Top Management Story

Writen by Marcia Zidle

The purpose of any selection process is to discriminate (albeit fairly) among job candidates. Your goal is to select the right people, with the right skills, at the right time for the right position. Have you hired anyone recently? If so, how well did you do? How many of these ten questions can you answer 'yes' to? Did YOU:

1. Avoid hiring in a hurry just to get a body on board
2. Know what you really needed – not what looked good on paper?
3. Get the word out to a variety of sources so that the best candidates could apply?
4. Pay attention to the right things during the interview – the required competencies?
5. Prepare for the interviews ahead of time and do your homework about what to look for?
6. Ask focused questions to draw out the candidate's skills, knowledge and experience?
7. Develop a system to compare candidates so as not to get into legal hot water?
8. Have real proof that the candidate can do the job – get behavioral examples?
9. Make a timely decision and not procrastinate for fear of making a wrong choice?
10. Use both your head and gut in determining the best candidate for the position?

Scoring:

8-10 'yeses' indicates you're the tops. Keep up the good work.

4 –7 'yeses' is OK. Brush up in certain areas.

0-3 means you have work to do. Make this a top priority to develop your staffing skills.

Great hires are always the result of good preparation, good information, and good decision making. You can probably teach a turkey to climb a tree – but it is easier to hire a squirrel.

Marcia Zidle, the 'people smarts' coach, works with business leaders to quickly solve their people management headaches so they can concentrate on their #1 job ­ to grow and increase profits. She offers free help through Leadership Briefing, a weekly e-newsletter with practical tips on leadership style, employee motivation, recruitment and retention and relationship management. Subscribe by going to http://leadershiphooks.com/ and get the bonus report "61 Leadership Time Savers and Life Savers". Marcia is the author of the What Really Works Handbooks ­ resources for managers on the front line and the Power-by-the-Hour programs ­ fast, convenient, real life, affordable courses for leadership and staff development. She is available for media interviews, conference presentations and panel discussions on the hottest issues affecting the workplace today. Contact Marcia at 800-971-7619.