Welcome to the February 7, 2007 issue of The Total View

Published by Success Performance Solutions, Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Visit our Human Resources Blog and Perfect Labor Storm Blog where we can post daily (and more often) human resource updates, news, and Perfect Labor Storm facts. 

What's Inside:

"Choose the Best Employee Assessment Test and Put the RIGHT Person In the Job" Audioconference.

Click here to order the CD or transcript or call 800.803.4303 for information.

1.   Motor-Mouth Managers Miss The Mark On Interviews - Part 2 of 3

We left off last week with Michael, our motor-mouth manager, doing all the talking during an interview for a key position.   To re-read Part 1, click here.

In response to last week's column, I did receive several emails in response to my challenge of "can you top that?"  Below are a few of my favorite responses: they ranged from illegal questions to "incredulous."

First, the illegal question of the day:
"Will your husband be upset if you aren't home to put dinner on the table at 6:00?"

From another reader I received:
"I was interviewing for a receptionist/inside sales/customer service position with a small company that had a great product and a good reputation. I was excited about all the different things I would be earning and the various career paths the job could lead to. The interview went very well. I received a call back, not to offer me the job, not to tell me I had been denied, but to go out on a date!"

So....back to more talk about why the interview just isn't cracked up to be all it is thought to be. Even if you can get beyond the hiring manager asking illegal questions and using the interview process as an alternative for speed dating, the reliability of the interview just does not cut it as a predictor of job success, regardless of how many years you've been interviewing or how many people you've hired. The job market has changed, the jobs are more complex and the candidates are more savvy and sophisticated.

As you just read, reliability is closely aligned to the competence of the interviewer. By most people's standard, Michael's meeting with the candidate could hardly be called an interview. That however doesn't stop managers from using Michael's interview format as the tool of choice: the manager talks and the candidate listens. The questions they ask are superficial at best and the accuracy of these hiring decisions are no better than if the manager flipped coins and circumvented the interview entirely.

Even more challenging these days is the reliability of the candidate.
Fibs, fables and outright lies are sprinkled throughout resumes today like never before. Candidates are coached in high schools and colleges by career counselors. Terminated employees are mentored by high profile outplacement services on how to put their best foot forward.
Candidates are well versed in role playing the most-asked interview questions. Ask a question and the candidate likely has been practicing the answer. (Don't believe me? Just Google "interview questions" and see how many sites offer answers to the most popular interview questions.)

Skilled interviewers understand it is not asking the "best" question that is important, but observing and listening for the responses. Too often hiring managers and human resource professionals get hung up on finding the best questions to get the right answer and avoid any training in interviewing techniques because they feel it's beneath them or not their job. Egos get in the way of objectivity.

Interviewers should focus on a few questions, then sit back to observe and listen. Unlike Michael and many others like him, the interviewer should do less than 20 percent of the talking. Armed with as few as a handful of open-ended questions, a good interviewer can elicit everything they need to know and more by just adding, "Interesting, tell me more" or "Can you give me a time when you repeated that success" or "What would you do differently the next time?" It really doesn't matter what \question you ask or what response is given, open-ended questions serve as a catalyst for more questions if you just observe and listen. Although I prepare for interviews by having ten questions, I rarely need more than two or three before the candidate begins telling me their story. By listening to what they say and how they say it, candidates cover all the bases without much prompting.

What other factors besides the competence of the interviewer and the reliability of the candidate might influence the job success predictability of the interview? The setting although subtle, has an effect on both the interviewer and interviewee. Is the setting professional, clean and quiet or is the interview taking place in a cluttered office, with peeling paint, stained ceiling tiles, and constant interruptions? The environment will affect how interviewers interview and candidates respond.

Rapport also has a lot to do with the quality of the interview. Just the body language of the manager or the tone and pace of the candidate (or vice verse) can make or break a candidate's chances to get the job or a company's chance to recruit the candidate.

Where does this leave us? By following seven interview guidelines, you will be able to ensure that your new hires have at least a 30 percent better chance of succeeding on the job. So stay tuned - Part 3, final installment of this "story" will be posted in the February 14 issue of The Total View.

In the meantime..........
Michael is not the only manager who lacks interview style and skills.
Email your interview "war stories": comments made by managers that forced your jaw to drop, questions asked that made you cringe.  

2.  Perfect Labor Storm Alerts # 615 to 616

Fact #615:  When the Social Security program was initiated in 1937, the average life expectancy in the U.S. was less than 65 years. Eligibility for benefits was set at age 65 in the expectation that fewer than half of the workers would collect Social Security (because they wouldn't live long enough). Furthermore, when the program started, there were a lot of workers paying into the program and few receiving benefits. (Source: Social Security: A Tale of Two Problems, Washington Policy Center)

Fact #616:  In 1945, the ratio of workers-to-retirees was over 40 to 1; in 1950, over 16 to 1; and in 1960, the ratio was 5 to 1. Today, the worker-to retiree ratio is a little over 3 to 1. As the worker-to-retiree ratio fell, the Social Security Administration found it necessary to raise the tax rate from 2% in 1937-1949 (1% employee + 1% employer) to 6% by 1960 to 12.4% in 1990. The 12.4% rate remains today. Furthermore, the SSA found it necessary to raise the level of wages on which the tax is paid from $3,000 in 1937 ($38,400 in 2004 inflation-adjusted dollars) to $87,900 in 2004. (Source: Social Security by the Numbers, www.muhlenkamp.com)

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Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Order your copy today - Only $7.95.

3.  Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees

As bad as the interview was that Michael conducted, it was light years ahead of the recommendations printed in the July 1943 issue of Transportation Magazine.

The number one tip was "pick young married women" followed by "When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home." And the list goes on.

4.  Downloadable Skillbuilder Series: Part 4 - Listen

A successful selection interview is not a matter of luck or even effective conversation skills. Neither is it an opportunity to look for personal empathy with the candidate or to guess whether their qualifications or experience mean that they will be able to do a certain job. A typical interview is short, but we will look at a rigorous and structured process, in six phases:

Part 1: Prepare
Part 2: Evaluate
Part 3: Question
Part 4: Listen
Part 5: Observe
Part 6: Decide

In this issue of the TotalView, you can download the section on "Question" for the interview. If you missed the previous phases published in prior newsletters, click here or call 800.803.4303.

To read about Part 4 - Listen, click here.

Like what you see? Order Skillbuilders Interview/Selection in print or downloadable pdf format for all your managers. Call for pricing and information about our our unlimited use license at 800.803.4303.

5.   Only 1 Day left to Register

Free Mini-Course: Building the Best Hiring Tool Kit

February 8, 2007 - 2 PM EST

Pre-employment assessment tests have been around for ages.
Some are pinpoint accurate and will help you make smart hiring decisions. Others deliver only a surface-level look at a candidates personality traits ... and little else.

Attend this 60-minute web-event on to learn about how good employee assessments work and how to make sure you are using the right ones.

To register for this mini-course, reply to this email.
Registration is limited to 10 participants. Don't delay - register now.

Next scheduled Mini-Course: February 28, 2007 at 11 AM EST

To register for this mini-course, send an email or call 800.803.4303.
Registration is limited to 10 participants. Don't delay - register now !

6.   Customer Service Excellence Starts Here

Customer Service Skills Profile
This easy-to-use assessment solves one of your biggest headaches in customer service - ensuring consistency in your staff's performance.
How? By giving employee a clear picture of their unique strengths and areas they need to work on - and the motivation to acquire all the skills of an all-around good customer service giver.
Employees can rate themselves in seven competency areas widely considered to be critical to the ability to provide exemplary service.

- Customer Service Commitment Profile

- Learning Points: 100 Activities and Actions for Customer Service Excellence

- 50 Activities for Achieving Excellent Customer Service

- Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Click here to learn more about Customer Service Skills Excellence.

7.   Quotes from Hire Authorities

"You can and should shape your own future; because if you don't someone else will."

Joel Barker, futurist

Ira S. Wolfe Copyright 2007 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission