legal sources still believe that the risk of a defamation claim outweighs any benefit to an employer from giving reference information. Furthermore, they point out, what constitutes "credible evidence" and "job related" can be open to interpretation.
If You Can't Say Something Nice …
One alternative for employers is to provide only positive reference information.
However, even that policy can lead to legal difficulty.
First of all, some courts have found that employers have a duty to provide full and complete recommendations. In one California case, an employer gave a positive recommendation, leaving out important negative information. The court ruled that the employer providing a recommendation owes a duty to protect employers and third parties and could not misrepresent the qualifications and character of a former employee where there was a substantial risk of physical injury.
A similar problem occurs when employers give recommendations only for employees with good records. Employees who are not given recommendations may sue for defamation on the basis that no recommendation is equivalent to a bad recommendation.
No Such Thing as 'Off the Record'
There's no such thing as "off the record" when it comes to references. Whatever the reference provider says to a reference checker must be revealed during a deposition.
There is no privilege involved.
Reading Between the Lines
Sometimes you'll get a lot of information when you get "no information.
Two examples:
An HR manager asked for a reference says, "Why don't you ask the applicant to send us a release for his performance appraisal files; they would make interesting reading."
In another case, a reference checker said to the applicant's former manager, "Everything says I should hire this lady, but I have a gut feeling that something's wrong." The former manager said, "I always think it's a good idea to go with your gut."
Summarized from Today's HR Daily Advisor Tip
Recently a lot of my supervisory and management training sessons with clients have focused on the hiring process, reference checking and preparing defensible appraisals. Some people think these activities are busy work and a waste of time, however, it is clear from this post and many of my other recent posts that they are very important and if done correctly, can potentially save a company a lot of time a money.
Let me know if I can help you with these or any other human resources issues. Contact me at TheWhitfordGroup@aol.com
Firing Without a Defense!
Defense Failed Because of Performance Appraisal?
In court, an inadequate or inaccurate performance evaluation can be used against you with devastating results. Many companies that have fired employees for poor performance and then found out too late that its appraisal documents didn't support the defense.
We often don't think of appraisals as legal challenges, but they often figure prominently in lawsuits. Juries tend to come down hard on employers who:
•Don't appear to have told the employee what was expected.
•Don’t appear to have given an employee a chance to improve.
•Say bad performance as the reason for a firing, but awarded the person a "satisfactory" or "good" rating.
In some companies, vital personnel decisions are made casually. This informal approach is easy, but dangerous. When there are no established criteria or performance standards on which to base personnel actions, such as transfers, promotions, terminations, and pay increases, managers tend to be influenced by the employee’s personality rather than what he or she is actually doing on the job.
10 Rules for Appraisals
Here are 10 tips for building a solid defense so it’s there in case you ever need it:
1. Carefully document how all employees are performing
You might be tempted to document only your problem employees. A better practice is to keep performance records on all of your workers. This means carefully recording your observations, praise, counseling, and warnings—in writing—in clear, objective language.
2. Make sure employees know what’s in their files
Don't slip negative information into files without letting employees see it. Ask workers to initial a summary of your discussions and the goals that have been agreed to. (Note that in some states, employees have the right to inspect their personnel files.)
3. Be candid and explicit
Although many managers are uncomfortable with this, it’s important to be frank. Don’t use euphemisms, such as, “There's room for improvement," or duck out of giving an employee strong, but necessary, constructive criticism. Be specific about what’s gone wrong and offer concrete steps for improvement. It is unfair and unrealistic to expect an employee to improve unless he or she knows exactly what is amiss.
4. Don’t give raises to marginal employees
Some employers give poor performers a raise in the hope it will motivate them to improve. Without counseling an employee about his or her inadequate performance, however, this strategy is doomed to fail. What’s more, if the employee is terminated and sues, he or she can point to the history of pay raises to show that he or she was doing a good job.
5. Don’t mention age, gender, race, etc.
This means, for example, not telling a 45-year-old, “The younger salespeople seem to grasp our new products better than you do,” or “We need some young blood around here.”
6. Don’t let marginal performers slide
When an employee’s poor performance goes uncriticized for several weeks or months, negative comments in a performance evaluation lose credibility and are likely to trigger complaints of unfairness or bias.
7. Use relevant, objective standards
Look at the job and how it is being performed, rather than the person. Some examples of objective criteria are:
•Maintaining or increasing sales volume
•Handling customer complaints
•Operating within a budget
•Meeting deadlines
•Writing reports
•Complying with certain company policies (such as those regarding absences)
•Reducing costs
•Overall productivity
8. Back up judgments with facts
Use production records, disciplinary reports, attendance records, examples of work quality, etc., to back up your assertions, and be clear about how you arrived at your conclusion
9. Make sure employees understand all performance standards
If they don’t fully understand their obligations and how their work is being judged, the performance appraisal system will be of little use, either as a performance management tool or a defense in a lawsuit.
10. Keep all performance evaluation materials in a confidential file
While employees should have access to their performance appraisals, others’ access to such information should be strictly on a need-to-know basis.
Summarized from Today’s HR Daily Advisor Tip
In court, an inadequate or inaccurate performance evaluation can be used against you with devastating results. Many companies that have fired employees for poor performance and then found out too late that its appraisal documents didn't support the defense.
We often don't think of appraisals as legal challenges, but they often figure prominently in lawsuits. Juries tend to come down hard on employers who:
•Don't appear to have told the employee what was expected.
•Don’t appear to have given an employee a chance to improve.
•Say bad performance as the reason for a firing, but awarded the person a "satisfactory" or "good" rating.
In some companies, vital personnel decisions are made casually. This informal approach is easy, but dangerous. When there are no established criteria or performance standards on which to base personnel actions, such as transfers, promotions, terminations, and pay increases, managers tend to be influenced by the employee’s personality rather than what he or she is actually doing on the job.
10 Rules for Appraisals
Here are 10 tips for building a solid defense so it’s there in case you ever need it:
1. Carefully document how all employees are performing
You might be tempted to document only your problem employees. A better practice is to keep performance records on all of your workers. This means carefully recording your observations, praise, counseling, and warnings—in writing—in clear, objective language.
2. Make sure employees know what’s in their files
Don't slip negative information into files without letting employees see it. Ask workers to initial a summary of your discussions and the goals that have been agreed to. (Note that in some states, employees have the right to inspect their personnel files.)
3. Be candid and explicit
Although many managers are uncomfortable with this, it’s important to be frank. Don’t use euphemisms, such as, “There's room for improvement," or duck out of giving an employee strong, but necessary, constructive criticism. Be specific about what’s gone wrong and offer concrete steps for improvement. It is unfair and unrealistic to expect an employee to improve unless he or she knows exactly what is amiss.
4. Don’t give raises to marginal employees
Some employers give poor performers a raise in the hope it will motivate them to improve. Without counseling an employee about his or her inadequate performance, however, this strategy is doomed to fail. What’s more, if the employee is terminated and sues, he or she can point to the history of pay raises to show that he or she was doing a good job.
5. Don’t mention age, gender, race, etc.
This means, for example, not telling a 45-year-old, “The younger salespeople seem to grasp our new products better than you do,” or “We need some young blood around here.”
6. Don’t let marginal performers slide
When an employee’s poor performance goes uncriticized for several weeks or months, negative comments in a performance evaluation lose credibility and are likely to trigger complaints of unfairness or bias.
7. Use relevant, objective standards
Look at the job and how it is being performed, rather than the person. Some examples of objective criteria are:
•Maintaining or increasing sales volume
•Handling customer complaints
•Operating within a budget
•Meeting deadlines
•Writing reports
•Complying with certain company policies (such as those regarding absences)
•Reducing costs
•Overall productivity
8. Back up judgments with facts
Use production records, disciplinary reports, attendance records, examples of work quality, etc., to back up your assertions, and be clear about how you arrived at your conclusion
9. Make sure employees understand all performance standards
If they don’t fully understand their obligations and how their work is being judged, the performance appraisal system will be of little use, either as a performance management tool or a defense in a lawsuit.
10. Keep all performance evaluation materials in a confidential file
While employees should have access to their performance appraisals, others’ access to such information should be strictly on a need-to-know basis.
Summarized from Today’s HR Daily Advisor Tip
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