Staff Selection – 10 Practical Tips For Removing The Risk
Today we welcome Leon Noone to the Small Business Owner blog. Leon helps managers in small-medium business to improve on-job staff performance without training courses. Leon once told me that some people think his thoughts are unconventional, and as we love sharing other people’s thoughts and experiences related to business we invited Leon to contribute to the blog. Today Leon shares his thoughts and tips for recruitment. Welcome Leon! Naomi 
Staff selection is a complicated business. Most managers aren’t naturally good at it. It’s very expensive. The cost of “mistakes” is huge and haunting. Poor staff selection erodes profitability. And it increases pressure on other staff. Managing employee performance starts with staff selection.
An Unconventional Approach
You’ll find that these tips don’t follow many of the conventional wisdoms. But they result from my experience. Conventional selection demands a “good application” and “good interview performance”. Sadly, not too many jobs require those skills. This approach will remove most of the costly mystique that shrouds so much selection. I want staff selection to be much less of a gamble for you.
1. Know What You’re Trying To Achieve
The purpose of staff selection is to achieve job goals. It is not to choose a person. The person you choose is the resource you use to achieve the job goals. You are the buyer. Candidates are sellers. Behave as you would if you were buying hardware or software. Let’s face it. If you were buying a new company car, would you ask every car dealer in the state to write to you?
2. Prepare An Output Centred Job Analysis
A job analysis contains a clear statement of
- the goals of the job: what the job exists to achieve
- the experience and qualifications essential to achieve the job goals
- the knowledge required to achieve the job goals
- specific requirements and/or limitations that would prevent successful achievement of job goals.
3. Use The Job Ad As A Screen
The prime purpose of the job ad is to attract only “ideal” candidates and deter everyone else. Base your ad on your job analysis. It’s quite OK to say, “only apply if …” or “don’t apply unless…” Put your name and phone number in the ad. Ask candidates to phone you. It’ll save you time and money. You want your ad to attract only suitable candidates. Applications from unsuitable candidates simply waste your time.
4. Never, Ever Ask For Written Applications
I believe that written applications cause more selection “mistakes” than anything else. Think about it. You place a job ad. You ask complete strangers to write to you. On the basis of what they – or their professional resume writer – write about themselves, you rank the strangers in order of suitability. But you don’t have the faintest idea of whether they can do what they say they can or even if they’re being truthful. Does that make sense?
5. Prepared A Telephone Script
Write a list of questions you’ll ask everyone who calls you. Base your questions on your job analysis. Decide what constitutes “acceptable” answers. Decide how you’ll tell any candidate who fails to provide “acceptable answers” that they’re unsuccessful.
6. Conduct Telephone Screening Interviews
Speak to every candidate who calls. Use the same list of questions with each one. If necessary, write down their answers. If ten years working as a driller on an oil rig off East Timor is essential, don’t accept nine years. Tell unsuccessful candidates there and then that they’re unsuccessful. They prefer to know rather than wait for weeks then be told they’ve failed. Explain the broad salary or wages and conditions to those applicants you want to continue with. If they’re acceptable to them, ascertain their contact details and tell them that you’ll contact them again within a specific time period. Honour that commitment.
7. Design And Conduct Competency Tests
Please understand this. There’s only one failsafe way of discovering whether applicants can actually do what they say they can do. Get them to do it. No matter what people tell you or how much faith you have in your own prescience, you cannot tell what someone can do merely by talking with them. You must test their competence based on actual performance no matter what the job role.
8. Focus The Face To Face Interview
The face to face interview is a privilege. It should be extended only to applicants who’ve demonstrated proven competence: people whom you believe can do the job based on your testing. The main purpose of the interview is for you to decide whether the applicant is likely to fit the culture, to clarify any minor issues you’re concerned about, to answer candidates’ questions and for candidates to decide whether they still wish to proceed.
9. Advise Unsuccessful Candidates
Advise unsuccessful candidates as soon as possible. You create a bad image for your business if you fail to advise unsuccessful applicants as soon as possible after making your decision.
10. Suspect The Reference
Beware of written references and reference checks unless you’re personally acquainted with the reference writer or the nominated referee. No candidate is going to present a “poor” written reference or nominate a referee who’ll speak ill of them. If they did, it would raise serious issues about their professional judgement. Conducting competency tests is far more reliable.
A Final Comment
Remember, the whole selection process is about whether a candidate will be a successful achiever with your business in the future. Keep the past in that perspective.
Leon Noone helps managers in small-medium business to improve on-job staff performance without training courses. His ideas are quite unconventional. Read his free Special Report “49 Practical Tips for Removing Employee Apathy, Aggravation And Resistance In Your Business”. Simply visit http://managingemployeeperformance.com/ and download your free copy now.
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Hi Leon. Thank you for joining us today! We appreciate you sharing your thoughts and advice.
I’ve been through the ‘testing’ phase myself in the past (twice actually), when I have interviewed with larger businesses (the instances involved a writing test). I was always more than happy to demonstrate my capabilities (and I got the job on each occasion!).
Being upfront and honest is always the best policy – for both sides of the process.
Thanks Leon for a great list.
My only query would be not asking for written applications. I agree that you can’t rely on written applications and I always did phone interviews; but I still always asked for a written application first.
I might get more than 100 applications for a role, but after reviewing the resumes in a quick tick and flick approach there might be only 10 that I would even bother going to phone interview with. I would much rather quickly tackle 100 applications when I feel like doing it than have to field all 100 phone calls.
Just a thought. Thanks again for a great article.
Thanks Naomi
I think employers are often reluctant to take the trouble to design the tests unless it’s arelatively simple test.I have lote of examples of apparently outstanding candidates “going to water’ when confronted with a competency test.
I’d rather they went “to water” befor I gave them a job
Leon
Brad,
I have this old-fashioned idea that the ideal number of applicants is one–the ideal applicant. If you find that you attract lots of quite unsuitable candidates regardless, prepare a brief script and get someone else to ask the questions. this sort of script should contain 4-5 “have you done….? type questions with very precise wording. If the candid ateisn’t suitable they can be informed there and then.
Did you know that it’s estimated that 70%+ of all written aplications these days are not written by the job applicant?
In my time, I’ve read more applications than most people have had hot dinners. It made me think. There’s gotta be a better way.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Leon
I’d just like to echo Naomi’s thanks, Leon. It’s really beaut to have you in our sphere, and to benefit from your obvious expertise!
Paul,
Delighted to participate
Leon
That is some very interesting advice, Leon. Unconventional but sensible.
G’Day Stephen,
Thanks for your comment. Should you be interested, there’s lots more unconventional, and i hope sensible, stuff on my blog. You can acccess it through the link at the bottom of the article
Thanks for your contribution
Leon
Onyer Leon and great stuff. Geez what a powerful combination… Paul writing his brilliant recruitment adverts and you doing the selection. It’d mean that companies would have the best team in town.
Love your stuff mate and I know it works coz I’ve been pinching it and preaching it for years… its so good I’ve been claiming it as my own!
BTW you must be nearly as old as me… give or take a few year but love of life keeps us young.
No doubt Paul will know who said it (odds on Confucius) but someone said “show me a person who is doing what they love and I’ll show you someone who never works again”!
I’ll use what you’ve said in an article (and this time I’ll give you credit!).
Have a f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c day… Winno
Winno,
You make such perceptive comments You really are a smart bloke. A very old friend of mine used to say that creativity is merely inventive plagiarism.
Yet another says “If you want to look young, hang out with older people.” I heard an interview on radio recently with a 9() year old who works for Dulux. When asked why, he told the 40 something interviewer, “It keeps me alive mate!”
Now that we’ve alienated everyone with our grumpy old men banter, I’ll simply say great to hear from you. And I’ll know you’re sincere when your name turns up among my blog subscribers.
Make sure you have fun
Thanks again
Leon
You blokes are going to end up on Denton’s next series of Elders if you’re not careful!
Thanks for your kind words, Winston!