Tuesday 26 April 2016

Recruitment interviewers: top 10 tips for success

If you have a job to fill, the way to go about it is to interview at least one person and ideally several.


Right?

Maybe not.  It depends on the interview.  Because research has shown that unstructured interviewing has as much chance of selecting the right person for the job as tossing a coin. 

If you select the wrong person, you’ve lost a significant sum in advertising costs, agency fees, interview time, training time and costs, internal disruption and lowered morale. Plenty of research has shown that the cost of getting it wrong is two or three times the annual salary of the individual.  

If the interview process casts you or your business in an unfavourable light as an employer, it’s likely the applicant you want for the role will turn you down.  And the others you interviewed will pass on their negative impressions to their friends and family.  You may even lose customers and local reputation.
Here are our top tips for identifying the right person for the job  - so that you have a significantly better chance of selecting the right person than tossing that coin!  While protecting your company's reputation too.

1     Analyse what you’re looking for and how you’ll recognise it.

2   Screen out the no-hopers before interview so you use your interview time effectively

3   Plan beforehand which parts of the individual’s CV you’ll focus on and core questions for all applicants. Structuring the interview does improve its ability to predict performance in the job.

4   Bring out the best in each applicant with good listening and questioning

5   Make sure you don’t ask illegal questions but face up to sensitive ones

6   Assess what you hear objectively and analytically against what's required to do the job. Gathering information systematically helps to predict how the applicant would be likely to perform in the job. 
7   Screen out any personal, irrational biases from your judgements: 
  • The self-fulfilling prophecy effect – if you make up your mind about an applicant in the first few minutes, it's likely you'll spend the rest of the interview proving to yourself that you were right, in the sort of questions you ask and the non-verbal feedback you give the applicant.  So the first impression becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
  • The stereotyping effect - assuming that particular characteristics are typical of members of a particular group. Some people even make stereotyped assumptions about people with red hair.
  • The halo and horns effect. Once interviewers rate candidates as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in some aspects, they often replicate this judgement across the board, reaching unbalanced decisions.
  • The similar-to-me effect – some interviewers unconsciously give preference to candidates they perceive as having a similar background, career history, personality or attitudes to themselves.  The result is a team of clones of the manager.
  • The personal liking effect – making decisions on the basis of whether they personally like or dislike the candidate. 

8     Let applicants demonstrate to you what they’ve found out about the company and what they want to know about the job.

9     Use ability tests and personality profiles to supplement your judgement at interview.

10    Communicate the decision within the timeframe you gave the applicant.



Recruiting doesn’t have to give you a headache or damage your company’s image, but you do need to be prepared, in control and know what you’re looking for. 

Need help with an upcoming recruitment exercise? – defining what you’re looking for and how you’ll recognize it, wording the advert, questions to ask at interview, coaching in interview skills, decision making? 

Email The Human Resource on enquiries@thehr.co.uk to arrange a no-obligation chat and download our free Expert Interviewer's Guide.








Tuesday 12 April 2016

Naff interview questions


Some interviewers adopt favourite questions that - while not actually illegal and discriminatory - are cringe-inducingly naff and corny.  The applicant’s response (perhaps after an inward snigger) will contribute nothing to the task of identifying whether the person can do the job.  Not only can a bad interview question take your interview wildly off course, it may also put you in a negative light in the mind of the interviewee.

Here are a few to avoid:

  • Tell me about yourself —it’s far too broad.  What you need to know about someone relates to work so provide a clear starting point: then the response might tell you what you were hoping to find out. Try an alternative such as “What led you to choose this career path?”
  • What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses?  This is such a common question that applicants have either answered it multiple times before or have read articles on the best way to answer it. Either way, it will give you absolutely useless answers. So what if a person says they can deliver on time or is a perfectionist? You’ll never really know whether it has any basis in fact or whether the applicant has just listed points Googled from a “best answers” cribsheet.       Instead you could ask about a story of failure which will more genuinely tell you the person’s weaknesses rather than simply asking about them:  “Tell me about a time you failed at a goal you needed to achieve.”  A good interview question extracts information indirectly. 
  • Where do you want to be in five years? — The truthful answer might be on a beach in The Bahamas after winning the lottery. The answer you’ll be given will probably be a platitude like “to have progressed within your company into a management position” or an equally ‘interviewer pleasing' answer.  Or even “I want your job.”  Instead, ask “Which of your skills do you hope to develop over the next few years to help you take a step up in your career?”
  • What can you do for us that others can't? — Isn't that your job as the interviewer to figure out?   The candidate won’t know about the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors, so will generally resort to an answer related to their work ethic.  Instead, “What makes you the ideal applicant for this role?” will give you much more useful answers.
  • If you were an animal, which one would you be? — This used to surprise candidates, but many will now be prepared for this amateur attempt at psychological analysis as it’s been widely communicated as laughable on social media. If you're looking for a lion (or someone who shows leadership) then ask a more direct question about their leadership skills.
  • What salary are you hoping for? — This is something that can be discussed before or after a job interview, but not during as it's not right to put your interviewee under pressure to commit to a figure on the spot.  You could however check what the applicant is earning currently or how much they earned in their last job, to give you a point of reference if you decide to make an offer.
Another type of question to avoid is the Leading question where you imply the answer you want in the question, e.g. “Can you cope?  Are you a good teamplayer?  Leading questions inspire meaninglesss answers.  If you ask a question where the answer you want is obvious, you will hear what you expect.  It will add little to your understanding of the candidate - so why waste your time?

The Human Resource helps managers to find the right new recruit – sorting out exactly what you’re looking for and how you’ll recognize it, wording the advert, questions to ask at interview, decision making. Download your free Expert Interviewer's Guide and contact us on enquiries@thehr.co.uk. 

Tuesday 5 April 2016

Why engaged employees are good for your business



What does it take to be a really great employer, like the ones who feature in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list?  Is it something to aspire to with very real business benefits?   Or is it just soft and fluffy stuff?  What’s the point in encouraging happy employees? If they’re all sitting around laughing they won’t get much work done, you might think.  Or ”I don’t want this to be a nice place to work, I want us to succeed”.

Certainly winning awards like The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For is about a lot more than happy and satisfied employees, or providing a nice place to work. Companies are assessed for their leadership, employee wellbeing, giving something back to society, personal growth for staff, how they feel about their manager, company and immediate colleagues, and how far staff feel they get a fair deal for pay and benefits.

Being able to do all these things well isn't just for large corporates able to afford costly company benefits and perks: the winner of this year's 100 Best Small Companies was an interior design company in Nottingham with 102 staff and a turnover of £48M.  

People who work for these great companies go the extra mile to deliver and are truly engaged with work. Their enthusiasm rubs off on other employees and on customers. They provide better experiences for customers, approach the job with energy – which enhances productivity – and come up with creative product, process and service improvements. They remain with their employer for longer, which reduces turnover and its related costs. In turn, they create happier customers who buy more, stay longer and tell their friends – generating sustainable growth.

Research over a 7 year period has shown that firms with highly engaged employees grew revenues two and a half times more than those with low engagement levels. Organisations with the most engaged employees are, on average, 22% more profitable.  Highly engaged employees perform 20% better than the most disengaged. 

What do these benefits look like in practice? 

  • Personal investment: Research indicates that if employees are engaged with the company, their job satisfaction levels increase. They’re invested in the success of the business and committed to it. They’re ambassadors for the company and will promote and support the company’s mission, strategy and brand.
  • Productivity: Engaged employees are committed to going the extra mile to achieve success in their job.  They take less time off work sick and they’re more motivated, leading to increased productivity. Research indicates that offices with engaged employees are as much as 43% more productive.
  • Retention & Recruitment:  Engaged employees are more far more likely to stay, so that recruitment costs are minimised. The business with a highly engaged workforce builds a reputation as an employer that increases their ability to attract the best applicants.
  • Innovation: Because engaged employees perform at a higher level and bring passion and interest to their job, this often leads to innovation in the workplace. These employees feel they have a real stake in the organisation, and will often strive to create new products, services and processes.
  • Profitability: Companies with more engaged employees tend to be more profitable. Their employees become more productive and efficient, so operating costs are lower and the profit margin increases.  A recent study has shown that highly engaged employees produce 26% more revenue per employee.
Not so soft and fluffy then! Employee engagement is a strong force that will deliver a genuine, hardnosed business benefit for you.  People deliver profits - so it's worth looking after them.


There’s more about how to grow levels of employee engagement in your company here and for more help contact The HumanResource on 07884 475303 or enquiries@thehr.co.uk.  If you're ready to make strategic changes so your company can feature in a Best Employer list next year, we do that too.