| You need to hire the best employees. You | | | | make sure you use a test customized for specific |
| undoubtedly hired some employees who were losers. | | | | jobs in your company! |
| Oops! Well, let's be more diplomatic. Let's just say you | | | | If you have not used tests customized for specific |
| hired some "underachievers" you would have been | | | | jobs in your company, then you really have missed out |
| better without. | | | | on the most objective and customized prediction |
| Or maybe you have the curse of hiring only "average" | | | | method you could use. |
| employees - people who are average in productivity | | | | 6th Horrible Mistake: You [stupidly] told the applicant |
| and average in producing profits. | | | | what you were looking for!! |
| Question: Who wants to hire "average" (or "below | | | | Then, lo-&-behold, the applicant spent your entire |
| average") employees? | | | | interview telling you s/he just happens to possess all |
| Answer: No one! | | | | the skills, talents and qualities you - stupidly - told the |
| To hire the best, you need to avoid the problems that | | | | applicant you want in an employee. For example, let's |
| plagued your previous hiring decisions. So, let me | | | | say you - stupidly - told the applicant you need to hire |
| reveal seven horrible hiring blunders or mistakes you | | | | an employeewho excels at teamwork, |
| may have made. | | | | customer-service, and correctly handling small details. I |
| 1st Horrible Mistake: = Interviewers typically do a lousy | | | | bet I can predict what that applicant told you in the |
| job at predicting job success. | | | | interview: The applicant told you - with a serious yet |
| This is a proven fact, verified by a lot of research. | | | | pleasant expression - that s/he excels at teamwork, |
| Statistically, most interviewers doabout as well as | | | | customer-service, and correctly handling small details. |
| flipping a coin! | | | | And then, when you hired the person who gave you all |
| 2nd Horrible Mistake = Reference checks fail to tell | | | | the answers you - stupidly - toldthe applicant you want, |
| you what you really need to know. | | | | you pay the price of having an employee who may |
| Most employers are so freaked out about giving | | | | not REALLY betalented at teamwork, |
| reference checks that they tell you nothing or barely | | | | customer-service, or handling small details. You got |
| anything useful about how an applicant performed | | | | fooled - and you have only yourself to blame. |
| on-the-job. Another way to put that is most reference | | | | 7th Horrible Mistake: You terribly harm any person you |
| checks are about as non-useful as simultaneously (a) | | | | should not have hired. |
| flipping a coin while (b) rubbing a rabbit's foot!! | | | | Let's be humanistic about it. If you hire the wrong |
| 3rd Horrible Mistake: You relied on your "gut feel" or | | | | person, the applicant also loses. People crave to work |
| "intuition" & you were W-R-O-N-G. | | | | in a job where they will do well and enjoy it. People |
| Later, as you moaned about the mistake you made by | | | | hate a job where they will perform only average or |
| hiring the wrong person, you asked yourself, "I knew | | | | below average, and not enjoy the work. So, you |
| what I was feeling. But, what was I thinking?" | | | | actually benefit the applicant you carefully evaluated |
| 4th Horrible Mistake: You used subjective prediction | | | | using customized, objective hiring methods. |
| methods to make hiring decisions. | | | | Summary: When you hire . . . |
| For example, you relied on subjective interviews, | | | | 1. high-achieving "superstar" employees, both you and |
| subjective reference checks, or subjective | | | | your company win. |
| "impressions " of the applicant. Wow! Were you ever | | | | 2. underachieving employees, (a) you lose and (b) your |
| off-base. And then you andyour company needed to | | | | company loses. |
| pay for your incorrect hiring decisions. That is | | | | So, make sure you use customized and objective |
| expensive, time-consuming, and frustrating. | | | | prediction methods,like pre-employment tests, biodata |
| 5th Horrible Mistake: You used NO objective AND | | | | and more,to make sure you hire employees who are |
| customized prediction method. | | | | (a) productive, (b) profitable, and© low turnover. |
| Important: Research shows pre-employment tests are | | | | Copyright 2006 Michael Mercer, Ph.D. |
| the most objective method to make predictions. But, | | | | |