By

Thomas Nickolopoulos

Interviewing and Hiring the Right People

Dealing with Problem Employees & Egos

Training Your Staff to be Efficient

Eliminating Micro Managing

Positive and Negative Feedback

Delegating Tasks

Success At Last

Interview Question Fails

Interviewing & Hiring the Right People

Your objective is obviously to hire the best candidate for the position. This can be a difficult task depending on many things. You will need to research a few areas such as:

The job market. Other companies looking for the same recruit. How many positions are available in the area?

Wages. What the competition is paying.

Benefit Packages offered by the competitors.

Advancement within the companies.

Education & Training.

Once you have the answers to these key questions you will be well informed ahead of time for the interview process. This way you can respond quickly, accurately and possibly rebut any differences of opinion. You can find out most of this information by searching on the internet or just by simply placing a phone call to the competition as a possible recruit.

Before we dive into the interviewing, one subject we must cover is Company Recruiters.

Does your company have one?

Are you required to use them?

If so, are they qualified to find your best candidate?

If not, you may have more flexibility than you thought.

I’ve found some recruiters are not trained to ask the pertinent questions to the job being applied for. They have a basic training of what to look for and do not have extensive training on what questions to ask to cover every type of job being applied for.

Your best offense is to build a rapport with your company’s recruiter and give them specific introductive questions to ask the applicants when then are applying for the job. You should also give the recruiter the answers you are looking for. This process will somewhat weed out undesirable recruits. Be clear and specific when giving the recruiter your expectations, let them know they are valued and you are giving them this information to make their job easier. The recruiter will thank you.

One of the most effective ways to find the right person for the job is by using Behavioral Interviewing.

Study the recruit’s behavior by asking a series of questions already written out and ready when they arrive.

Use the same questions for each interview, but tailor the questions depending on the type of job. Use a different variety of questions, some pertaining to the job and some not. Ask open ended questions as well as closed ended ones. Be sure to keep silent and not interject during questioning because it might get you more info than you bargained for, people love to talk and tell their story! Make sure you study their resume’ ahead of time if provided with one. Also review their online application as some information might not match the recruit’s resume’, and you can ask questions about that to see how they react.

An example of a behavioral interview is below.

When the recruit arrives, welcome them by shaking their hand, using their name and make eye contact. Invite them in to the office and put them at ease, ask them if they had any trouble getting there. Offering them some water is a great gesture on your part, it’s a small thing but will make them feel you care.

Read their resume quietly in front of them. Study the recruits actions as you read it, make a statement like… “I see here you worked at company xyz” and then keep quiet, they will fill you in on the rest, most of the time. You might find things out like they hated that place or they loved it, either way you will start to see their behaviors. Study facial movements and body gestures. If there is a lapse of employment for some time ask it the same way. “I noticed here you have nothing between Dec 2009 and July 2010?” Asking in this manner will put in their mind that you are concerned about it and that if they don’t respond they might not be getting the job. As they are talking keep a sharp eye out for body language, bloodshot eyes, smell of alcohol, etc… Are they lazy and slouch in the chair? This is a good sign they are going to be lazy working for you. How are they dressed? You’d be surprised how many people dress casual to a job interview and look sloppy. This shows lack of initiative which you do not need.

Another thing to look at when they answer your questions, do they touch their face when answering? Do they look slightly to the left when answering? They might be stretching the truth or worse yet..lying!

Example Questions (make notes during the interview to review later & compare with other applicants)

Why did you choose our company to apply for a position?

Most reply they need a job and hey.. You’re hiring! Or you may get a reply like.. I hear you pay the most. Red flag! They most likely will be job jumping in the near future.

How did you hear about us?

Find out which advertising for the position is working for you and which ones are not.

What kind of position are you interested in?

Even though the job position is obvious, ask this as they may not be aware of the actual position offered or qualifications needed. It may give you the heads up as if they are over or under qualified.

What can you bring to our company?

This question is a good one, you might get more than you bargained for. They could give you information on a competitor, or they might have a special skill. Keep silent and let them talk.

Give me an example on your last job, when you went above and beyond your duties?

Here you will get to see what kind of person you’re dealing with, the go getter or the one who just skates by and punches the clock.

Tell me about a time when you saw another coworker doing an unsafe act?

After their response ask…. what did you do?

Splitting the question, if they did not already answer the second part lets you know if you have someone who is looking out for your company’s best interests. Safety concerns are very serious and costly. You will find out by asking this if your recruit is worthy of looking out for the rest of your team.

What is your idea of good customer service?

This is a no brainer question and it kind of catches some people off guard. The answer is too easy and they most likely will over talk on this one and give you more information segwaying into they might not have conveyed otherwise.

How are your computer skills?

Actually a good question on a few levels. If they dislike or don’t want to learn your system, then they are not worth your time. If they brag they can hack the government, you don’t need that either!

What are your strengths and weaknesses in the position you are applying for?

You may find out you have a candidate who is only half qualified. On the other hand some people are modest and you may encounter they are more qualified than their resume reveals. Explore this thoroughly with more follow up questions pertaining to your industry.

Give me an example of when you missed a set goal, what you did to correct it and what the result was?

Listen and learn, was the problem their fault, did they step up and take charge after someone dropped the ball and left them hanging with it? Did they take accountability? Did they make it right? Ask them what they would do different if they go handed the same situation again. Dig..dig…dig!

Tell me something about yourself that’s not on your resume‘?

They might surprise you with the answer to this one! It’s a loaded question, sometimes they divulge more than you thought they would. It might be related to the job or something personal!

Tell me how you successfully handled a customer complaint?

Find out what your prospect is made of and how they will treat you customers when things go array.

You need to know they will take point on the situation and handle it correctly.

How do you define doing a good job?

This is kind of one of the same questions as before, just worded different. Maybe your subject will repeat or give you more than last time.

If hired by us. What are your expectations?

They may be expecting to advance faster than things allow.

If hired by us. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

You will get an idea if this applicant is going to be stagnant or if they want to climb the ladder to success.

Do you have any questions for me?

If during the questioning you find out you have the wrong person (and you will know) skip some questions and end it early, save your valuable time! And theirs!

When you are finished with the questions, explain to the recruit the perks of working for your company, and a slight outline on the benefits too. Also convey to them what kind of person you are and what you’re looking for in an employee. Give them a tour of your facility if you are at all interested and introduce them to other employees as a possible candidate for the position. (Get with your employees later and ask what they thought of them). Thank the recruit for coming in and walk them to the door. Always tell them you have other interviews to conduct, (even if you don’t). Hand them your business card and tell them to call if they have any questions.

It is a wonderful idea to have a second set of eyes and ears in the interview. Have one of your current employees sit in with you and take notes, ask questions or just to observe the behavior of the recruit. You will be very surprised sometimes on things you’ve overlooked. And get a different perspective. It also shows to the current employee how much you value their opinion and makes them feel like part of the team. After all you don’t need cancerous employees like we will discuss in chapter 2.

Ok… now the interviews are over and its decision time. But are they?? Do a second round of interviews with the top 2 or 3 candidates!! Take into consideration it is costly to keep hiring people if they fail your expectations, so you want to make the best choice possible. I have found at times that the best choice is none. Don’t hire someone just to fill the position, it could cause you more problems than being shorthanded! In this case see if you can provide a different position, redirect menial tasks from others to the new position, hire them at a lower rate and delegate the other work to more experienced employees.

Ask yourself. Did I thoroughly check out this candidate?

Probably not!

Here’s some ideas for you to check things out.

Call previous employers.

Many still give out info they shouldn’t, you would be very surprised how many employers like to sling dirt on someone who did work out for them. If you get someone who won’t comment on your recruit, call back a day or two later and ask someone else, maybe you’ll get a different opinion.

Call references.

Sometime friends talk more than they should, get the dirt!

Search the internet

Do they have a Facebook or Myspace page? Google them and see what comes up. Check Twitter and other social media sites. You may be surprised what you will find!

Ask current employees and vendors about your prospects

People you are friends with will talk. Ask away! You have nothing to lose and information to gain.

I have found people I’ve worked with or have done business with, know some of these candidates and they want to voice their opinion, good or bad!

Your gut…

Trust it. If in doubt toss it out! Do not second guess yourself!

Use the 2 day rule

Wait 2 days and think about it, visualize them working for you and if you would feel comfortable with them. Do not rush your decision!

Remember… Dig…Dig…Dig!

Dealing with problem employees and egos

Many times in life you will run into things which can be changed and some that cannot. It’s all a matter what you can do to make things in your situation the best.

The first thing you should fix is yourself. If you happen to have an ego…drop it! Then again if you’re reading this book you’re probably ok.

The problems arise when attitudes are afoot. It may be you or the employee or a combination of both.

The problem employee is one who brings the rest of your team down, and they are like a cancer which slowly eats at everything (especially when you’re not around!). You’re going to hear from the employees who care and some who just wish to have their say. Embrace both and move ahead. Remember that the cancerous employees will affect the rest of the team! So deal with this carefully and timely. The rest of the team needs to know you are trying to make things for the better. They will follow as long as you handle it properly.

You have 3 choice to solve the issue at hand.

1. You quit!

2. They quit!

3. Change them for the better!

It’s your choice entirely!

Keep in mind that this won’t be easy. Either choice you make will have consequences.

So… dealing with the cancer… this person is rarely turned around, especially if they have been there for some time. Time to tighten the leash on this dog. Sit them down and explain to them what the issues are and what steps are going to be taken to correct this. You will get interjection immediately from them. They are trying to control you. You need to take control of the situation and not let them interject. But do it nicely! Your niceness will start to destroy the cancers hold.

Give the cancer a shot in the arm by limiting tasks and outlining what is expected of them. Also explain to them the actions you will take if your demands are not met. Document everything and have the cancer acknowledge your wishes. By the way.. You’ve just pissed them off!

Micro manage the cancer and delegate authority to other team members when you’re not there. See what results pan out with each different person. You will weed out the effected employees by the elimination process. Then narrow who you leave in charge. Have them document everything while you are gone.

Set the same goals for all employees as to not discriminate and you will find the cancer will eventually eat itself, unless they turn around and shape up.

Remember this will not be easy!!! But you will be happier in the long run, so will your employees and most important…your customers!

Be the doctor…cure the cancer or remove it!