Getting out of the mess
With your help, I'd like to include some questions & answers, common to many businesses:
Question: I'm spending too much time interviewing, and many of the applicants don't seem to understand what we're looking for.
Answer: Screen over the phone. Make them tell you the salary range they need. When they say, "It's up to you," your reply should be, "You go first." This will immediately reduce many wasted interviews.
If someone sounds too expensive, let them know that you'll pay only $XXX, even after someone has been with your company awhile. Inform them that an overqualified person will probably leave your company, as soon as a better offer comes along...for understandable reasons. On the other hand, keep in mind that desperate people sometimes work out. You don't always know what their priorities are.
Question: I need better help. Every time I hire someone who looks good, once they start work, they aren't nearly as good as they seemed in the interview.
Answer: Correct hiring is one of the most important things any employer does. You will get better at it. The right or wrong people can make or break you. These ideas will help:
- Make a list of the skills your future employee must have, to do the job.
- Name a wage range, and what your benefit package is.
- Get a clear picture of what & where you expect the employee to be in 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, and 20 years. This will help you understand what you're really looking for.
- Consider options: Do you want a part-timer? Retiree? Tradesman? Partner? CEO?
The better you understand the qualities you're looking for, the easier it will be to recognize that person during the interview -- or to know when the candidate merely seems okay, but won't fulfill your company's needs.
Question: I really hate hiring. I mean, what if I make a mistake...then what?
Answer: Don't be afraid to make a mistake! You NEVER know how good someone is until you see them perform. Great references, terrible references, drug abusers, even lawyers can sometimes turn out to be the best employee -- or the worst -- you've ever had. You are playing a percentages game. Sometimes, it won't work out for you.
If it looks like someone really isn't a match for the job, there are two main philosophies:
- Get rid of him/her as soon as the problem is obvious, OR
- Do everything you can to make the employee a success for the first 30 days they are with your company. If they can't make it after that, show them the door.
I've seen success both ways. Much depends upon your type of business.
The very WORST thing you can do, is let someone who isn't cutting the mustard, stick around. Almost everyone in manufacturing has a horror story about an incapable employee who stayed on. Maybe a large manufacturer can get by with a less productive workforce, but most small manufacturers just can't afford it.
The other side of the story is, I've seen apparently worthless people, after six years, turn into extremely valuable employees who were simply in the wrong job.
Hiring the right employee is really a loaded question. As a manager, you MUST take responsibility for the employee and his/her success. You are also the one who's responsible for production levels. Ultimately, the boss has to get the job done, efficiently.
If you find that you have the wrong employee, you have to change the employee...or change the employee.
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website copyrighted 2001,
W. Duncan MacIntosh, III
