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SMALL BUSINESS
- June 2006 by Patrice D. Bucciarelli Staffing Solutions
But according to business consultants, most employers would rather walk on hot coals than go through the hiring process. That’s because when it comes to adding new personnel, the stakes are high and the process is time-consuming. On top of all that, costly hiring mistakes take their toll on productivity, employee morale, customer service, and even market share. Consultants say wrongful hires happen not because employers fail to find candidates with skill sets required to fill vacant positions, but because they often don’t ponder potential employees’ compatibility with jobs and the companies offering them. “It is possible that someone can be a good worker and a good candidate, but just not right for the job,” Cracraft said. “That’s why we try to tell the candidates as much about the job as possible while learning as much about the candidate as possible.” According to R. Brayton Bowen, managing principal of The Howland Group, a Louisville business consulting firm, that’s not as simple as it seems. Many employers don‘t have clear notions about job functions and requirements within their organizations. As a result, employers may be hard-pressed to effectively interview job candidates. Bowen says interviewers need to go beyond the resume-related questions about skills, education and credentials and zero in on queries that reveal how candidates might react to specific workplace situations such as how the candidate responded to the demands of a micro-manager or how he coped with a difficult workplace situation during his last assignment. It’s also important, he says, to tell the candidate up front about the downside of the job and the workplace environment. “People need to ask these behavioral questions not only to obtain the answers,” Bowen said, “but to look for patterns, because job candidates are getting smarter and smarter in understanding how to offer answers employers want to hear.” Steven Kraus, president and owner of Human Resource Advantage, a Louisville consulting and recruiting company, recommends that employers look beyond credentials to consider a candidate’s previous workplace environments. “An accountant who is the CFO of a large, well-established company in the manufacturing industry is going to have a different set of skills and a different work style than a person who is the CFO of a start-up in the retail or service industry,” he said. “The manufacturing CFO is probably not going to be a good fit for the retail start-up.” Consultants suggest advertising for help on Internet job boards and industry-specific publications instead of the daily newspaper classifieds. Networking with professional organizations is especially useful when the vacancy calls for an industry-specific professional. Both strategies connect employers with skilled candidates experienced in finding – and landing – jobs in their industries. Even after an ideal candidate is found, both Bowen and Kraus say background checks are critical to avoid a wrongful hire. Simple investigations (performed by professionals) into credit history, motor vehicle and criminal records may range in cost from $30 to $60. But the investment can save employers thousands in occupational fraud or unforeseen legal complications down the road. “Not every posting requires the same level of background checking,” Kraus said “But certainly potential hires for sensitive positions such as those involving finance deserve a more in-depth check.” If finding the right employee for the right job is time consuming, it is often time employers can ill-afford – especially when expansion or other factors create an urgent need for personnel. Consultant Bowen says employers short on time can buy some by hiring temporary workers, flexing employee schedules to fill in the gaps or reassigning people from elsewhere in the organization until the vacant position is appropriately filled. “Whatever they do to buy time is going to be less painful than making a wrongful hire,” he said. “What does that cost in terms of bad customer service and creating an insecure workforce? The process is what it is. Employers need to do what they need to do, no matter how long it takes.” Patrice D. Bucciarelli is a staff writer for The Lane Report. |
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Copyright 1996-2006, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial content
is copyright 2006, Lane Communications Group The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
If you’ve rummaged through any thick stacks of resumes lately, you’re not alone. In the past nine months, employee turnover for Kentucky companies averaged 11.4 percent, according to the Kentucky Office of Education and Training. While turnover figures vary industry to industry – the food service industry averaged 20.8 percent during the same time period – state labor market analyst Carlos Cracraft says one thing is constant: Whether due to retirement, expansion, or market-driven attrition, most companies have to hire new staff eventually.