job fit assessments

How Do You Use Interview Time Effectively?

by
“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.

How to Remove Elephants by Resolving Difficult Issues or Situations

by
“When you ignore the elephant in the room, you sabotage your team and their ability to produce great results.” Jeannette Seibly

When elephants are in the room, it means an obvious issue or situation is being avoided or ignored. While you may rely on the excuse, “if you ignore them, they’ll go away,” these elephants have a sneaky way of sticking around and sabotaging results — regardless of your feelings about their importance.

Team members quietly quit when unspoken issues or difficult situations are not vocalized and resolved. Usually, their reluctance to speak up is due to fears of personal or professional reprisals if they rock the boat. Or, the fear is due to not having the confidence, communication skills, or self-esteem to stay in the conversation when others don’t agree with them.

As the leader, it’s up to you to make the conversations safe and respectful and be committed to opening up the conversation to expose difficult issues or situations.  

Ironically, talking about these elephants clears the air, energizes the team, and produces unprecedented results. However, achieving these results requires straight talk and a willingness to stay focused on removing the elephant when it doesn’t want to readily lumber away!

How to Resolve Five Common Types of Elephants

When resistance is due to:

Overwhelm. Keep the conversation simple when the issue seems impossible or too big to handle. Use open-ended questions: “What is your experience with the new A/P system?” Allow others the opportunity to voice concerns without fear. Once everyone has had a chance to talk, brainstorm possible solutions. Now, create a focused action plan and speak directly with the person(s) that have the power to resolve it. Remember to stay focused on the solution, not personalities.

Egos. These can be the most difficult elephants to mitigate since egos involve executives’ sense of self-esteem and self-importance. Offer ideas in small pieces and let them choose which one to use since s/he ignores brainstorming. Then, give them credit when the idea succeeds, and offer one or two suggestions if it fails. Remember, the goal is to remove the negative impact on you and your team. As you gain the executives’ trust, you can have more effect.

Entrenchment. We’ve all heard the expression, “It’s the way we’ve always done it.” When team members offer ideas to resolve concerns, it’s essential to listen and learn and not take them personally. Set aside your ego as the leader, use critical thinking so that change isn’t for the sake of change, and manage the process to include everyone.

Bad Acts. If there is a claim of harassment or microaggression, or allegation of theft, it’s imperative to act responsibly now. Have a private conversation with your boss and human resources to determine how to proceed. This may mean letting a well-liked team member or coworker go. Remember, this elephant is negatively impacting others. And these observers are watching how you’ll handle the situation and are adjusting their work performance accordingly. Note: If you ignore this one, you’ll lose credibility, your team, clients, and your business.

Failure to Commit and Act. There are times when elephants have been addressed, but there is no change. Or the leader has agreed but fails to remove the elephant due to political reasons or is second-guessing their agreement. (Examples include continuing old hiring practices and resisting a needed strategic hiring system or asking a major financial contributor to stop smoking in a no-smoking office.) Get this resolved asap. Ask for help by talking with your executive coach for objective counsel. Stop hoping the elephant will eventually go away. Hope is not a strategy; elephants tend to stay too long when you avoid following through for win-win-win outcomes.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2011-2022

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 removing elephants and creating win-win-win outcomes: Is an elephant residing on your team? With your client? Or, in your company? The longer you wait to resolve difficult issues or situations, the more entrenched these elephants become. In the meantime, you lose essential ideas and solutions along with team members and clients. Have questions about how to identify “elephants” and resolve them? Most do! Let’s chat now!

When employees “quietly quit,” it is often due to you quickly hiring on instinct and then slowly firing for poor job skills. It’s time to develop a strategic selection system to improve how and whom you hire! Get your copy of the newly released, Hire Amazing Employees: How to Increase Retention, Revenues and Results!

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

by
“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

by
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

by
“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

by
“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!

by
“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!

by
“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!

Do You Include All Members of Your Team?

by
“Including everyone isn’t hard. But it takes awareness, skill, and commitment to make it happen.” Jeannette Seibly

Have you ever attended a team meeting and sat with a smile plastered on your face? Then, left with your facial muscles hurting and your energy depleted? This is what happens when you are not included.

Many team members feel this way after attending team meetings. Lack of inclusion during team meetings is often due to cliques, not being part of the leader’s inner circle, or the leader being focused on him or herself.

As a leader, it’s your job to engage each and every person on the team! That’s being inclusive! Because including everyone creates more productive and engaging meetings. It also impacts the quality of results and meeting deadlines. This critical skill creates influential leaders in today’s workplace.

7 Tips to Be Inclusive

  1. Welcome Each Person as they Join the Meeting, Virtually or On-Site. Use their first name (or the name they wish to be called).
  2. Introduce People to One Another. Take responsibility for introducing people to one another at every meeting. Don’t assume team members know one another or feel comfortable socializing without some help. For example, on Zoom calls, allow 15 seconds for each person to give a quick intro. Being seen and heard sets a positive tone for the meeting or event.
  3. Ask for Each Person’s Opinion. During brainstorming and idea generation meetings, give everyone a chance to speak. And provide them with the option to “pass.” I go around the group more than once to ensure everyone has an opportunity to talk. And I almost always get better interaction the second time around.
  4. Acknowledge Each Idea. Say something positive, “Wow!” “That’s great.” “Hadn’t thought about that one.” When you value ideas, others feel comfortable offering their thoughts and insights. Reserve judgment about the quality of their ideas for later. It’ll be evident if an idea won’t work for a project or issue. Yet, I’ve seen the lamest ideas become epic solutions! So, learn patience and trust the process!
  5. Don’t Offer Your Ideas Upfront (as the leader or boss). During proper brainstorming activities, you want people’s unfiltered Otherwise, sharing your ideas first will have team members telling you what you want to hear. Even worse, team members won’t speak up because they are afraid to disagree with you. So, wait until everyone has an opportunity to share before offering your ideas. I use this tactic for every meeting. It’s incredible how this simple approach generates more engagement and better ideas.
  6. Assign Tasks Appropriately. When assigning tasks, base your decisions on the team member’s skills and not on whom you like the best. Allow people to volunteer first before making assignments. If the team member volunteering doesn’t have the skills, have them work with someone who is an excellent teacher. Otherwise, the tasks won’t get done correctly (if at all), and the person will disengage from the team. I use the PXT Select to ensure I know each team member’s skill level.
  7. Appreciate Each Person. Make sure to appreciate and acknowledge each team member for their contribution, whether large or small. Remember to use “please,” “thank you,” and “great job” often.

©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 including every team member: Being inclusive isn’t hard. But it does take awareness, skill, and commitment to ensure all team members feel welcomed, respected, and valued during calls or on-site meetings. So if you are hesitant about what to do, let’s start a conversation to get you into inclusive and productive action. Let’s chat now!

How to Prevent the Need to Rescind Job Offers

by
“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!