Selection, Interviewing, Employee Training and Development

Selection

The recruitment process just described will result in a pool from which to select the right employee—and this usually involves a combination of different selection methods in order to make the best employee selection decision.

Interviews and reference checks are the most commonly used, but other methods are available depending on the specific demands of the position. For example, background checks are appropriate when a position requires that the employee have significant customer interaction or if the prospective employee has a fiduciary involvement or responsibility with the company. Other selection methods include:

. Skill performance tests/work samples—for example, a graphic artist may bring in a portfolio of past projects, or a data entry candidate may be given a simulated work assignment.

. Personality tests—used especially in customer contact recruitment and selection (e.g., salespersons and customer service candidates).

. Physical abilities tests—used in many job requirements where physical condition is an essential element in job productivity or success (e.g., a product installation or delivery job).

. Drug tests—an increasingly used tool to ensure selection of candidates who do not involve themselves in chemical or substance dependency.


Interviewing.

Face-to-face interviews can be extremely revealing but must be well prepared. The goal of an interview should be to learn whether the candidate has the competencies and technical skills that are most critical to the job, and questions should be prepared for each area. The interviewer’s questions should focus on behaviors, not opinions, and may involve asking applicants to provide examples from their past experiences. Interviews provide an opportunity to read body language and the applicants’ ability to “think on their feet,” often replicating the realities of life on the job. Additionally, to ensure good fit with the culture of the company, an initial interview is often followed up by several more representing the other employees with whom the potential hire may work, as well as company representatives at different levels and areas within the company. An important step in the interview process is to check on a prospective employee’s past performances by making inquiries to former employers and references. Four rules for more effective reference checks:

1. Ask the applicant to inform prior employers that you intend to contact them. Former managers are much more likely to provide useful information if they are aware beforehand that they will be contacted.
2. Open the call by describing the corporate culture of the organization. This provides some context for the previous employer’s comments on the previous employee.
3. Reassure the previous employers that the information they provide will not determine the final hiring decision, but that your goal is to learn how best to manage the prospective hire.
4. Save formal questions such as dates of employment and title until the end of the call.

Employee Training and Development

It is one thing to be able to recruit and hire good employees, but to
tap into and help them attain their full potential is just as or even
more important. Training and development is an essential part of all organizations today. Themain benefits of employee development and training:

. Increases the value and capacity of the human assets of the company.
. Provides an alternative to recruiting, by having qualified personnel to fill vacant positions.
. Creates potential future leaders of the company.
. Helps reduce employee turnover by keeping individuals motivated and interested in their positions with the possibility for advancement.