Hiring Solutions

Learn How to Spot Toxic Future Employees During Job Interviews

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“Toxic employees diminish trust while sabotaging the company, customers, and team.” Jeannette Seibly

A leader recently asked me, “How do you spot a narcissist during a job interview?” He’d just fired one. I shared that they and other types of toxic employees can be challenging to spot. “It’s why using a structured interview approach, and a qualified assessment tool are important to help you spot them.” My recommendations are shared in this article.

Learning how to spot toxic future employees before hiring them can be tricky. However, it becomes easier when you use a well-defined strategic selection system and interview process. The challenge is, listening and not explaining away apparent signs.

“Toxic employees create discord, crush morale and reduce coworkers’ productivity.” (Insperity)

Many toxic workers have the skills to do the job. But due to “you owe me” attitudes, poor emotional intelligence, and not being coachable, they create unhealthy work environments. As a result, they diminish trust while sabotaging others’ work and the company’s growth.

Tips to Conduct Interviews to Uncover the Truth  

Listen and Be Present! You are more likely to spot toxic behaviors and attitudes if you do.

  • They change their story or lie about the facts
  • They answer your questions with questions
  • They are evasive in their answers
  • They tell you what you want to hear and blame others
  • They are always right
  • They make snarky or inappropriate comments

These job seekers may have the job skills but rarely fit into a healthy workplace.

Use a Structured Interview Focused on Job Skills. Their responses reveal their actual ability and interest in doing the work. Use the Rule of 3 to deep dive to understand their responses. Avoid asking about favorite colors, books read, or music they enjoy! Their responses can be misleading and cover up their genuine willingness to do the job.

Ask Interview Questions That Invite Negativity. Allow candidates to share experiences they’ve been coached not to talk about. But don’t ask more than two of these types of questions to prevent true top talent from ghosting you!

Two great questions:

  • “Tell me about a conflict you had with your boss or coworker.”
  • “What did you do when you received feedback you didn’t like from your boss or team?”

Listen for: blaming others, being unable to admit mistakes, or how people “should be.” Or conversely, “I always get along with everyone.” These are red flags!

Use a Qualified Job Fit Assessment. These tools have behaviorally based interview questions to help you uncover a person’s fit with the job. While they are not designed to state if a person is “toxic or not,” the questions help you learn more about the essential qualities the person will bring to the job.

I recently talked with a job candidate for a manager position. The person had an answer for everything and frequently spoke about enjoying conflict and debates with others. While these traits can be great in negotiations, most employees will revolt working for this type of boss.

Don’t Rely on Only One Interview. Many toxic people love to gossip or have other problematic attitudes they can turn on and off. Conduct several well-structured interviews instead of relying on your intuition or gut. During the process, you’ll learn more about the person’s true beliefs, work ethic, and ability to work with and through others to achieve intended results. Use a well-designed strategic selection system and follow it; most toxic future employees are less likely to stick around.

Don’t Dismiss Warning Signs. People’s choice of words conveys their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Many poor job performers use negative words when talking about coworkers and bosses. They speak as the victim, are judgmental, and cannot empathize. They talk in absolutes: always and never. Don’t overlook their choice of words or explain them away.

Remember, toxic employees cost you time, money, and sleepless nights. A well-designed strategic selection system is a powerful tool to help you avoid hiring them.

Source for this article: Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!

©Jeannette Seibly 2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She’s celebrating 30 years as an award-winning international executive consultant, speaker, and coach. Her clients value the listening and positive difference she brings to any conversation. Feel stuck in a sticky situation or in challenging relationships? Want straightforward counsel to blast through it? Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a two-time Amazon International Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about how to spot toxic future employees during job interviews: The challenge is that they often have the skills to do the job. But due to poor attitudes, being self-centered, and not being coachable, they can create unhealthy work environments. Need help upgrading your hiring practices? Not sure where to begin? Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Leaders need to influence others to be successful. But many times, their blind spots speak too loudly and get in the way. For actual professional growth, use objective data to discover your blind spots now, before it’s too late:  https://bit.ly/BeEffectiveLeader

How Do You Use Interview Time Effectively?

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“If you continue asking irrelevant job interview questions, you’ll continue to lose talent, customers, and money.” Jeannette Seibly

Many hiring managers believe relying on their instincts, and intuition/gut saves time and gives them all they need to make good hiring decisions. They think they’ll know the right candidate when they meet them.

Unfortunately, there are many problems with this belief. It creates:

  • Unconscious bias
  • Ghosting by job candidates and new hires
  • Turnover of talent, loss of customers, and litigation (think money and reputation)
  • Removal of a bad hire which can take up to 18 months (think again money and reputation)
  • Bad company reputation when making decisions without factual data … (Remember, this job candidate could become a future customer or decision-maker for a sales contract or award.)

Be Clear! Your Goals During the Interview Are to Determine:

  • Can the job candidate do the job?
  • Will the job candidate do the job?
  • Can the job candidate do the job in this company?

When you answer the above three questions in writing, you get real about the actual competencies required. Remember, business is changing, and so have business requirements.

  • What actual competencies are required?
  • What does the right candidate need to accomplish in 30-60-90-180 days?
  • What job fit assessment is best to see the “whole person?”

Example, if you’re seeking a salesperson, does s/he need to generate leads, close, and provide good ongoing customer care?

Preparation is Critical for Effective Interviews  

  • Ask job-related questions (not about the latest book read, hobbies outside work, etc.)
  • Create a structured interview with job-related questions

Review interview questions to ensure they do not create unconscious bias. Too often, we ask about recent books read, movies seen, and hobbies. These can get you in legal trouble. Why? You are inferring characteristics from their responses without factual data.

As you already know, stay away from questions about a candidate’s lifestyle, childcare, age, race, religion, etc.

Example, a hiring manager asked a candidate about the most recent book he’d read. He said, “Jaws.” She refused to talk with him further inferring he was an angry person. (Yes, this actually happened.)

Four Tips to Improve Your Interview and Selection Results

Note: Interviews should be only one-third of a well-designed strategic selection process. The other key parts include assessments (1/3) and due diligence (1/3). (Hire Amazing Employees)

1. Listen to their responses. Hear what they are saying. Don’t fill in the blanks with what you want to hear. Instead, ask questions for clarification before moving on to the next question.

2.Use Rule of 3 to determine the depth and breadth of job experience and skills.

An example of using the Rule of 3 to hire a project manager:

1) How do you handle team conflict? Can you give me an example?

2) What were the results?

3) If I talked with the team, how would they describe your leadership skills?

3. Ask about their coachability, how they handle mistakes, and flexibility with new assignments. Many will respond, “no problem.” Again, use the Rule of 3 to deep dive. You’ll hear their genuine willingness or unwillingness to answer these questions. Their core behaviors seldom change regardless of what they say.

4. Ask for examples. When asking job-related questions, always ask for examples. Example: Tell me about your working relationships with previous work teams, bosses, and customers.

Many years ago, I conducted a final interview with an experienced general manager for a business owner. I learned by asking for examples that each time she talked about her past three jobs, she expressed her upset with the business owners’ demanding ways. When I asked if she was aware of her upsets, she answered me honestly, “no.” I then shared that working with this business owner would be no different … he was very demanding too.   

©Jeannette Seibly, 2021-2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about using your interview time effectively: Many hiring managers rely too much on their intuition or gut, which leads to disastrous results: top talent and great customers leave, and the company’s bottom line looks grim. This week’s article covers the basics of conducting effective interviews. When done right, it saves time, money, and sleepless nights. Have questions? Most do! Let’s chat now!

Are you asking good, job-related interview questions? When hiring new employees or rehiring former ones, ask about their ability to handle mistakes. Why? 90% of new hires fail because they dismiss coaching or advice about how to improve. Get your copy of the newly released, Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results! and suggested interview questions to get you started.

What Do You Need to Do to Improve the Most Overlooked Part of Hiring?

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“A hearty welcome to new hires impacts their longevity with your company.” Jeannette Seibly

According to several studies, well-designed employee orientation and onboarding can improve employee retention by more than 80%. 

“Sally started her new job on a Monday, excited to be working for a company that had a great selection process. But she learned an hour after arriving that her boss was too busy to talk with her until later in the week.

Todd was assigned to get her started and to show her where everything was located (e.g., office, laptop, passwords, restrooms, lunch room). But he didn’t know much about her job duties. He could only help get the items she needed for her desk.

So, Sally started talking with her new team and coworkers in different departments. Everyone had a different point of view as to what her priorities should be. Then, her vice president and the CEO each had conversations with her, but offered different opinions about where her focus should be.

On Friday afternoon she resigned, clearly frustrated by the lack of a cohesive onboarding process.” (Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!)

New hires decide how long they will stay during the first few hours and days, often subconsciously! As a result, companies that fail to provide employee orientation and onboarding programs experience higher turnover! Remember, when these new hires leave, they take along other top talent, and customers too!

What To Do!

Create employee orientation and onboarding as part of your strategic selection system.

Start employee orientation the minute they apply. Use your Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to send job applicants short videos about the company, interview guidelines, and brief written material about the company’s products, goals, and employee benefits.

Have all “paperwork” completed online! Do this before the new hire’s first day. Have a designated person available to answer all questions and handle benefit enrollment.

Schedule the all-important 1:1 meeting with the boss on day one! Review expectations to ensure both of you are on the same page. People will forget … so this is critical! Share (again) the 180-Success Plan*, goals, and expectations. Then, have them put together the Action Plan required to fulfill it.   *Chapter 6, Hire Amazing Employees

Help the new hire meet and greet coworkers. Designate someone to make introductions to key people and coworkers in the company. Organize lunches and get-togethers during the first month to meet others. The purpose is for the new hire to learn about the company and its customers, internally and externally. Remember to include remote employees too!

Ensure the new employee meets 1:1 with team members. Encourage meetings virtually and onsite. Provide a short list of suggested questions so that s/he can learn more about the company.

  • Tell me about you!
  • How long have you worked here?
  • What do you like most about the company? Your job?
  • What do you like least?

Very Important Note: Remind each new employee to listen more than talk. Many employees, managers, and executives in new positions attend meetings not to listen and learn, but to state what they will be doing and changes they will make in the future. This often shortens the new person’s longevity with the company and is avoidable!

Schedule meetings with key employees in other locations. This is often overlooked or put off until a future date. The problem is that the new manager or executive dismisses the importance of meeting people in their business locations. This is often interpreted as a lack of respect. And creates future problems when addressing issues and implementing policy changes.

Provide an inside mentor and outside executive coach. New hires must have someone to ask for help so s/he can learn more about the company and industry issues (mentor). Also, provide someone to talk them through the inevitable challenges s/he will face with people and in sticky situations (coach). Discuss these expectations before hiring the person … not everyone sees the value of having a mentor or coach. And it’s important to learn during the interview if the person will ask for help and is coachable.

Don’t provide company information all at once! Take days and weeks to discuss the company’s policies, procedures, and employee handbook. Also, review company etiquette, history, mission, values, and communications in 1:1 meetings and group training. Finally, provide an organization chart and brief written material about each department and location. Remember, keep it simple and easy to read since the average reading level is 6th grade!

Remember, as the boss, work the plan with the new hire for success!

(Content for article taken from Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!)

©Jeannette Seibly, 2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about improving employee onboarding: Did you know only 12% of companies onboard effectively? It’s why many new hires leave! What do you need to do to improve (or create) your employee orientation and onboarding processes for new hire success? This information comes from the newly released, Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results! Have questions? Most do! Let’s chat now!

Why do new hires leave so soon? There can be many reasons. But it’s often due to NO (or the poorly designed) new employee orientation and onboarding program! Be part of the 12% that onboards effectively! Want ideas to help you get started? Get your copy of the newly released, Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!

 

Many Hiring Failures Are Due to Being Uncoachable

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Why are so many new hires failing in their jobs? The #1 reason? They are not coachable!” Jeannette Seibly

Poor interpersonal skills are why there are so many hiring failures today!

The #1 reason? They are uncoachable.

Here are shocking stats:

  • Almost 90% of the time, it’s due to the new hires’ attitudes and poor interpersonal skills.
  • Only 11% of failures are due to technical skills.
  • Almost half of new employees today will fail within 18 months of hire. (Leadership IQ)

Why is being coachable important? It reflects the ability to accept and put in place feedback from bosses, team members, customers, and others! (Leadership IQ) Being coachable is why leaders and teams succeed in business!

Many hiring managers admit overlooking or explaining away flaws they saw during interviews. But they were unsure what to do with these insights or biases. Moreover, they lacked objective data from qualified job fit assessments that would provide the boss critical on how to coach these new hires for success.  (See Chapter 9, Using Qualified Assessments and Skill Testing in the newly released: Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!)

So, they default to selecting job candidates based on technical and other hard skills. But, then, these new hires are fired due to poor interpersonal skills! So, it’s time to improve your selection system and use your interview time effectively.

How to Hire Coachable Employees

  1. Job Fit Is #1. According to a Harvard Business Review study, job fit is why people succeed! Use a qualified job fit assessment to ensure you’re seeing the whole person objectively. When using real and consistent data, you can delve deeper and learn more about the person before hiring them! This avoids surprises!
  2. Ask These Two Very Important Interview Questions. A coachable person is looking to improve and is willing to ask for help.

Ask: “When was the last time you made a mistake?” and “How did you handle it?”

Then, listen for:

  • “What did s/he learn?”
  • “Who did s/he talk with?”
  • “Why did the mistake happen?”
  • “What were the results?”

This is perhaps the most critical and revealing part of the interview.

  1. Gain Additional Insight During Reference Checks with Previous Co-Workers. Ask this question: “Would you work for this person? Why?” Listen. I’ve found this question to be a good indicator of a person’s on-the-job interpersonal skills.
  2. Focus on Results Required for the Position. Put together a 180-Day Success Plan. Share it during the final interviews with the job candidate and listen. The person’s reactions may change over time, so it’s essential to address any change of attitude asap. Remember, you’re not hiring lone rangers that want to do it their way! You need team players with the attitude of, “I’m open to learning from my mistakes and contributing to the success of everyone.”

©Jeannette Seibly 2021-2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about how to hire coachable employees: One of the top reasons new hires fail is being uncoachable! During the hiring process, ask the job candidates about mistakes they’ve made and how they were handled. Want to improve your hiring success rate? Grab your copy of the newly published book, Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results! Have questions? Most do! Let’s chat now!

Did you know your interview questions are costing you top candidates? How do you ask job-related questions? What are useless interview questions? Why should you only use the interview as 1/3 of the hiring decision? Get your answers, suggested interview questions, and so much more! Grab your copy of the newly released Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!

How to Reduce Interviewer Bias

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“A well-designed interview keeps everyone focused on selecting new hires that are productive and keep customers happy.” Jeannette Seibly

“The candidate interview, the most common component of the hiring process, continues to be a source of inconsistency, inefficiency, and unreliable data.” ERE – Recruiting Intelligence

Did you know that 90% of the time, hiring managers rely on interviews as the major determinant of who to hire?

Why is this important to know?

Most hiring managers do a poor job of interviewing. They don’t prepare, ask useless questions, and rely solely on their intuition. As a result, decisions are made within the first 4 to 15 minutes of the interview. Inherently, this creates unconscious bias, poor retention, low productivity, and costly loss of talent and customers!

“The interview should ONLY be 1/3 of the hiring decision. The other two-1/3s should be using qualified assessments and completing a thorough due diligence.” Jeannette Seibly

Critical factors in reducing interviewer bias:

  • Use a structured interview approach. Good interview questions protect you legally and help you objectively compare candidates.
  • Ask the same basic questions of each candidate. This removes unfavorable reactions from job candidates.
  • When the interviewer is prepared, and questions are written down, s/he feels comfortable and comes across as professional.
  • Be sure to ask all the questions in the order you’ve written them for all the candidates you interview.
  • Focus on asking questions essential for getting the job done, keeping customers happy, and making the company profitable.
  • Ask job-related questions. This allows the conversation to focus on the quality of job skills and the results achieved (e.g., “Tell me about your experience using Excel.” “How did you use it?” “Did you have any difficulties setting it up?”).
  • Stay away from useless questions. Questions about color preferences (e.g., green, gold) or recent or favorite books read (e.g., mystery, business) are not job-related. Any inferences from the job candidates’ replies can reflect the unconscious bias of the interviewer and be construed as illegal.
  • Use your qualified job fit assessment selection report with each candidate. Ask all the questions provided. They are designed to help you get underneath what is written in the resume and the applicant’s well-rehearsed ability to answer common interview questions.
  • Remember, the interview is only 1/3 of the hiring decision. So give equal weight to the assessments and due diligence results too! (Yes, this was important to repeat! Without all of these three important components, your bias will take over.)

©Jeannette Seibly 2022  All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about how to reduce interviewer bias: The truth is that most hiring managers do a poor job of interviewing. They don’t prepare, ask useless questions, and rely solely on their intuition or gut. So how can you overcome these inherent challenges during your selection process? This information is from the newly published book, Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results! Have questions? Most do! Let’s chat now!

Have you considered that when job candidates ghost you, it’s because of your interview process? How do you improve it? Why is it essential to use the interview as only 1/3 of the hiring decision? Get your answers, suggested interview questions, plus so much more! Grab your copy of the newly released Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!

Not All PreEmployment Assessments Are Created Equal

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“Did you know using qualified job-fit assessments can greatly enhance any company’s selection process? The right ones can provide objective data to ensure employees are productive and are in jobs they enjoy.” Jeannette Seibly

There are over 3,000 assessment tools on the market today. The challenge? Most do not meet the minimum standards set by the Department of Labor for preemployment and selection use.

Why is this important to know?

Many applicants have been well trained on how to be interviewed and how to answer frequently asked questions. They know how to say the right things, make promises you want to hear, and provide great work samples. However, these conversations do not accurately predict what the person can and may do on the job in your company.

Qualified assessments provide objective data and information that most job candidates won’t tell you and may not even realize.

As a potential employer, you only see 10% of the person based on the quality of the resume, interviews, and reference checks. But, if you are like most interviewers, you make many assumptions about the job candidates’ suitability for the job.

What’s missing? Objective data! The 90% that is hidden will provide you predictive information on whether they can and will do the job and do it successfully in your company. Objective data includes qualified job fit assessments, in addition to a well-structured interview and thorough due diligence.

The purpose of using qualified job fit assessments is to get real about the applicant’s fit with the job responsibilities. Jeannette Seibly

What types of qualified assessments predict a candidate’s success on the job?

  • Thinking Style (Can they do the job?)
  • Interests/Motivations (Will they do the job?)
  • Behavioral Traits (Can they do the job here?)
  • Job Matching (Will they fit successfully in the position?)

The benefits of qualified assessments:

  • Provide the highest level of valid and reliable information due to thorough research.
  • Predict success in a specific job.
  • Provide a technical manual* for your review.
  • Verify or contradict your “gut/intuition.”
  • Prevent “biases” from getting in the way.
  • Are tested to be nondiscriminatory.
  • Help you meet all federal, state, and local statutes. (For international candidates, check with that country’s requirements.)
  • Validate the quality of information the candidate is providing: Is it accurate, or what they think  you want, or what they wish they were … or a mix of all three?
  • Used as directed, they work!

*The first step when selecting a qualified job fit assessment is to review the Technical Manual.

To ensure each assessment tool is valid and reliable for preemployment and selection purposes, request a technical manual from the publisher or vendor for the assessment product.

A technical manual documents the research and development required to meet the Department of Labor (DOL) Guidelines (Testing and Assessment: An Employer’s Guide to Good Practices), Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Americans with Disability Act (ADA), and other requirements for the assessment to be used for preemployment and selection purposes. It helps you determine if the assessment meets minimum validity and reliability requirements for use in your specific employment location(s).

Beware: some vendors may provide a letter from their attorney stating the assessment meets all applicable laws for hiring and selection purposes. That letter protects them, not you. Do your homework!

So, what questions help determine validity and reliability of a qualified assessment?

The following questions are not inclusive when deciding which assessment to use. These are suggestions to get you started.

  • Does it assess job-related skills?
  • Does it meet all legal requirements for your work locations?
  • Does it have recent validity and reliability tests?
  • Does it provide predictive validity, high enough to meet DOL standards?
  • What are the sample sizes and makeup for those tests (e.g., Is it validated with a large sample of working people, or a small sample of college sophomores)?
  • Is it appropriate for preemployment selection and hiring purposes?
  • Are you planning to use it for its intended purpose?

Note: Just because an assessment is being used for training or coaching purposes and shows differences in people, does not mean that it can be used for preemploy­ment and selection purposes. Not only is using the correct assessment of legal importance, but it also ensures that you are using tools with the validity and reliability required to accurately and objectively measure the person for the job.

Content for this article is taken from: Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!

©Jeannette Seibly 2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about why preemployment assessments are a must: There are over 3,000 assessments on the market today. Most do NOT meet the Department of Labor’s minimum standards when using them for preemployment and selection purposes. So, what do you need to know, and how do you select the right ones? The information in this article is taken from the newly published book, Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results! Have questions? Most do! Let’s chat now!

Are your job candidates saying, “I didn’t get the job! But I dodged a toxic boss!”? If yes, your hiring process needs help immediately! Grab your copy of newly released Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!

Hiring Practices Are Why Employees Are Leaving!

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“Instinctual or intuitive hiring is a major factor in the mass exodus of employees leaving to find better bosses and work they enjoy!” Jeannette Seibly

People keep quitting at record levels, yet companies are still trying to attract and retain them the same old ways. (McKinsey Quarterly)

It isn’t easy today to compete and keep talent. As a result, many potential job seekers are moving between jobs and industries, retiring early, or becoming entrepreneurs. Some leave without a plan because their co-workers left. And, competitors and other employers are openly poaching your best people.

Why is this happening?

One of the biggest challenges for most hiring bosses is their use of instinctual or intuitive hiring practices. This old practice puts new hires or promoted employees into positions that don’t fit their interests or core behaviors. So, while they may readily accept the job offer, they may not have the true interests or willingness to do the job. Or take the position for more money and the job title to help them get the next one. And, today, more than ever, some employees work a few weeks or months to get the money needed to pay for necessities, then leave. Many times, without even saying “Goodbye.”

What Can You Do?

First, accept that the job climate has changed and is continuing to change. Employees want to enjoy their work, and money won’t buy loyalty.

Second, do a much better job hiring, training, and coaching your employees.

Third, realize that your unconscious biases often get in the way of hiring the right people (e.g., ageism, fear of diversity, and other leadership blind spots).

8 Keys to Hire and Retain Top Talent

  1. Use the strategic selection system outlined in Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results! The system will reduce the “intuitive” selections that often fail. Also, as a boss, ensure the success of new hires, rehires, transitioning contract or gig workers to full- or part-time hires, and job transfers and promotions.
  2. Use a qualified job fit assessment. Job fit is #1. It helps employees, bosses, and employers keep and attract top talent and customers! Stop using assessments that “feel good” but don’t meet the Department of Labor guidelines for pre-employment hiring and selection. (See Chapter 9, “Use the Right Assessments and Skill Tests” in Hire Amazing Employees.)
  3. Develop a strong employee orientation and onboarding program. Employees want to know they matter. In addition, use a 180-Day Success Plan to guide new hires or employees in new positions through the first six months. (See Chapter 6, in Hire Amazing Employees.)
  4. Promote people that can and will manage with care. Many studies have shown that bad bosses are one of the top reasons employees leave. Too often, we promote the top salesperson or best-liked person and forget to conduct “reference checks” of internal employees and their experiences with the people we promote. Not everyone can be a good manager, nor has the skills and interest to develop them. Create separate job paths so all employees can excel.
  5. Provide training opportunities for all employees to support their individual career paths. Include soft skills, financial and technical skills, diversity management, etc. Examples include: Money management for those wanting to buy a home or start a business. Supervisory skills for those with an interest in managing others. Project management for those wishing to become team leaders.
  6. Offer remote and hybrid work opportunities. To help employees balance work and life, provide options that fit their needs. Remember, not everyone will do well working remotely. So, be sure that you (and they) are clear of the requirements to be successful by using the strategic selection system to ensure it. (See examples shared in Chapter 18, Hire Amazing Employees.)
  7. Consider a broader array of benefit options. Providing a smorgasbord of benefit options keeps top talent. Examples: GenZ employees might select education benefits v. increased life insurance options. Parents might opt for housecleaning services v. degreed education benefits. Older employees might enjoy job sharing or part-time work v. full-time employment.
  8. Encourage self-care. More and more employees today no longer value work over health. Provide classes, executive coaching, telemedicine for kids or pets, and perks (gift cards for massages) that are meaningful to the employee.

©Jeannette Seibly 2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about why your hiring practices encourage employees to leave: Even though The Great Attrition and Great Resignation occurred in 2021 for millions of employees … many employees are still leaving in 2022! Often, it’s due to employers’ intuitive or instinctual hiring practices! Using a well-designed strategic selection system will improve your retention, revenues, and results! Do you need guidance updating your strategic selection system? Let’s chat now!

JUST RELEASED!

Are you making the most out of your hiring budget? Creating a sustainable system will improve your results and your bottom line. Grab your copy of Hire Amazing Employees (Revised Edition): How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!

 

Hiring the Right Salespeople Improves Retention, Revenues, and Results!

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“When you hire the wrong salespeople, they will impact your customer’s experience, fulfillment, and bottom line … but not in the way you want.” Jeannette Seibly

Hiring the right salespeople can be a challenge. You’ve probably interviewed job seekers that are great at selling themselves. But when hired, they cannot sell your products or services. Every time you miss hiring the right salespeople, you’re losing retention of top talent and customers, along with revenues and results!

Remember, it’s much faster, easier, and less expensive to determine their selling ability before you hire them. Attempting to fix and motivate your new salespeople won’t them because sales managers don’t have magic wands!

Six Tips to Improve Your Selection Process

  1. Prepare for the Interview by Using the Selection Triad as Outlined in Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results! The Selection Triad replaces winging it or relying on intuitive hiring, which always hurts results.

As part of the assessment process:

  1. Do They Fit the Job? Job fit is the #1 reason salespeople succeed! To determine critical traits, use a qualified sales job-fit assessment to determine their ability to prospect, present, and close. (See Chapter 9 in Hire Amazing Employees.) Can they, and more importantly, will they use their sales skills to sell your company and product?
  2. Do They Tell the Truth? To answer this question objectively, use an honesty/integrity assessment to uncover omissions that are not part of a public record. First, it saves time and money by not talking with candidates that stretch the truth (think, customer expectations and fulfillment). Second, conduct thorough due diligence before making the job offer (background, education, reference, employment verification).

As part of the interview process, listen for:

  1. Are They Listening? Can they hear you? How do they respond to your questions? Ask the candidate to summarize various parts of the interview by asking, “Tell me what you heard?”
  2. Do They Ask Questions? Do they have questions about your company, product, management style, etc.? Curiosity is a good skill that results-producing salespeople have. Candidates that don’t ask questions lack the curiosity and abilities to inquire further.
  3. Are They Calm and Patient? Does the candidate:
  • Squirm in their seat?
  • Rush the conversation or attempt to finish your sentences?
  • Look at you when speaking or listening?

Closing sales require the ability to have the prospect feel comfortable while gradually increasing their readiness to buy.

©Jeannette Seibly 2021-2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about hiring the right salespeople: Hiring the right salespeople can be a challenge. You’ve probably interviewed job seekers that are great at selling themselves. But when hired, they cannot sell your products or services. When you use a strategic selection system, you’ll improve your retention, revenues, and results! Do you need guidance updating your strategic selection system? Let’s chat now!

JUST RELEASED! It’s become the wild-wild-west of hiring … we over-rely on instinct, intuition, gut, and other nefarious practices to select our most valuable resource … our employees! (According to several studies, over 60% of hiring bosses use poor hiring methods.) The key is to collect valid, objective, and reliable data. So how do you do that? Grab your copy of Hire Amazing Employees (Revised Edition): How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!

How to Prevent the Need to Rescind Job Offers

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“Smart leaders wait, investigate, and plan for contingencies instead of relying on knee-jerk reactions.” Jeannette Seibly

Rescinding job offers are on the rise, according to CNBC. Currently, the labor market remains strong with a low unemployment rate. So, why are leaders revoking or rescinding job offers, which was unheard of six months ago?

Answer: The economy is changing rapidly, some companies are growing too quickly, investors are becoming more cautious, and customers need to change how they conduct business. So unfortunately, in many cases, leaders freeze hiring and rescind job offers.

However, many rescind job offers due to finding false or embellished information the job candidate has provided.

But what is often overlooked are hiring managers rescinding job offers due to:

  • intuitive or instinctive selection practices
  • failure to conduct full due diligence
  • not collecting enough good, reliable, and objective information

Preventive Measures to Avoid Rescinding Job Offers

It starts with improving the hiring and selection practices for new hires, rehires, job transfers, or promotions.

  1. Take the time to plan. Instead of hiring based on knee-jerk reactions whenever a client needs something new or tasks are not done, slow down. Review current employee skill-sets (See #2 below) and plan for known business changes. Then, reassign job duties to meet changing business needs based on job fit and skill-set.
  2. Use assessments and skills testing. Selecting someone for the job based on intuition overlooks good, reliable, and objective information required for making good selection decisions. Use objective job fit assessments and job match patterns to determine fit with the job responsibilities. Use skill testing to determine level and ability to use the skills. This goes beyond “certifications” and “education degrees.” This reduces unnecessary job offers, while promoting job satisfaction.
  3. Use qualified core value assessments. Honesty/integrity assessments for new hires and rehires provide direct admission data. While background checks may help you learn what a candidate has done in the past, core value assessments can predict what they might do in the future. Another great way to avoid rescinding job offers based on faulty information.
  4. Conduct critical due diligence. Thorough due diligence includes background, credit, education, social security, and professional licensing checks (where appropriate). This needs to be done before (or as soon as legally possible) the interview process is started. If the applicant doesn’t meet specific criteria, don’t interview them! This reduces time, money, and the need to rescind job offers.
  5. Conduct reference checks and employment verifications. Over 85% of resumes today embellish the truth or contain lies. It’s pay now or pay later. Contact past employers to verify employment, job title, and actual dates worked. Also, talk with professional references to ensure the person interviewed is the same person they worked with. Conduct these before making the job offer!
  6. Have at least three final job candidates. Many hiring managers hang on too long when a job candidate isn’t working out for fear of wasting time, money, and energy. When a candidate waits too long to accept the job offer, has unreasonable requirements, or hasn’t been truthful, let them go! With three final candidates, there are others ready. It reduces “buyer’s remorse” for the hiring manager.
  7. Be cautious. Reconsider rescinding a job offer if it can be attributed to discrimination based on disability, race, age, gender, religion, or national origin. Facing a lawsuit can be expensive (losing customers, social media bashing, etc.).
  8. Seek other opportunities for the displaced person. If the job offer is rescinded, consider what can be done if the newly hired person has been relocated or recruited from a previous job. Review the workload, client demands, and upcoming employee changes (medical leaves). What other work can the person do while s/he seeks other employment? Contractual or short-term? Positive employee relations go a long way!
  9. Share only one factual reason why. If the job offer is rescinded and the candidate wants to know why, simply answer the question. Example, “When we conducted an employment verification, the company did not have you listed. Do you have a copy of two or more paychecks and other documentation?” This is not the time to coach the person.
  10. Handle unprofessional behavior immediately. Consider rescinding the job offer to avoid hiring a problematic person and causing team and customer dissatisfaction:
  • negative comments posted about the company, employees, or products
  • still looking for a better job after the job offer has been made
  • wanting to negotiate better pay or benefits after the job offer has been accepted

Three Key Overlooked Factors

  1. Keep fingers on the company’s finances. Know employment costs and the cost of hiring mistakes. On average, it costs companies 35% of salaries (or hourly wages) for benefits and perks (Salary x .35 = Costs). When calculating costs, don’t forget to include tangible costs (training, administrative) and intangible costs (company reputation, loss of customers). This knowledge encourages hiring bosses to make better business and selection decisions.
  2. Factor in executive changes. When new executives are brought in, wait before hiring new people. Too often, there are people the executive wants to hire, which may cause the company to rescind job offers. And, with a new executive, there may be changes in company direction and the skills required. This waiting period will avoid the need to rescind job offers.
  3. Changes in contract or project plans. Stay in communication with clients to prevent surprises. This prevents the need to rescind job offers or make team cut-backs.

©Jeannette Seibly 2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about preventing the need to rescind job offers: while business is rapidly changing, so is the need to update hiring and selection practices. Unfortunately, one not-so-good growing practice is rescinding job offers. This leaves job candidates perplexed and often unemployed if the person left a job to accept the job offer. What should leaders do to avoid the need to rescind job offers? What can an up-to-date strategic selection system provide in reducing costs and improving job fit? Need to talk about how to improve your hiring and selection systems? Let’s chat now!

Coming soon! Hire Amazing Employees (Revised Edition): How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!

Practices to Prevent Employees from Robbing You!

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“Taking good care of your business includes ensuring employees are not stealing from you!” Jeannette Seibly

Throughout my career, I’ve listened to many stories and guided the clean-up of employee theft. Many times, it could have been prevented by following best practices and immediately addressing theft as it occurs. Unfortunately, while many companies focus on theft by hourly employees, the truth is that white-collar crime is on the rise!

Leaders, did you know?

  • The median amount lost in an employee theft claim is $150,000
  • 5% of an organization’s revenue is lost to fraud every year
  • 23% of employee theft cases cost $1 million or more
  • The average office fraud goes on for 18 months before being detected
  • The most frequent thefts involve billing and check tampering schemes

(Source: AICPA.com)

Employee theft includes:

  • Employer’s property for personal use, without authorization
  • Data, money, physical inventory, proprietary information, publications, workers’ comp, unemployment claims
  • Time theft for hours paid, but not worked
  • Payroll information (e.g., social security and banking information)
  • Service theft (e.g., allowing friends and family employee discounts)

1.Prevention Starts with Hiring and Selection (includes new hires, contract to full- or part-time, and rehires)

Companies today fail to conduct background, education, and other checks. These often occur when the boss knows the person, the person is a family member, or they believe they are too busy to conduct their due diligence. (Note: Always check with your legal counsel, human resource professional, or business manager for when and how this information can be obtained and used.)

Obtain Background Checks. These are public records. But remember, many companies do not prosecute employee theft. Therefore, it’s essential to use a qualified core value assessment too. These tools provide direct admission about what they’ve done, and pre-hires are likelier to tell the computer the truth than a human.

Conduct Appropriate Employment Checks and Verifications. They can wave red flags! These are important since over 85% of resumes contain inaccuracies and lies.

Remember to Hire for Job Fit. Why? Believe it or not, employee theft and misuse of company data can be due to boredom, hating the job responsibilities, or being promoted too soon because there was no job fit.

Source: Hire Amazing Employees (Revised): How to Increase Retention, Revenues, and Results! available in July 2022; SeibCo.com/books/

2.Handle Theft Issues Immediately (this will deter others)

Keep Your Eyes Open for “Dummy” Billings, Contracts, and Surprise Billables

A daughter stole over $1MM from her mother’s company using dummy billings over 2 years. Why did it go on for so long and for so much money? Her mother was in denial even after being told it was happening.  

  • Conduct unannounced internal audits
  • Use an outside financial auditor
  • Review your financials frequently for discrepancies
  • Stay in contact with your customers and listen for: surprise contracts, duplicate billings, unusual costs, or delivery of extra inventory

Don’t Retaliate Against the Thief

While you may wish to bash the person’s reputation or withhold their paycheck, don’t! Otherwise, you may end up in a libel suit. Or have a valid employment claim against you for unpaid wages.

  • Contact the police, and your attorney and insurance company
  • Follow the disciplinary process for letting the person go
  • Change passwords, and alert bank and credit card companies
  • If the employee was terminated, immediately change the locks and other security systems
  • If an unemployment or workers’ comp claim is filed, provide only factual information

Use Best Practices to Take Care of Your Business’s Future

An executive director stole several thousand dollars from a not-for-profit. She set up a personal account and deposited several of the organization’s checks into it. When confronted, she threatened to sue them, using her gender and race as excuses. The board backed off from firing and prosecuting her out of fear of “looking bad.”

How you handle this type of occurrence will determine your organization’s future. When someone steals money or data, it’s important to:

  • Tell customers IF there was a data breach by following best practices for your industry
  • Work with your attorney, human resource professional, and/or business manager to recover the money or value of items taken
  • Determine the return on investment before filing any lawsuit
  • Review practices and policies for weaknesses that allowed the theft or issues to occur
  • Don’t let threats of lawsuits keep you from doing what is right

3.Here Are Some Warning Signs You Should NOT Ignore

When an employee:

  • Complains about work, has poor job performance, or is in frequent disagreements with co-workers
  • Feels mistreated, not heard, or humiliated by their boss
  • Has others input overtime and/or expenses for them
  • Is dealing with debt, drug use, or a gambling problem
  • Is unwilling to train others to do their job
  • Works unusual hours (e.g., comes in too early or stays too late)
  • Accepts goods and monies for personal use from suppliers or others

©Jeannette Seibly 2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about preventing employee theft of time, money, and data: Many times, employee theft could have been prevented by following best practices and immediately addressing theft as it occurs. What do you need to do and become aware of to prevent employee theft? Does your strategic selection system need to be updated to avoid hiring mistakes? Let’s chat now before it’s too late!

Self-confidence allows you to address issues now. Self-confident leaders (current and future) address issues that cannot be ignored (e.g., employee theft, misuse of company data, etc.). Build the self-confidence you need to do the right thing now. Grab your FREE copy of 9 tips needed to develop self-confidence.