Finding And Hiring The Right Employees

Your business is a reflection of you – but as a good business owner, you know you have to build a team with complementary skills. However, nearly 7 in 10 hiring managers face obstacles in filling crucial positions, resulting in a bad fit. Additionally, 44% of all American jobs saw employee turnover in 2018. Is your hiring strategy hurting your business?

It is common for employers to inquire about the candidate’s past field experience and demonstrated skills during an interview. Over time, companies have adopted Thomas Edison’s line of “describe a time when” questions as he famously asked over 150 questions during interviews. Other common evaluation questions are, “why are you leaving your current job,” and “could you tell me about yourself?”

Many HR leaders have selected “safe” interview topics as anything deemed controversial can lead the company to trouble. This has contributed to the overuse of the precedent common interview questions.

Although employers normalize recycling routine interview questions, this method contains critical drawbacks. HR managers say this interview method often fails to assess important soft skills, find character weaknesses, avoid interviewer bias, and ask appropriate questions.

Furthermore, it is important to find what is most valuable in an employee in crafting the right team. First, discover if your culture matches what the individual needs to be successful. Ask questions in the line of discovering if the employee can learn and adapt to any challenges? Can the employee fit within your organization’s values and beliefs? Finally, ask if this position fulfills the employee’s needs.

Most companies shift to focus on fostering community: encouraging a sense of belonging, inclusion, and diversity. However, you won’t find the perfect fit by asking the same questions as the company next door – take it from some of the most successful companies. For example, Google throws oddball interview questions in strife to determine creativity and problem-solving. Similarly, Amazon uses the “raising the bar” method. In this, current employees team up to stump applicants with rigorous interview questions. Those who are flexible with non-traditional interview methods tend to make the best employees.

Saying this, there are multiple ways to amend your interview procedures for the better. Try asking, “what do you know about us and why do you want to work here?” to establish the applicant’s commitment. Asking open-ended questions such as, “could you tell me about a time when you were bored at work?” makes people think about their real answer rather than using a generic response.

Making the process collaborative by allowing a team of people in various positions to make hiring decisions proves to be helpful. This builds a collaborative community which values all voices. Additionally, look for inclusiveness and ask about the future with applicants to aid in decision-making.

For applicants, be sure to take time to stand out before your interview. Come prepared having researched the company you want to work for, connect with a strong personal LinkedIn presence, and connect with others through content. Finding the perfect new hire starts with the right interview questions. Read about better interviews here.