Effective Staff Selection – Stop Doing Interviews – Start Selecting Staff

Introduction

OK! I’ll nail my colours to the mast right now. The purpose of your staff selection process is not to choose a person. It’s to get a job done. And if that’s not heresy enough for you, try this. You cannot tell what people can do merely by talking with them.

The Proof

The proof is in the reality. How do you know you’ve made a really successful staff selection? The only valid way to tell is how well the new employee is doing the job you employed them to do. If the job’s being done well your selection’s been successful. If the job isn’t being done well …. I rest my case. Incidentally, if the new employee isn’t “working out” as they say, don’t blame the new employee. Your selection system has failed.

The First Thing To Do

This is also the most important thing:  specify the goals of the job. State clearly how you’ll know that the job’s being done well. I like to call this the “trained seal question”. If a trained seal was doing this job perfectly, how would you know?

If you do nothing else differently the next time you recruit a new employee, do this. It will make a huge difference to the success of your selection process.

The Net Profit Reality

If you’re serious about selecting good staff, remember this. Selection’s an expensive business.However you do it, the two major costs are your time and the time it takes for the new employee to achieve the job goals. That money is simply net profit foregone. What if you have to “let the new person go” and repeat the process? That’s  more money from your bottom line. On this basis alone, you should take great care to “get it right first time”.

The Essential Element

You must try to establish whether applicants can do what they say they can do. Most applicants are relatively honest. But they are trying to impress you. The best way to check whether an applicant can do something is simple: get them to do it. This is legitimate. They want a job with you. You are perfectly entitled to check their skill and competence B28 by asking them to demonstrate it, preferably under working conditions. You are the buyer. Behave like one.

Never, Ever Ask For Written Applications

This is another simple, verifiable reality. Written applications ruin successful staff selection. Think about it. You ask for written applications of one sort or another. It takes a lot of time to go through them. You decide to interview certain applicants because they wrote – or someone wrote for them – a good application.  You’re selecting candidates for interview on the basis of how well they – or someone else – wrote a job application that appeals to you. Doesn’t make sense. And the big danger is that the best resume writer will get the job especially if their “interview performance” matches the quality of their written application. And you’ll still have no proof of competence.

Unless you’re looking for good resume writers and interview performers, this is no way to choose a new employee.

Purpose Of Selection Interview

By now, I’ve probably alienated, if not upset, some of you. But I’ve been involved in staff selection in one way or another for over 40 years. I’ve written books, training programs, self instruction manuals, CDs and lots of articles about it. I haven’t formed my opinions in a mad rush of conceited self indulgence or theoretical fervour.

A Simple System

Try this:

• Write out your job goals
• Work out the sort of background, experience and qualifications you’re  looking for to meet those goals
• Write a script asking questions to work out whether candidates meet your requirements
• Place an ad or do whatever you do to attract applicants
• Ask applicants to telephone you direct
• Conduct a telephone interview based on your question script
• Reject anyone who doesn’t meet your standards
• Choose no more than 3 of the “best” applicants – those who seem to be able to do what you want
• Arrange to test those people to see what they can actually do; not say they can do
• Identify those candidates who demonstrate the most competence
• Interview those people face to face to clarify any queries and decide whether they’ll “fit”.

Continue as you’d normally do after you’ve decided who you’re going to offer the vacant job to.

Conclusion

Selecting staff successfully is an expensive and challenging exercise. It demands a sound performance based system. Most managers don’t get enough experience at it. They simply don’t develop the necessary skills. Many managers overestimate their selection skills because they believe that they’re a “good interviewer”. Please don’t take that personally. If interviewing was the key to successful staff selection, I’d be out of a job tomorrow.