Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Hire Smart Like Billy Beane

Who could resist a movie with Brad Pitt?

In Moneyball, which is based on the 2003 book of the same name by Michael Lewis, Pitt plays Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics.

Pitt or no Pitt, I normally stay away from sports movies. But Moneyball is no ordinary sports movie. It’s a lesson in hiring to which all small- and large-business owners should pay attention.

Baseball’s Mistake in Identifying Top Talent

The basic premise behind Moneyball is that baseball scouts have recruiting all wrong.  For more than a century, they’ve been relying on statistics like batting average and runs batted in (RBI) to assess players’ future performance on Major League teams. 

Worse, more often than not they “go with their gut” when making hiring decisions, letting personal feelings about a player, how he looks in a uniform, and the role they picture him having on the team, influence their selections. 

Billy Beane’s Lean and Mean Hiring Machine

Once Billy Beane realized that neither the objective nor subjective measures being used correlated with team wins, he turned the whole system on its head. Beane worked with Athletics’ data analysts to reveal the key factor in predicting future player success: the on-base percentage. The more effectively a player can control the strike zone, the better he’ll perform overall.

Fortunately for the Athletics, this quality was cheaper to obtain than traditionally valued attributes, and despite being outspent by $80 million by teams like the New York Yankees, Billy Beane’s Athletics were competitive and strong.

For advice on how you can hire like Billy Beane (and save a bundle), read the full article at the AMEX Open Forum.

Gen Y Employment Trends for 2013

Members of Generation Y are desperate for jobs.  

Born after 1979, most have come of age during the recession, and their professional opportunities have been limited. Payscale, a provider of compensation data and software, and Millennial Branding, a Gen-Y research company led by personal branding expert Dan Schawbel, recently found that in general, Gen Y is unemployed and underemployed at a greater rate than the rest of the working population.

Gen Y Goes Retail

The research showed that although those in Gen Y admire companies such as Qualcomm, Google, Medtronic, Intel and Microsoft, they aren't holding out for jobs that would use advanced skills such as data analysis and social media optimization, opting instead to take lower-skilled jobs to pay the rent. In 2012, many Gen Y college grads hold either full or part-time jobs as retail floor clerks and sales associates.

They Do It Their Way

While they may be working at the mall now, Generation Y entrepreneurial ambitions. According to a recent study from freelancing website Elance, Gen Y workers are embracing the freelance lifestyle at a faster rate than their older peers.  And Schawbel and his colleagues uncovered that the third most-popular major for Gen Y college students was entrepreneurial studies.

For more on what Gen Y is looking for in a work environment, check out the full article at the AMEX Open Forum.

Are You Putting Off Your New Hires?

I received this e-mail from a reader:

“Dear Alexandra, I started a new job last week and unfortunately, I’m already regretting my decision. I accepted the job based on the company’s strong reputation in the community, and the fact that I felt so much at home during my interview. But based on my first few days, I’m wondering if my initial great feelings were wrong. Maybe this is not the right place for me.” 

After a lengthy hiring process, this is not a good situation for either the company or the new hire. It’s too bad, because I’m willing to bet that the company is a decent fit for my reader. But what goes on during the first several days of employment leaves a powerful impression, and obviously the culture my reader was prepared to love was absent from that impression. Now he might leave as a result. What should the company have done differently?

It is challenging enough to establish and sustain an organizational culture of which you are proud, and then to communicate that culture effectively throughout the hiring process. You don’t want to waste all that effort by dropping the ball once the offer letter is sent. In my Culture Beat column at the AMEX Open Forum, we explore helpful ways to introduce and/or reinforce a terrific culture to those just coming on board.

Do You Know How to Hire?

Strategic hiring is a process – one that many managers would prefer to forget about but one that is necessary all the same.  And when you consider that replacing the average mid-level manager costs the firm double that person’s annual salary, it’s definitely worth the upfront investment.

In the midst of the panic of trying to fill a critical position, one of the first things that managers neglect is the first stage of the hiring process, or the job analysis.  This is because people tend to think that if the position has been occupied before, things like requisite skills, responsibilities, and performance criteria should be obvious.  In fact, many firms never take the time to detail out what a job specifically entails, relying instead on institutional knowledge and subjective opinions of what a person is supposed to do in a certain role at a certain level.  They also fail to take into account the possibility that a previously occupied job might need to be changed to meet the evolving needs of the firm or department.

Finding the right candidate is much easier when you take the time to carefully analyze the job you need to fill, and everyone who is part of the hiring process agrees in advance on a set of criteria.

What Do We Need and Why?

The first step is to determine your business requirements for the position, in the context of the overall company landscape.  What are the core products, services, initiatives, and financial circumstances that will impact this new hire?  In filling this position, what are you hoping to achieve?  What are the business problems the new hire will need to solve in the first 90 days or the first year, and what are the major projects he or she will need to complete to this end?  Who will be the key players in this new hire’s work life, including supervisors, colleagues, reports, other departments, customers, and partners?

For the rest of the steps you don't want to miss if hiring is a part of your job, take a look at my full post on the Fast Track blog.

Senior Job Seekers are Least Prepared to Fill Open Positions

According to the second annual Job Preparedness Indicator research study, released today by the Career Advisory Board established by DeVry University, senior-level job seekers are the least prepared to fill available positions in today's market.  One-in-five hiring managers say that few senior candidates have the right mix of skills and traits to serve their needs, and in particular are lacking in higher-order abilities such as strategic perspective, general business acumen, and global competence.

Developing these skills is a must, but tenured candidates can also modify their approach so that hiring managers see them as more markeable and capable of filling open jobs.  Suggestions to this effect include:

• Look carefully at senior-level job descriptions and brainstorm specific examples of how you’ve performed at least 75 percent of the responsibilities in the past.  Play up any experience you have liaising or working directly with international colleagues.

• Use LinkedIn actively.  Don’t just slap up your profile and forget about it.  Join groups for senior-level professionals in your field, and ask and answer member questions.  Set a goal of meeting at least 5 new senior-level contacts a week, and engage them in high-level industry conversation.

• Take the spec approach.  New consultants are sometimes asked to take on a project on spec, meaning they do the work gratis so the company can evaluate their worth as a paid asset.  Even if you aren’t asked, proactively identify and solve a problem facing executive management and present your solution in interviews and other conversations.

• Raise your pay expectations:  If you are satisfied with making a salary well below your true earning potential, you are literally underselling yourself.   Use payscale.com and salary.com to research the incomes of people who do what you do with your amount of tenure, and when asked, confidently cite a number in the middle.

One final piece of advice: As a senior-level candidate, you cannot rest on your laurels simply because you've been in the workforce a while.  Earn hiring managers' confidence and buy-in by demonstrating that you are invested in keeping your skills fresh and in learning and growing in a new position.

Hire with Less Risk

In-person conversational interviews are notoriously ineffective for determining whether a new hire will be a good fit.  In many instances, a second interview is needed to more completely assess whether a particular candidate is well suited to an open position.  Work simulations, sometimes also known as case interviews, provide candidates with a real-life business problem similar to one that might be faced on the job.

Make it Real

Many experts suggest using real rather than fictional problems for work simulations, since real problems are always more complicated and difficult than anything you could make up.  For instance, if you are evaluating a marketing manager’s strategic thinking ability, perhaps you could have a candidate develop a potential launch plan for a product you rolled out last year.  On the other hand, if you need to test whether a bank administrator knows how to use your accounting software, you could ask him to complete an assignment using that tool.  If the position you’re hiring for isn’t your own, it’s smart to enlist the help of people currently doing the job in question in order to put together the most appropriate simulation.

Look at Process

While you should certainly be interested in the solution the candidate derives for your simulated problem, you should also pay attention to the process by which he arrived there.  Did he ask for a suitable amount of background information?  Were his questions pertinent and thoughtful?  Did he proceed through the right channels and call on the appropriate resources?  If relevant, did he develop a realistic timeline and budget?  Figure out how you will evaluate success on the simulation in advance (e.g. a rating scale from 1-5 on certain attributes, a checklist of completed steps).

Make Sure It’s Worth It

Work simulations are advantageous in that they showcase a variety of the competencies you’re looking for, and help candidates to understand exactly what the job entails.  However, they do take much more time and effort on behalf of the team leader, so you’ll want to make sure you reserve this type of interview for candidates who are under serious consideration.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

 

How to Do a Great Phone Interview

The phone interview is typically overlooked because managers want to move straight to the in-person interview.  However, you can learn a lot from a 15 minute phone call, enough perhaps to save yourself the trouble of entertaining an unsuitable applicant for an hour or two at your office.

The Ins and Outs

The purpose of a phone screening is to determine if a candidate has the basic qualifications so that you can make an educated decision regarding an in-person interview.  Once you’ve set aside resumes that show potential, arrange for a quick call to meet each candidate.  You don’t necessarily have to make all of these calls yourself.  Employees on your staff can be trained to conduct phone screenings for applicants at their level or below.

Your first questions should address any critical questions you have as a result of reviewing the candidate’s resume.  If you’ve circled a potential deal breaker, you’ll want to get clarification on it before bringing that person into the office.   Here are a few additional conversation ideas from Martin Yate’s excellent book, Hiring the Best, for getting a top-line, well-rounded view of the candidate in a short period of time:

• Track Record: Of all of the work she has done, where has the applicant been the most successful?  Look for answers that demonstrate her ability to contribute in your most crucial areas.
• Current Job: How does his current job relate to the overall goals of his department or company?  This response should demonstrate that the candidate understands how her efforts fit into the big picture.  If the candidate is currently unemployed, his answer can reflect his last full-time position.
• Preferences: What aspects of her job or company does the candidate like best, or what would she change?  This answer will help you determine if she will enjoy and will be successful working within your culture.
• Future Direction: What is the applicant looking for in his next job?  Look for a match between the candidate’s needs and what your opening can genuinely provide.

When you’re satisfied with the answers you receive, then it’s time to bring the candidate into the office for a longer, more in-depth interview.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

 

15 Dos and Don’ts for Better Interviewing

Do you routinely interviews job candidates?  If so, don’t bring in any more people without first having a look at this list:

DO look for candidates who are different from you and will add variety to your team.

Recognize that human beings have the tendency to gravitate to people like themselves, but your goal should be to hire people who will complement your strengths, not duplicate them.

DON’T let first impressions get the better of you.

Sometimes, you might meet a candidate whom you decide you want to hire immediately, and you might then ignore evidence brought forth in the interview that contradicts that opinion. This is known as the “halo effect.”

DO spend at least 45 minutes with every interviewee.

Managers who think they can size someone up in 5 or 10 minutes are wrong, pure and simple. All the advance preparation in the world won’t help you if you rush to judgment on a candidate.

DON’T put too much stock in “name brands.”

Just because a candidate went to a top school or is currently with a prestigious firm doesn’t mean he or she is right for your position.

DO focus on the big picture.

A candidate might be amazing in one area, but if his skill set isn’t a good match for the whole job as defined in your job analysis, you should probably keep looking.

DON’T write someone off just because he’s quiet or unruffled.

What comes across as a low level of enthusiasm or a lack of motivation may just be his interview persona, and he could in fact be quite competent and able to do the job superbly well.

DO move on to a new question if you see that a candidate is visibly uncomfortable.

The candidate may be nervous, so give her the benefit of the doubt. Once things are back on track, you can either rephrase it or ask for the same information in a different way.

DON’T let a candidate take over the meeting with her own agenda.

If he’s talking too much and time is sliding by, politely interrupt by saying: “I’d love to hear more about that, but for now may I ask you about . . . ?”

DO look for red flags that could indicate a potential problem, and probe for explanations.

Be on the alert for blushing, sudden loss of eye contact, sudden twitching, stammering, or fidgeting, a significant change in the pace of speaking, heavy perspiring, or inconsistency between nonverbal behavior and words.

DON’T think you can change a candidate.

Her prickly personality has gotten her this far and she’s not likely to bend now.

DO assess the likelihood of retention.

It costs a lot of time and money to hire someone, so you want to be sure he’s going to stick around a while.

DON’T succumb to desperation hiring.

When your organization is hemorrhaging and your employees are crying for mercy, you may feel great pressure to get someone in now. But shotgun hiring often results in fast turnover, and you don’t want to find yourself in the same situation six months from now.

DO look for patterns.

Does a candidate have a history of making lateral moves? If so, you may be hiring someone who will want a different job in your company in a few months. Does she complain that all her previous companies were too bureaucratic? If that’s the case, then she’s likely to come to the same conclusion about yours.

DON’T tell your life story.

The candidate is not there to hear about your career and experiences, he’s there to tell you about his. Remember that when you’re talking, you’re not interviewing.

DO permit the occasional pause. We all hate silence during a conversation, but resist the urge to jump in and help the candidate with her answer.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

Preparing for Turnover

At the Intuit Small Business blog, Brett Snyder talks about how to prepare for turnover.  He says:

I’ve known that my concierge would be leaving from almost the day she started. She’s been working hard during grad school, but she’s moving on to a full time job. She’s done a great job, and I’ll miss having her, but I couldn’t have asked for an easier transition.

I’ve been slowly looking for new concierges to come in and fill the void. One is just about finished with training and will be ready to go in a few weeks. I’ve also been building a list of interested concierges who passed the first couple rounds of interviews.  So now, if there’s a sudden opening, I’ll be in a better position to get someone new up and running.

Create Training Materials in Advance

Brett also says:

I’ve also done a fair amount of work on our training document, beefing it up to provide more information to newcomers. In addition, I’ve better defined roles to make sure that the job is not as nebulous as it was originally. The end result is that things are running much better than before when it comes to replacing a departed concierge. Turnover sucks, but at least now it’s easier to combat than it was just a couple months ago.

My Babysitter Plan

Brett recommends an excellent approach, and I’ve recently tried something similar.  Although I don’t have anyone working for me right now, I do have babysitters for my kids.  Babysitters are always turning over because they will go away to school or secure full-time employment.  But I don’t want to spend years of my life searching for new sitters, so I just spent a good chunk of time screening and interviewing sitters who can serve as backups when my current sitters are unavailable or decide to move on permanently.

There are never enough hours in the day.  By expending some more effort upfront on your recruiting and onboarding efforts, you’ll save yourself a lot of last minute rushing around and unnecessary stress later on.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

 

8 Unconventional Recruiting Strategies

Are you relying on HR or search firms to find you new team members?  If that’s not working out so well, why not take the road less traveled?  These little-known strategies might work wonders for you:

1. Research and contact the social service and private nonprofit agencies in your area – many have employment programs that match disadvantaged candidates to jobs.  Try outlets like the Lincoln Training Center in South El Monte, CA.
2. You might already be familiar with your state’s Department of Labor, but did you know that many will assign you a dedicated staff member to search for registered workers that suit your position?
3. Individuals coming out of the military and into the business world often make conscientious, loyal employees.  Check out websites like the Destiny Groupto recruit ex-military job seekers.
4. If traditional third-party search firms don’t meet your needs, you might consider the temporary-help option.  Employing temps allows you to “try before you buy” – deciding if a potential employee is a good fit before paying all of the costs associated with bringing him or her on full time.  Just make sure you understand the conversion cost, or how much you’ll have to pay the temp firm should you choose to hire the person.
5. If you’re looking for creative or technical types, devise a contest that will allow talented candidates to compete for the chance to win a job at your company.  Partner with your marketing department to promote the contest and turn it into a branding exercise for the company as a whole.
6. Employee research firms are paid to do the dirty work of scoping out the best candidates currently working for your competitors.  A well-regarded firm of this type is WorkStream, which locates appropriate individuals for your open requisitions and prescreens them for you according to your exact specifications.
7. Use Google AdWords or other search engine paid marketing programs to buy combinations of key words or phrases that your target candidate might be searching for (for instance, you might purchase the phrase “engineering excellence” to attract top engineers looking to improve professionally).
8. Layoffs are all too common in today’s business world, and you can often find highly-qualified candidates as a result of contacting the human resources professionals in affected neighbors and competitors, and working with them to hire displaced individuals into your organization.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.