May 20, 2009

Edited and Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Published by Success Performance Solutions. Major Sponsor,

2008 Best Places to Work In Pennsylvania

What's Inside this issue of The TotalView:

1.  Avoid Karaoke Hiring

2.  Perfect Labor Storm Warnings

3.  YouTube Appeals to Geeks and Geezers

4.  Take the Generational Age Quiz

5.  The Interview's Pocketbook

6.  Quotes from the Hire Authorities

7.  Video: Types of Assessments

1.  Avoid Karaoke Hiring

For many managers, hiring becomes an exercise not unlike the early eliminations of American Idol.  Contestants practice incessantly. They are coached, trained, and prepped for the next audition.

Job seekers too prepare, seek coaching, and hire professional resume writers in order to get through their audition (the interview). It's likely singing karaoke style, where the candidate has the music lyrics (interview script) and resume recorded music (resume) and all that's left is to follow along.

Karaoke literally means "empty orchestra."  Karaoke singing is for amatuers. Like the American Idols, once the music stops, the candidate with the best potential to take center stage and reach star status better be able to stand alone and sing a cappella.

Unfortunately, in many cases, all that is left after the melodious audition is an awful cacophonous noise.

Hiring top performers requires more than a review of the past. The new currency of future performance is capability. It has never been truer than it is today: what got you here today may not be what it takes to get the job done tomorrow.

Capability can be described as the ability of someone to handle particular levels of complexity and ambiguity. To function successfully in any given role, individuals need capability, or the ability to function competently in the future.

Management therefore must take a fresh look at the way they hire and promote employees. Traditional skills-based interviewing is an excellent tool for evaluating knowledge and assessing past experience. But it falls woefully short of identifying those applicants with the knowledge, behaviors and attitudes, and competence (KBCs) going forward.

Skills-based assessments are also helpful but they worked far more effectively when hiring switchboard operators in the 1950s. They give inadequate information for hiring managers and support staff who must think on their feet in this fast-paced, multi-tasking service and knowledge-based environment.

Competence is something acquired over time with any combination of education, training and experience. It may be a technical skill such as bookkeeping or computer literacy but is more likely to be what are commonly referred to as soft skills and emotional intelligence.

For professional, management,and support positions, competence infers the ability to solve problems, communicate effectively with a diverse group of people, lead and build teams. And because the responsibilities and complexities of jobs today, it is more important to assess future capability and commitment as it is past experience.

Commitment is a willingness to do what needs to be done to learn new skills. It requires a "want-to-do-it" attitude. Commitment combines confidence-an employee's feeling of being able to do a task without much supervision-and motivation, which is that person's interest in doing a job well.

Is there a reliable way to identify competence and measure commitment in job applicants?

Yes. CriteriaOne, offered exclusively through Success Performance Solutions and its
certified affilates, helps managers identify core competencies and assess each applicant's future potential and motivation to apply them effectively in the job. CriteriaOne integrates the power of behavioral interviewing along with the insight of psychometric testing to uncover a candidate's real talent and motivation.

2.  Perfect Labor Storm Warnings   

Subscribe to the Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 blog and receive skilled worker shortage updates like this:

For every 100 girls enrolled in college, there are 77 boys enrolled.

Source:boysproject.net

Learn more about workforce trends. Purchase the NEW Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 books (soft and hard cover versions) at PerfectLaborStorm.com.

New Perfect Labor Storm videos added. Watch now!

3. YouTube Appeals to Both Geeks and Geezers

More results from the Geeks, Geezers, and Social Media survey conducted during April 2009.

This week I highlight the demographics of YouTube users. 

The results have important implications for business: how and where they will recruit employees and sell to customers.

Download a free copy of the Geeks, Geezers, and Social Media summary report here.

4. Take the Generational Age Quiz!

1.  Name the four Beatles.
2.  Finish the line: "lions and Tigers and Bears, ____. ____!"
3.  Hey Kids, what time is it?
4.  What do M & M's do?
5.  What helps build strong bodies 12 ways?

View the answers here.

5. The Interviewer's Pocketbook


The Interviewer's Pocketbook was voted 'best of its kind' in a review of books on interviewing carried out by Management Today magazine. 'Thought-provoking and amusing; the practical tips and insights are extremely helpful', it was reported. Author John Townsend believes The Interviewer's Pocketbook is the best book he has written! It begins by looking at the skills necessary for good interviewing, specifically: questioning techniques, listening skills and interpretation of body language. The next section deals with the different types of interview: recruitment, appraisal, counselling, fact-finding and disciplinary. It covers the interviewing techniques that should be applied in each situation and gives specific examples. The final section summarises the essential interviewing skills in the form of a series of useful, 'at-a-glance'

Buy The Interviewer's Pocketbook today (only $12.50) or take a sneek peak at the 89 other Management Pocketbook topics. 

6. Quotes from Hire Authorities

"The reason worry kills more people than work is that more people
worry than work."

 

Robert Frost

7. New Video: Types of Assessments

We've added 3 new educational video presentation to our website. This week's Total View issue features a 6-minute video about the different types of assessments: Attitude, Personality, Cognitive Abilities, and Skills.

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Ira S. Wolfe Copyright 2009 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.