What Every Manager Should Know to Avoid Recruiting Disaster
1 Mar, 2004
By: David Maggiore,Leslie Thomas Ph.D.,Richard L. BencinPart 1: What Every Manager Should Know about Hiring Agents
In the largest study of its kind, spanning 25 years, the Gallup Organization evaluated more than 80,000 managers from more than 400 companies to determine what behaviors and underlying beliefs differentiate the top-performing managers from their less-successful peers. One of the most striking differences was that the best managers make better hiring decisions. Interestingly, Gallup found that the best managers do the exact opposite of most managers—they hire slowly and fire quickly.
Why Is Making the Right Hiring Decision So Important?
Every new hire will ultimately contribute either to moving your business forward or to holding it back. The best managers realize that you cannot have a great company unless you have great employees. Moreover, the cost of a poor hiring decision is greater than typical managers realize. The costs of a poor hire typically include:
• Lost sales/missed opportunities
• Dissatisfied customers
• Higher error rates
• Low employee morale
• Increased management time and effort (e.g., time spent on “problem” employees)
• Increased absenteeism and tardiness
• Decreased team productivity due to lost time helping the weaker employees
• Increased training time and costs (e.g., remedial training to help poor employees get up to speed)
Moreover, there are the costs associated with re-starting the hiring process once the poor employee finally quits or is terminated. The average cost to bring on a new agent—including advertising, recruiting, screening and training—is $6,398, according to Dr. Jon Anton of Purdue University.
How to Avoid Hiring Mistakes
The solution is to create a standardized process for making hiring decisions. A standardized hiring process not only results in better hiring decisions, but also minimizes a company’s risk of discrimination or wrongful-discharge lawsuits, which can be won or lost based on statements made during the hiring process. A standardized hiring process should be based on the requirements of the job and ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and equitably (i.e., the same interview questions are asked of each applicant). A standardized hiring process helps companies make better hiring decisions by allowing them to more objectively compare the qualifications of each applicant rather than selecting applicants based upon “gut feel”.
Identifying Job Requirements
There’s an old saying: If you don’t know what you’re looking for, chances are you won’t find it. The same is true of the hiring process. The first step in creating an effective and legally defensible hiring process is to identify the criteria by which candidates will be evaluated based upon the requirements of the job. Typically this is done through a job analysis.
A job analysis is a systematic process whereby a company compiles objective data—often through interviews, focus groups, and surveys—about what is done on the job (i.e., major duties and tasks) and the knowledge, skills, abilities and other personal characteristics that differentiate above-average from below-average performance of these activities. This process establishes a benchmark based upon what differentiates your best employees from the rest. The resulting success profile is used as the basis for evaluating candidates. Equally important, if the hiring process is ever challenged, the results of the job analysis can be used to prove that process is based upon the requirements of the job.
When identifying job requirements, it is important to differentiate between competencies that a candidate must have in order to be hired versus those that are preferred but not required. In the “must have” category are those competencies required for successful job performance that are “hard-wired” or expensive to teach. For instance, years of research in neuroscience and psychology has shown that certain traits—such as an agent’s ability to empathize with customers, level of conscientiousness, self-initiative, and need for achievement—are relatively “hard wired” by the time an individual enters the workforce and almost impossible to alter after a candidate is hired. Other competencies, such as writing and speaking skills, are extremely expensive and time-consuming to teach and likewise should fall under the “must have” category if they are required for successful job performance.
Evaluating Job Requirements
Once job requirements have been identified, a standardized hiring process should be designed to evaluate those requirements. The most effective hiring processes consist of multiple hurdles in which a candidate must pass each step (or hurdle) of the process before continuing on to the next step. The least expensive screening methods—for example, an application with screening questions—are administered at the beginning of the process. The most expensive methods, such as face-to-face interviews and pre-employment tests, are administered at the end of the process and only to the candidates who have passed all of the previous steps in the process.
Conducting Effective Interviews
Almost all companies include some form of interviewing during the hiring process. Unfortunately, most managers are overly confident in their ability to make sound hiring decisions, especially during the interview process. In fact, a study conducted in 1999 by the International Personnel Management Association found that the typical, unstructured job interview was only 2 percent better than chance in predicting future job performance.
Worse yet, some managers consistently pick poor performers. Research shows that most decisions occur within the first five minutes of the interview and that the interviewers'' judgments are often based on superficial characteristics unrelated to subsequent job success.
Fortunately, research shows that the interviewing process can be quite effective when multiple interviewers are involved and when structured interviews based upon the results of a job analysis are used.
With structured interviews, all candidates are asked the same set of questions. Typically, interviewing forms or guides are used which contain a checklist of criteria for evaluating candidates. The interviewing forms or guides ensure consistency between interviewers, as well as create documentation to support the decision if a discrimination charge were later filed. Having multiple interviewers ask the same questions and use the same rating scales helps protect against bias and makes the interviewing process more effective.
Navigating the Legal Minefield of Interviewing
It is during the interview and selection process where most discrimination complaints arise. Federal laws have been established to protect candidates against discrimination based upon age, race, national origin, religion, gender and disabilities, to name just a few. It used to be that employers could ask virtually any question of a job candidate. Nowadays, seemly simple and innocent questions can be viewed as discriminatory and offensive.
It is important to remember that the courts assume that if you ask a question—any question—that you’re going to use the answer in making a hiring decision or you wouldn’t have asked the question. Therefore, every question should be job-related; otherwise you leave yourself liable to misinterpretation and charges of discrimination.
QUIZ: Can You Ask it or Not?
Read the questions below to determine if you can or should ask them of your interviewee. If you think you can ask it, place the letter A for appropriate after the question. If you think you should not ask it, place an I for inappropriate after the question. Then look for the answers that follow.
1. Are you a U.S. citizen?
2. Have you ever been arrested?
3. Can you work nights and weekends?
4. What is your maiden name?
5. Can you perform this job with or without a reasonable accommodation?
6. When did you graduate from high school?
7. Have you ever filed a workers’ compensation claim?
8. Are you legally entitled to work in this country?
9. What off-the-job activities do you participate in?
10. How many days of work did you miss last year due to illness?
11. Where did you grow up?
12. What does your husband or wife do?
13. What are your child-care arrangements?
14. Do you own or rent a home?
15. What languages do you read, speak or write fluently?
16. Are you a member of any clubs or social organizations?
Interviews are not enough
When pre-employment tests are not used, the last candidate interviewed is three times more likely to be hired. Obviously, being the last candidate seen should not be the basis for getting hired. Due to the subjectivity involved with interviewing, more objective forms of evaluation—such as pre-employment tests—should always supplement the interviewing process. In fact, 40 percent of the Fortune 100 companies use some form of psychological testing for pre-employment screening. Tests can measure the candidate’s motivations, attitudes, values, interests, knowledge, skills and abilities. More sophisticated tests can even measure the candidate’s degree of “impression management” and determine whether the candidate is trying to create an overly favorable impression and is likely being deceptive in his or her answers. Results from the tests can be used to identify potential weaknesses that can be probed further during the interview process.
According to a Harvey University study, nearly 80 percent of turnover is due to hiring the wrong person for the job. Turnover in call centers is rampant. Using multiple methods to assess candidates to get as much information as possible before making a decision will help decrease hiring mistakes. Knowing what not to ask during an interview and evaluating candidates based on criteria related to job requirements will help minimize legal liability during the hiring process.
How Did You Score?
1. Inappropriate. Federal laws protect candidates against discrimination based upon national origin.
2. Inappropriate. However, can ask if they have ever been convicted of a crime if that crime is related to their ability to perform the job. Companies have been sued for negligent hiring when they have hired candidates who had a criminal history that should have prevented them from being hired due to the nature of the job. For example, a company would likely be liable for negligent hiring if they hired an agent that has been convicted of theft, forgery or embezzlement, for a job that involves handling monetary transactions.
3. Appropriate only if working nights and weekends is a job requirement.
4. Inappropriate. Federal laws protect candidates against discrimination based upon gender. Questions related to marital status are considered discriminatory because women have historically been discriminated against based upon marital status.
5. Appropriate as long as the job is described beforehand and the candidate is asked if they can perform “with or without” a reasonable accommodation. It is inappropriate to ask questions that require candidates to admit they have a disability. For instance, it is inappropriate to ask “Would you need a reasonable accommodation to perform this job?”
6. Inappropriate. Federal laws protect candidates against discrimination based upon age.
7. Inappropriate. This is related to the complex "whistle blowing" laws, and it is never a sound practice to ask a candidate if they have brought a suit or filed a claim against a previous employer.
8. Appropriate. Employers are required to determine whether candidates are permitted to work in the U.S.
9. Inappropriate. Should not ask questions that are not job related. In the worse-case scenario, candidates might respond with off-the-job activities that are controversial and then contend that they were not hired because of them.
10. Inappropriate. Should not ask questions about a candidate’s health status, as this may elicit information about a candidate’s disability. Federal laws protect candidates against discrimination based upon disabilities.
11. Inappropriate. Should not ask questions that might indicate where a person was born because federal laws protect against discrimination based upon national origin.
12. Inappropriate. Federal laws protect candidates against discrimination based upon gender. Questions related to marital status are considered discriminatory because women have been discriminated against based upon marital status.
13. Inappropriate. Should not ask questions related to having children or plans for having children because federal laws protect candidates against discrimination based upon gender.
14. Inappropriate. Should not ask questions related to social economic status such as car or home ownership because federal laws protect candidates against discrimination based upon race. Questions related to social economic status tend to discriminate based upon race. Can ask for address of residence.
15. Appropriate only if related to a requirement of the job.
16. Inappropriate. Should not ask questions that are not directly job-related. Answers to questions could provide information on national origin, race, gender, age, or other protected classes and a candidate could claim that he or she was not hired due to discrimination. An appropriate question would be: Do you belong to any professional or trade organizations that you consider relevant to your ability to perform this job?
Part 2: Avoid Recruiting Disaster!
Improper recruiting of call center management has cost firms tens of thousands and sometimes millions or dollars. Management turnover, increased operating costs, lost sales revenue and high turnover of clients as a result are relatively routine. One would think that with 8.5 million Americans looking for work, it should be easy to find the right person for the job.
Not so, says the Wall Street Journal: “…locating applicants with the right skills has proven as tough, if not tougher, than during boom times.”
Reasons for this phenomenon are legion. In general, people looking for new positions are being much less selective and are applying for positions for which they are not really suited. Shifting through these applicants makes for difficult analysis. Those call center employers using Internet job boards are being flooded with resumes that don''t fit the job openings.
Dan Kaplan, Director of Recruiting at mortgage giant Fannie Mae, says, “Our officers are getting inundated…. It muddles up your thinking. You may settle for less than an ideal candidate because it''s so easy to.”
Other sloppy recruiting issues abound within our industry. The following “dos” and “don’ts” should help to delineate problem areas and what should be done about them.
Dos and Don’ts:
1. Do make hiring management your top priority. The quality of your management team affects revenues, expenses and virtually all call center performance. Sadly, however, most firms put recruiting at the bottom of their priorities. The list goes something like this: put out fires, close new business, and when you have time and get around to it, work on recruiting. Few understand that the right call center executive personnel can put out your fires and acquire new business.
2. Don’t have inexperienced employees conduct the search. Get involved completely, especially if the position is a direct report. Most people do not have a good eye for judging talent and become enamored by folks that interview well, but have little substance. Being involved yourself ensures you don''t let the really good candidates get away.
3. Do create precise, but reasonable, expectations. Think through the “must have” requirements vs. the “nice to have” ones. Often companies filling call center positions feel they need someone from their same industry to manage their call center. This eliminates more than 95 percent of the potential candidates.
4. Don’t hire by committee. Often a half dozen people are asked to conduct interviews on behalf of “the boss.” Unfortunately, these interviews often get bogged down by logistics, time and a watered-down consensus. Interviewers may feel they are required to list their candidate reservations as well as strengths. After the committee gets done with their consolidated list of negatives, the ultimate hiring manager may not even meet appropriate candidates.
5. Do ask relevant questions and use the same evaluation matrix for all candidates. To ask one call center candidate one set of questions and another candidate an entirely different set is mixing apples with oranges. At the end, it’s very difficult to compare.
6. Don’t hire relatives, friends or former associates just “because”. We''ve seen a lot of great call center management candidates passed over because of “internal hires.” If things don’t work out well, there are a lot of personal issues to deal with. A hiring manager puts his or her own job on the line when upper-level subordinates fail.
7. Do check references yourself if you are the hiring manager. Don''t depend upon intermediaries or search firms to do this for you. One CEO of a multimillion dollar call center service agency always conducts his own reference checks on vice president candidates that may report to him. He correctly believes that a mistake at that level could be too damaging to his company in both lost revenues and/or opportunities. Intermediaries may not ask the right questions or might interpret information incorrectly. Search firms, even when trying to remain neutral, still have biases on behalf of their own candidates. To think otherwise is to defy human nature.
8. Don’t lowball the offer. One of the worst things that a company can do after courting a premium candidate, often for a lengthy period, is to make a substantially under-market offer. The call center management candidate will often become exasperated and indignant and may not be open to further negotiations. He or she may think, “If the company is that stupid or cheap, it’s not worth considering.”
9. Do hire the very best candidate, not the cheapest. Think best value. Many call center executives will subjugate great candidates because they''re not local, are represented by a search firm, or cost $10,000 more. This is a huge mistake when millions of dollars may be at stake. Businesses can often rise or fall depending upon the quality of their senior call center management—both in sales and operations.
10. Don’t overlook a premier candidate who’s a little different. For example, we''ve actually seen several call center service agency clients pass over a managing sales executive who had a verifiable pipeline of over $1 billion dollars in outsourced call center business. Call center service agencies often try to slot their executive sales managers/reps into one vertical or another, not realizing that a few can manage and sell across-the-board extremely well. Operations examples also abound. The ingenious, creative, multi-talented and brilliant call center candidates are often passed by simply because they don''t fit the typical old organizational mold. Consider that even Albert Einstein failed in one of his math classes. He just wasn''t conventional enough.
Finally, remember that overall communications need to be stellar within your organization to properly and effectively recruit your management team. Too often poor communications—both internal within hiring companies and external between companies, search firms and candidates—can stall or squelch the deal.
Be sure that you have prompt, responsive voice communications and that your written correspondence is top notch throughout the process—from setting job specifications through accepting an offer. Since this behavior is the cornerstone of what we teach and train our phone representatives, it should be the foundation of how we recruit and select them as well.
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