Tag Archive for Selection Process

| October 23, 2012
One comment

Hiring Is Everything!

A Guest Post by Ben Eubanks

 

Recently I ran across a very interesting employee handbook for Valve, a small software company. The handbook talks about the culture and what it’s like working there in intricate detail, but one section really blew my mind.

At Valve, they don’t hire managers or have any supervisors. They simply have people working in different teams who manage themselves as they see fit.

 

If you’re anything like me, you probably said, “Wait a minute, that’s crazy!” or “It wouldn’t work at my company.”

And you’re right, because it wouldn’t. (This brings up another point that we don’t all want/need a building full of innovative thinkers with no limits, but that’s a post for another day!)

 

But at Valve, this system of self-management has worked for over 10 years.

 

How is that possible?  At Valve, “hiring is everything,” in their words.

 

They focus more energy on hiring people, and then they have to spend virtually no time managing or retaining them, because they’ve created a culture that employees love. Imagine for a second that there is a direct connection between time spent recruiting and time spent managing problem staff.

 

Would you rather spend eight hours now recruiting people who are a great fit for your organization or eight hours in the future managing the problems associated with poor hires?

 

You can pay now, or you can pay later, but either way you’ll pay.

 

I’m not sure about you, but I’d pick recruiting any day. It’s a great trade, because even if it doesn’t give you more time in the day, it still adds some stability to your workforce. It also helps to develop the strong ties necessary for a solid employment relationship.

 

On the flip side, spending that time on employee relations problems is sure to cause friction with your managers and work teams. Murphy’s Law (whatever can go wrong, will) says that a person will start having performance issues right when it’s time for a big project that depends on their efforts. If you are focusing your effort on recruiting it’s a timeline that you can manage with significant returns on the time invested.

 

Want to learn more about these concepts? Click here for the Valve employee handbook in PDF format. The hiring section starts on page 43.

 

Hiring is everything, according to Valve.
What about your company?
Could you say the same about your organization?

 

 

About the Author

Ben Eubanks is an HR pro, speaker, and writer. I met Ben this past summer in Atlanta, GA and I quickly became a big fan! His personable, honest and direct approach to his career is similar to my own and, because he’s about 10Xs nicer than me, I quickly realized I needed him in my network!  :-)

Ben works as a one-man HR team at Pinnacle Solutions during the day, and at night he writes at upstartHR.  This is an HR blog with a little humor, humility, and how-to. Check it out to learn more about entry level HR jobs, talent management, and other “in the trenches” HR topics.

Category: Recruitment, Workforce Planning | Tags: , , , , , ,
| September 16, 2012
4 comments

Four Questions

A lot of attention has been given lately to the recruitment and selection process and ensuring a good fit for the organization.  Indeed, if this process breaks down, you’ll have an employee churn problem and who wants that?

 

Recruitment is all about determining where, when and how you’re going to fish for qualified applicants.

 

 

 

 

Selection is about determining if applicants meet your qualifications and, if so, how they are going to “fit” into your organization.

 

 

I’m always interested in learning about organization’s selection activities, but I’m saddened when I learn that hiring managers often limit their chances of success when they fail to get creative or intentional in the interview process.

 

I have never been a huge advocate of “time in grade” questions; I don’t believe time spent doing something is a reflection of how well the person did it.  Many who share this belief resort to competency based interviews.  However, if you’re not a skilled interviewer and if your questions aren’t intentionally created to solicit specific competencies, these interviews can fall short as well.  That being said, I do a thorough job analysis to identify what specific competencies, both technical and behavioral, are needed for ultimate success in position and develop my questions accordingly.

 

But I don’t stop there!  If my ultimate goal is to find someone who can be an extension of me, who can represent my organization well, who can maintain, if not improve, my organization’s reputation with the community, I turn it up a notch and dig a little deeper!

 

The following questions help me get the insight I need.

 

“When it comes to your professional life, what are you passionate about?”

This question helps me understand what the individual is working towards, what drives/motivates him, what he would strive for and/or not compromise, etc.  The answer also helps me better understand the individuals’ interests and how he may/may not align with that of my company.  The individual’s answer may reveal there is no passion behind his work; this may/may not be a bad thing but gives me valuable insight either way!

 

“When it comes to your professional life, what accomplishment are you most proud of?”

The answer to this question tells me to what type of standards the individual holds herself.  The answer may also reveal whether or not she is intrinsically or extrinsically motivated, which would be very helpful to know should she be hired.  The answer may give me some insight into how difficult the employee’s past positions were and/or how shiny she had to be in order to stand out as special.

 

 

“If you could change any past decision or action you have taken in your professional life, what would it be and why?”

The answer to this question gives me tons of information about the person, both in the way he answers it and in the story itself.  I look for sincerity, humbleness and self-reflection but I also dig deeper into the answer so I can ascertain his critical and logical thinking skills, determination and willingness to change, ability to learn from one’s mistakes, objectivity, etc.

 

“If you you ran this business, what would you look for when building your team and why?”

This question doesn’t always get me what I need…but when it does, it SINGS and therefore, I keep it in my arsenal.

The answer to this question highlights whether or not the individual understands my vision and the culture I am trying to create.  It demonstrates whether or not she has paid attention to me over the “courting” process.  It highlights if she is a creative thinker and if it’s probable she will bring some new and innovative ideas to my business.  It gives me insight on whether or not she is a “yes sir” type of employee or if she is willing to step out and give valuable feedback, whether it’s negative or positive.

 

Whether you are a recruiter or supervisor, small business owner or CEO, I’m sure you want your employees to be a good match for your company, to be well aligned with your vision and mission, to fit well within your culture, etc.  I’m willing to bet you want your employees to take your business as seriously as you do and you want them to have a high probability of improving upon it!

 

Your interview process should have a good balance of technical and behavioral competencies and, in my opinion, should dig a bit more into how the applicant thinks…as this is the only way you’ll figure out if they are a good fit!

 

The questions I share above are the ones I use to get there.  However, don’t limit yourself to my perspective – take the ideas offered here and run with them!

 

Good luck!
Category: Recruitment, Workforce Planning | Tags: , , , , ,
| May 29, 2012
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The Dating Game & Selection Processes

My mom didn’t let me watch a lot of TV when I was younger and she certainly drew the line at anything “risque.”  The popular game show, The Dating Game, was among the many shows that were “off limits”!

 

However, my friend’s mom had no such reservations!  That being said, one would often find a bunch of silly school girls on their couch drooling over bachelors on the show and willing the bachelorette to choose who we thought was best!

 

Little did I know then that my career in Human Resources would find me doing similar things.

 

Selection processes are like The Dating Game! 

Of course, there are not as many great looking participants but trust me, there are about as many onlookers hoping and willing the Hiring Manager to choose the best one!

 

For those of you old enough to have watched the game show prime time (or desperate enough to have watched it in syndication), you’ll remember that typically, a bachelorette would question three bachelors in an attempt to find someone who was “compatible” or “interesting enough” to date.  The game show would then pay for the date.

 

In The Dating Game, the bachelors were hidden from the bachelorette so she didn’t make her decision on looks alone.

 

HR professionals facilitate similar “blind” selection processes. 

We strive to ensure only job related and relevant information is given to the Hiring Manager in an effort to make the playing field “fair.”

 

In The Dating Game, the bachelorette asked the bachelors a series of questions to determine what the men were like “on the inside.”

While I do remember a few bachelorettes asking about the number of women the bachelor may have kissed, the number of girlfriends they may have had, etc., most of the interviews were absent “time in grade” or “technical competency” questions.  Instead, the lighthearted interview focused on behaviors, interests and values.

 

These interviews are not unlike the behavioral ones we use to identify valuable and relevant information about our applicants! 

We often tell Hiring Managers that “time in grade” is not proof of adding value or quality. We train and encourage them to explore the candidate’s behaviors and thinking processes. We encourage them to identify the candidates’ values to ensure alignment with our company’s guiding principles.

 

In The Dating Game, the audience played a major role in the selection process. 

The audience, who knew what the bachelors looked like, how they dressed, how they interacted with others, etc. willed the bachelorette to choose a particular bachelor by clapping loud, cheering, booing, etc.

 

HR professionals are influential too.

Hiring Managers often seek our advice on candidate selection.  And, like The Dating Game’s audience, HR has some advantages.  We are the first to meet the candidate, we may have had the opportunity to see him/her in person, we may have some knowledge about how he/she interacts with others, etc. 

Certainly our expertise and insight should give us the right to heavily influence the Hiring Manager!

 

Right?                Tell me I’m right!             I love being right!
Alas, I’m not always right!

 

You may remember that The Dating Game offered some “where are they now?” shows highlighting certain couples – those that were still dating, those whose relationships had fizzled out, those that were disastrous.  I loved these episodes and was always surprised when I learned that one of my “matches” was in the disastrous bucket!

 

Could it be that the person’s looks and nonverbal communication had too much influence on my decisions?

 

Could it be that I did not know what the bachelorette wanted in an “ideal mate”?

Dare I ask if I allowed my own perception of what was ideal cloud my advice to the inquisitive bachelorette?

 

Could it be that a few lighthearted questions are simply not good enough to determine longevity in the relationship?

 

HR Professionals could learn a little something from this.

 

Perhaps we put too much emphasis on looks and interactions the candidate has with us.

 

Perhaps we fail to fully understand what the Hiring Manager’s objectives are and therefore, fall short in finding and promoting a candidate that is a good fit!

 

Perhaps we put our own opinions and objectives ahead of those of the Hiring Manager!

 

Say it isn’t so!

 

I’ll leave you with this…take some time to produce your own “where are they now?” episodes with the last year of new hires.  Which ones are still going strong, which fizzled out and which ones were disastrous?

 

What if anything, can you learn?

 

 

About the Series

I declared May, “the month of fun”!  I’ve always enjoyed watching game shows and I know there are lessons to be learned while watching some healthy competition!  That being said, I asked some trusted colleagues to write a guest post about a game show and their lessons learned as it pertains to their career.

Bert Doerhoff wrote Jeopardy and Business.

Kalani Parnell wrote A Minute To Win It and Leadership.

Buzz Roonery wrote Password and Leadership.

Steve Browne wrote Let’s Make a Deal and HR.

And, of course, I wrote this piece on The Dating Game.

I hope you have enjoyed them!

 

 

Category: Recruitment | Tags: , , , , , , , ,