Imagine if you only interviewed individuals who met a stringent set of qualifying skills, selected by an independent professional with no emotional attachment. It’s not hard to see how that could save time and reduce “bad hires.” The problem is typically managers select people to interview that are like them.
Next, the classic one-on-one interview comes down to you vs. them; your goal is not to hire anything less than the perfect candidate, and their goal is to convince you that they are perfect. The entire concept is faulty and that is why it fails more often than not. To avoid bad hires your goal should be to uncover the “real person” you are interviewing. The big question is, are you interviewing a real producer or a fake?
Many bad hires are exceptional interviewees and on average can do a better job interviewing than quality hires. You can be fooled, and your impression can be wrong. Bad hires have learned how to look perfect. The goal of every candidate, good and bad, is to impress and dazzle the interviewer. Therefore, it is important to develop a strategy that changes the “hiring game” and minimizes the costly mistakes of hiring bad workers. To increase your chances of hiring quality people remember the point is simple; the way to avoid bad hires is to change the game.
DaMar Staffing has hired hundreds of individuals and tracks their performance outcomes. The recruiting team uses this data and experience to guide how they evaluate candidates; this process offers a much better way to select the right individuals for your interview list. DaMar proposes three steps to avoid bad hires. 1) Go beyond the interview; 2) Demand evidence; 3) Examine their character.
Step One: Do your homework and go beyond the interview. It is important to follow the traditional process including checking references, assessment tests, and a good-old face-to-face interview. Now, go deeper and ask the candidate to complete a set of technical questions; their answers should be clear, direct, and short. Last, set up a team interview with the people the candidate will possibly work with.
Step Two: Challenge the candidate and push him/her outside the lines of a typical interview. Prepare and plan your interview direction, questions, and objectives; all should be designed to uncover hard-to-find skills and qualities. Engage in a “life” conversation; do not just talk about the job. Last, summarize your key points from the interview and provide the opportunity for you and the candidate to correct or add to the information.
Once the interview process is finished, the information gathered must be evaluated in the context of its importance to making a positive hire. The goal is to uncover the “real person” and to ascertain if that (real) person is beneficial to the company. Now, get your team involved in the evaluation; you, the supervisor, and one other person should review the information and offer an opinion. It is simple, yet profound.
Step Three: The last step in the process is to review your information from steps one and two and consider the other opinions, and answer these three questions: What makes the candidate tick? Why did the person make certain decisions? How did the individual come about interviewing with you? These answers should give you a solid profile of the person’s character. Character is equal if not more important than qualifications.
Think about it, what is the total cost and consequences of hiring an unqualified person who may poison others in the company? A great interviewing process will help you avoid bad hires. Winning at the hiring game simply requires investing the additional time to develop your three-step plan—it works. Quality individuals are available to take the time to discover them.
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DaMar Staffing Solutions of Indianapolis is a full-service, contingency-based recruitment firm, focused on administrative and professional staffing for all industries. There are many staffing agencies, but you want a staffing agency that will work for you. With over 20 years of experience, DaMar Staffing Solutions has built a reputation for providing quality service, top-notch professionals, and flexible recruiting solutions for Indiana companies.