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