• the key features of your organization’s culture (for example, team-orientation, degree of conformity, reward systems); and • your managerial style (for example, authoritative, coercive, democratic) and its implications for an effective working relationship. Primary Responsibilities and Tasks If you’re looking to rehire for an existing job, take a look what the current incumbent is now doing and evaluate their job description, if one exists. But don’t simply accept either of these perspectives as definitive. Use the hiring opportunity to reevaluate the primary responsibilities and tasks of the job. Make sure you can answer the question,“What does the employee have to do in this job?” Education and Experience Education and experience are the two most critical background characteristics to consider when evaluating candidates. In the case of education, you may wish to specify a certain type of degree or a cer- tain level. Be sure to ask yourself whether a specific educational background is truly necessary. Can you be flexible in this area, or can relevant experience be substituted for a certain educational background? Experience requirements should be based on a thorough analy- sis of the specific tasks and responsibilities of the position. Which would be most desirable: • Industry experience? • Functional experience? • Large- versus small-company experience? Industry and functional experience are particularly important for externally oriented positions requiring knowledge of products and competitors. However, if a good candidate has not been exposed to The Hiring Process 3 HBE001_ch1_.qxd 10/03/2002 2:47 PM Page 3 everything required, consider whether he or she can learn what is needed and how long that learning will take.Various tests, for ex- ample, are available to measure an individual’s dexterity with numer- ical data, spatial acumen, mechanical ability, and so forth.Also, deter- mine whether the organization can afford the time needed for on-the-job learning. Personal Characteristics Personal characteristics can indicate how the candidate will ap- proach the job and how he or she might relate to coworkers (see “Create Consensus on Personal Characteristics”). Evaluate the following personal characteristics relative to the tasks and responsi- bilities you’ve listed for the job opening: • Analytical and creative abilities. A candidate’s abilities in these two areas determine how he or she assesses problems and comes up with new approaches to solving them. • Decision-making style. Decision-making style is very individ- ual. Some people are extremely structured, analytical, and fact- based; others rely more on intuition. Some make decisions quickly, while others ponder them for a long time.Some depend on consensus, while others seek their own counsel. It is critical to determine whether a particular style is required for success in the job and, if so, what it is. • Interpersonal skills. Since interpersonal skills and behavior are intimately connected, understanding a candidate’s interpersonal skills is an important part of the hiring decision process. To determine which interpersonal skills are most appropriate for a given position, think about the set of tasks that will be per- formed in the position.Which traits will translate into good per- formance, especially in view of the superiors, peers, and direct reports with whom the person will interact? For example, a controller should ideally be patient and formal, demonstrating careful, cautious, detail-oriented behavior. For a sales manager, high extroversion and low formality may be desirable. 4 Hiring and Keeping the Best People HBE001_ch1_.qxd 10/03/2002 2:47 PM Page 4 The Hiring Process 5 • Motivation. The candidate’s personal goals, interests, energy level, and job progression often demonstrate their level of moti- vation. So ask yourself,“Does this job match the candidate’s per- sonal aspirations? Would he or she do the job with enthusiasm and energy? Develop a Job Description Once you understand the position’s requirements, you are ready to create a job description.A job description is a profile of the job, its essential functions, reporting relationships, hours, and required cre- dentials.This description will make it possible for you to explain the job both to potential candidates and to any recruiters you may be using to help identify candidates. In some cases, your organization may have a required format or a standard job description to use as a model. A clearly written, results-oriented job description can shape the beginning of the employee relationship, and can help everyone understand the mission, culture, needs, and goals of the company. It can also form the basis of a legal termination of employment should that become necessary.Your job description should include the following: • job title, business unit, and the name of the organization • job responsibilities and tasks • hiring manager and reporting manager • summary of the job tasks, responsibilities, and objectives • compensation, hours, and location • background characteristics required • personal characteristics required Many of these items will have to be cleared with the human re- source department. Developing the job description can be an opportunity to redesign a job, instead of just filling the one you already have. For HBE001_ch1_.qxd 10/03/2002 2:47 PM Page 5 6 Hiring and Keeping the Best People Many hiring decisions start off on the wrong foot because the company hasn’t clarified exactly what it wants in the new hire. For example, the different people with whom the new hire will interact (or who have a say in the hiring decision) may have their own ideas about the perfect job candidate. Consider the hypothetical case of a company that wants to fill a product-designer position but hasn’t reached a consensus about key hiring factors.The design director wants a seasoned individual who has gained extensive design experience at one of the firm’s toughest competitors. The head of finance prefers a bright new (and more affordable) college graduate.The market- ing director is pressing for someone with marketing experience in the kinds of product lines the company currently offers. Meanwhile, the new hire’s immediate supervisor is looking for someone with “people skills.” Pity the poor job applicant who walks into this situation! To avoid this type of confusion, try this procedure: • Ask everyone who’ll interact with the new hire to privately write down exactly what they would consider the attributes of the ideal candidate. • Meet and openly discuss differences in the various wish lists. • Decide together which requirements have priority. • Create a new list of requirements that everyone agrees on. • Stick to that list when evaluating candidates. Create Consensus on Personal Characteristics example, the last person who held the position may have had a strong strategic focus, but if you decide that a more hands-on man- ager is now needed, then recreate the job description accordingly. As you go through the exercise of describing the job, observe the following: HBE001_ch1_.qxd 10/03/2002 2:47 PM Page 6 • Distinguish between knowledge, skills, and abilities. Some jobs require advanced degrees. Some require special skills, such as knowing how to program in Java. Others require physical abilities, such as hand-eye coordination, or mental abilities, such as the ability to work with numbers. Figure out what you need in each area. • Take the time needed to do it right.Yes, you need that new employee to start next week, but the cost of getting rid of the wrong employee more than outweighs the cost of time spent finding the right one. • Be sure to comply with all legal restrictions.Your stated job requirements must be clearly related to getting the job done and must not unfairly prevent racial minorities,women,people with disabilities,or other “protected classes”from getting hired. 1 (U.S. readers should see Appendix C,“Legal Landmines in Hiring.”) For a sample job description,see Appendix A at the end of this book. Recruiting Promising Candidates Gaining access to qualified candidates is critical to the success of your hiring effort (see “Tips for Finding the Right Person”).That means creating a pool of qualified applicants.You can accomplish this by getting the word out through as many channels as possible. However, the word “qualified” is important. A large pool of med- iocre candidates isn’t nearly as valuable as a small pool of qualified candidates. Utilizing targeted, relevant channels to get the word out about your position can help ensure that the proportion of qualified candidates in your pool is as high as possible. Typical channels include recruiting agencies, newspaper ads, referrals from colleagues, trade publications, professional associa- tions, networking, campus recruiting, and the Internet. In addition, you can enhance the pipeline of qualified candidates through pro- grams such as internships and partnerships with colleges, universi- ties, and community organizations. The Hiring Process 7 HBE001_ch1_.qxd 10/03/2002 2:47 PM Page 7 TEAMFLY Team-Fly ® Personal referrals from current employees are another favored method of expanding the candidate pool, and many companies encourage this through the payment of “rewards” to employees whose referrals are actually hired. In general, this practice is much less costly than others and often produces more satisfactory new hires since it’s unlikely that current employees will suggest a candi- date who is unqualified or likely to be a bad employee. Screening Résumés A sizeable pool of applicants assures that you will have choices in the hiring process; it also means that you’ll have more sifting to do in finding the best choice.And that sifting begins with résumé screen- ing (see “Tips for Screening Résumés”). 8 Hiring and Keeping the Best People • Consider current employees. • Look outside your organization to bring in new outlooks, skills, and experiences. • Know what kind of person you’re looking for in order to locate a good fit. • Remember that a person’s past job performance is the surest guide to future performance. • Remember that the right education + the right experience + a compatible personality = a good fit. • Beware of the “just like me” trap.This trap encourages man- agers to favor candidates who share similar education back- grounds, are of the same age, gender, or race, and who enjoy the same pastimes.To avoid the trap, focus on the objective requirements of the job and the candidate’s qualifications. Tips for Finding the Right Person HBE001_ch1_.qxd 10/03/2002 2:47 PM Page 8 The Hiring Process 9 The cover letter and résumé are the candidate’s first introduction to you. In order to merit your further attention, they should convey the qualities you are looking for.When you have a large number of résumés to review, use a two-pass process to make your task more manageable.In the first pass, eliminate the résumés of candidates who do not meet the basic requirements of the job. In the second pass, look for résumés that include: • signs of achievement and results—for example, a profit orienta- tion, stability, or progressive career momentum; • a career goal in line with the job being offered (be on your guard here, as applicants are often coached to tailor their pur- ported career goals to match those of jobs to which they’re applying); and • attractive overall construction and appearance. In this pass, also consider the subtler differences among qualified can- didates—for example, years and quality of experience, technical ver- sus managerial backgrounds, the quality of the companies they have worked for in the past, and so forth. Then develop a list of the strongest candidates. When reviewing résumés, be on the alert for red flags that can indicate areas of weakness such as: • lengthy description of education (possibly not much job experience); • employment gaps (what was the applicant doing during these gaps?); • a pattern of short-term employment, especially after the appli- cant has been in the work force for more than a few years; • no logical job progression; • too much personal information (possibly not much job experi- ence); and HBE001_ch1_.qxd 10/03/2002 2:47 PM Page 9 • descriptions of jobs and positions only, with no descriptions of results or accomplishments. Interviewing A hiring interview has one primary purpose: To provide both the interviewer and the job candidate with an opportunity to obtain the information they need to make the best possible decision. Since the time spent with any particular job candidate is limited, a well- organized approach helps make the most of that time, yielding more and better information. When you are selecting someone for an important position, you will probably go through at least two of the following stages for every job opening. In some cases, you may even go through all three. 1. Telephone-screening interview. This may be done by you, a recruiting agency, your HR department, or someone else in 10 Hiring and Keeping the Best People • Spend the least amount of your time eliminating the least- likely candidates and the greatest amount of your time care- fully considering the most-likely candidates. • Separate fluff from substance. Get right to the core of the candidate’s accomplishments. • Avoid comparing candidates to each other. Instead, compare each candidate to the high-performer candidate profile and look for a match. • If you have great numbers of incoming résumés, or tap Inter- net résumé postings, consider using résumé screening soft- ware to automatically identify suitable applicants (more on this in Chapter 2). Tips for Screening Résumés HBE001_ch1_.qxd 10/03/2002 2:47 PM Page 10 . and low formality may be desirable. 4 Hiring and Keeping the Best People HBE001_ch1_.qxd 10/ 03/ 2002 2:47 PM Page 4 The Hiring Process 5 • Motivation. The. someone else in 10 Hiring and Keeping the Best People • Spend the least amount of your time eliminating the least- likely candidates and the greatest amount