June 2009

What Makes a Good Hire – Bad Hire

by Larry Goldsmith on June 24, 2009

The impact of a bad hire can be felt in many ways. Absenteeism; tardiness; customer dissatisfaction; errors in productivity; more time is required to train; the hard workers quit; sales volume is less, fewer good ideas; time is required to advertise again; re-interview, re-hire; retrain and on and on the list grows; all because the employer did not hire effectively the first time.

Bad hires cost the same in salary and benefits as good hires. But the Return on Investment (RIO) for a good employee is higher than that of a bad employee. On the other hand, with good hires the company experiences less disciplinary actions; productivity is higher; response to change is quicker; training periods are shorter; and performance and profitability are higher.

This is why you may be asked to participate in more than one interview. It is essential you as a job seeker understand the hiring processes as set forth by employers. Accept the barriers not as hurdles but as opportunities to triumph over your competitors and demonstrate you will be a good hire, the best and not a bard hire. Don’t look amazed if you are invited back for three interviews and no offer has been extend yet. Companies lose their competitive advantage when employees are unable to produce what they were hired to do.

No company intentionally chooses to hire bad employees. Companies try hard to attract the “right fit” employees. Hiring the right people into the appropriate positions is essential since cost of a bad hire is very expensive. Studies point out the average cost of a bad hire can be one-third of the annual salary for the first year if you have to replace that new employee. That is if the problem is discovered and corrected within the first six months. For example a $30,000 salaried employee can cost a company $10,000 if the replacement occurs within the first six months of hiring. More if the new hire stays beyond a year.

This is why employers take time to hire the right people. This is why, if you want to be selected, you must understand the process and learn to work it to your advantage.

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Search From Employer’s Perspective

by Larry Goldsmith on June 5, 2009

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Let’s begin this session by having you take out a piece of paper. Write down on that paper all those items you want from our potential employer. Make a list. Better pay, job security, health insurance, vacation time.

Are you done preparing this list of what you want from the employer? Good! Now take you list and walk over to the closest waste basket. Now crumple up your list. Tear it into hundreds of little pieces of paper. Throw away your list in that basket. Bedcause until you receive an offer, what you want is nonsense. You want an interview. You want a job. Then focus your attention on meeting the employer’s needs. What you want at this stage really does not matter.

What you want out of your job search is only important if you receive a job offer. Once you receive that offer, then and only then, is what you want important. Now you can go to the waste basket, pull out your list and actually negotiate what you want.

Think of the employer as someone with a huge hurt. The employer posts an ad to find a fix for this hurt. A successful solution to your successful job search is to identify that hurt. You key is to demonstrate to the employer you can heal their hurt better and quicker than anyone else. You cannot do this if your focus is on your needs. (At this stage, who cares what you want, except you and maybe your mother.)

Here is a very simple illustration. Imagine an individual going to a fast food restaurant for a job interview. Sitting in the middle of the lobby, the potential employer says, “Tell me about you.”

This can be responded to several ways. I need money for school; I’m saving for college; my parents suggested I apply or I’m working to save for a car. Some might even say, “I am a hard worker” or I have previous experience working at another fast food restaurant down the street.”

What if that individual responded in this manner?

“See that waste basket over there. See the trash around it on the floor. Well, if you hire me, I will work very hard not to have any trash on the floor on my shift. All my table tops will be clean too.”

Or if that job seeker pointed to the cash register and said, “I have three years working at registers just like that. My cash drawer is always balanced at the end of each day. And what’s more, I will work hard to smile all the time and I will certainly ask the customer if they would like to biggie size.” Wouldn’t those responses probably bring an instant job offer? A successful job search is one where the employer feels you can fix their hurt better and faster than the other candidates. Teach yourself to respond to interview questions with the employer’s needs in mind. It matters not whether you are applying at the local fast food establishment or seeking a senior management position at the state university. It is all about the employer until you received the job offer.

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