Welcome to your first day at work, says the store manager.” “We are going to have you work in the one-hour photo shop.” It is very important you show up for work on time and please smile and greet each customer.” The very next morning, the new employee arrives 15 minutes late–“car trouble.” The following day, a customer complains that the new employee was rude and overcharged her $6.00 for her photos. Low and behold, Friday, the new employee calls in sick. As you drive home from work, you start noticing that the parking lot of your competitor’s store has many more cars. Things are quiet for a coupe of weeks until you audit the receipts. Now you are missing $1500. Did you hire a dud?
Webster’s dictionary says a “dud” is something “of little or no worth: valueless.” In the military, a dud was something failing to explode at the right time and always exploded at the wrong time. Hiring the wrong person is just like letting a bomb blow up in your business-not as deadly, but just as painful. Yes, these are cruel words to describe a person. Nevertheless, today we must be more careful in whom we hire and whom we put in the public eye. The wrong person spells disaster.
Don’t get me wrong. Some low performers have high potential and with the right training, development and leadership grow into great employees. This is what good managers do. Unfortunately, wrong people seem to get promoted and become managers. This makes the problem even worse. Now you have a dud trying to lead good employees.
We have taken a long way around to come to this important point . . .don’t hire a dud in the first place. Even though we have a tight labor market, don’t feel like you have no choice.
Person to person job interviews alone fail to give you enough information to make a good selection. You ask, “Are there valid and legal ways to screen out low performers before you I hire them?” Important point-You must go beyond the basic interview and try to find out more about the candidate before they play havoc with your business. Anybody can put on a “show” during an interview.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the American Management Association completed a survey showing that now 29% of American companies are conducting personality assessments on all job applicants–up from 19 percent from the previous year . . .a growing trend. Like fire insurance, behavior assessments should give you peace of mind during the selection process. These assessments will show you if the person is out-going, friendly or analytical, have a good work ethic, and team oriented and provide good customer service.
We provide our clients a one-stop shop for job applicant and management development assessments.
KEY POINTS:
These assessments are inexpensive.
- Avoids putting the right person in the wrong job. Not everyone’s personality is suited for the job. You can’t tell this during an interview. After completing the assessment, it gives you a customized list of questions to ask the applicant.
- They’re quick to score. The process takes 5 minutes. The applicant answers 24 behavior-based questions. The applicant can use either our form or go directly to our website to complete the questionnaire. The computer does all the work and within minutes will e-mail the assessment to you or anyone else you choose.
- Accurate/Valid. These assessments have been scientifically validated to predict values, attitudes, behavior, and personal interests.
