by Employment Screening Alliance | Jul 13, 2016 | Background Screening
Background Screening | A Struggle to Find Skilled Staff is Not a Skills Shortage
Background Screening | 75% of Australian SMEs and large businesses are struggling to find skilled staff, according to survey results released this week. An immediate reaction to these figures might be to blame the Great Australian Skills Shortage. Plenty of research has shown a skills shortage does exist, in certain sectors. But results like this don’t prove it. A ‘struggle to find skilled staff’ does not equal a skills shortage.
A skills shortage is an external problem. Something we can blame on government policy, universities, or a 2-speed economy. That can make it an easy excuse. The harder option is to look internally at the areas businesses can control. And there are plenty. Here are 2 obvious levers employers can use to reduce their struggle finding skilled staff:
Improved retention of existing staff and do better background screening
I hate to state the obvious. But the same survey results show most businesses are not doing enough to retain their existing talent. Keeping your current staff engaged reduces the need to tap the market for new people. Duh? Well, seems this is easier said than done:
- +75% of SMEs say that written reviews and development plans are critical to keeping staff engaged. BUT…
- Only 35% have actually written and implemented clear reviews and development plans for every employee over the past 12 months.
Retention is a complex topic with solutions that differ for many businesses. But I suspect most employers have a pretty good sense for what can drive it in their business. These results indicate the initial challenge might not be identifying the ‘how’, but actually doing something about it.
There is one option many businesses seem to be relying on: trying to buy their way to better retention and engagement. While in some cases, income can be a driver of employee engagement, studies also show it can be less important than intrinsic rewards. Most of us intuitively know this from our own experience.
However, over 60% of SMEs report increasing pay levels for their employees, despite only 40% of staff beginning to make more wage demands. I’ll bet at least some of these proactive wage increases are an attempt by employers to buy better retention. This might work in the short term, but it’s not a sustainable strategy.
For regular tips and ideas on improving employee engagement, Anthony Sork is a great source.
Improved recruitment processes.
Just because businesses struggle to find skilled staff doesn’t mean they don’t exist. We see a number of employers falling for this assumption. They might advertise a role themselves. After 2 weeks, the response has been poor or completely mismatched to the profile they’re targeting. It’s logical to conclude the right candidate just isn’t out there.
A good proportion of our early client projects have involved situations like this. And you know what? In all cases, the ‘right’ candidates have been out there. The employers just weren’t looking in the right places.
A recruiter with 10 year’s experience has an eye for these things. Often all it takes is a few tweaks to the wording of a job ad, an adjustment of the role description or categorisation, or sourcing in a few different channels. Simple steps when driven by someone who’s done it for years. Less simple or obvious to most business owners working through it alone.
Do you need a recruiter to improve recruitment in your business? Not necessarily. But in each of these situations, it’s been the difference between an employer cursing the lack of skilled staff in the market, and having the right candidate starting on Monday. -Recruit Loop
Learn what ESA can do for you! Call 866-830-3724 to discuss background screening services or complete the form on www.esascreening.com now!
by Employment Screening Alliance | Jul 4, 2016 | Background Screening
Background Screening | Hope everyone has a safe holiday as we honor and celebrate the fallen!
by Employment Screening Alliance | Jun 30, 2016 | Background Screening
Background Screening | 4 Interview Questions You Should Retire
Background Screening | It’s easy and convenient to continue asking job candidates interview questions you’ve used in the past.
Consider, are some of your “tried and true” questions actually no longer useful?
Are you starting to hear the same answers from multiple candidates, or find the answers aren’t helpful to you in separating the best from the rest?
If so, you might consider a few alternatives that we’ll cover below.
But first, are you asking any of these:
1. “Where do you see yourself in five years?”
This may have been a revealing question when it was new, but by this time, every candidate has heard this one before and probably has a stock answer memorized.
You’ll probably learn nothing from the answer because you’ll likely be hearing something some “authority” came up with years ago.
Besides, what would be a good answer?
What response would either recommend the candidate or negatively impact your hiring decision?
2. What’s your greatest weakness?
It’s unlikely you’ll find a candidate who hasn’t anticipated being asked this question, and doesn’t have an answer prepared.
The odds are that what he or she tells you – just like with the “where do you see yourself in five years” question – will be rehearsed and unoriginal.
The only thing you’ll learn by asking this question is how well the candidate can recite lines.
Even if candid and honest, the answer may not reveal much about the candidate.
It’s doubtful you’ll hear anything truly negative, such as “I spend too much time at work on Facebook” or “I’m lazy.”
So consider retiring it.
3. Why should we hire you?
“I’m a hard worker.” “I’m a good fit for the position.” “I’ve got what it takes.”
You may hear some original answers with this, but again, what are you going to learn that you won’t have already gotten from questions regarding their previous employment or aptitude for the position offered?
It’s vague and not as probing a question as you may think.
Perhaps there are better ways to pose this question and get a useful answer, as you’ll find below.
4. Tell me about yourself
This frequently-asked question invites a response that may wind up consuming more time than you anticipated.
What you hear may have nothing at all to do with qualifications for the job.
If you want to ask it, consider beforehand what answer(s) would impress you.
Are you looking for someone who will discuss his or her hobbies or focus on career-related information?
Since it’s such a commonly-used question with myriad canned responses readily available, know in advance what a good answer would be for your unique opening.
Design Your Own Interview Questions
OK, now that you’re considering retiring these questions, consider designing your own original questions that are pertinent to the job and your company. [ Tweet this!]
For example, rather than ask about weaknesses, it may be far more revealing and practical to ask what specific strengths the candidate possesses and how the position could make best use of them.
This will also reveal how much homework they’ve done to learn about the position and why they see themselves as the perfect candidate.
Are there things on the resume that are germane to the position offered and pique your interest?
Ask for more details, let the candidate embellish and flesh out the bullet points.
Ask questions they can’t have anticipated or copied from someone else.
What’s the last book/movie/play they enjoyed and what about it sparked their enthusiasm?
What did they learn from it?
Although it may have little to do with the actual job, such a question may reveal more about their interests and while requiring them to come up with an answer on their feet.
Do they play a sport and what position, if any, do they prefer?
As oblique as this question may appear, it could tell you if they are comfortable being a leader – do they like playing pitcher or quarterback – or are they OK playing a supporting position and letting others take the lead?
Ask about what they know about your company and what about it appeals to them.
Find out if they’ve done their homework, are perhaps more ambitious than other candidates, and are sincerely interested in this job and this company as opposed to just any job.
Conclusion
As much as possible, give thought to your interview and the candidate.
Come up with your own questions rather than fall back on standard interview questions.
You’ve done the first part of the interview process by reviewing their background and potential applicability for the job.
But just as you’d expect the candidate to have done some research on your company, the position, and maybe even you, do him or her the favor of asking your own questions which draw the candidate out, require a demonstration of how well and how quickly he or she can come up with a great answer, and if you’re talking with the best candidate for your particular company, department and job. -Hire Right
Learn what ESA can do for you! Call 866-830-3724 to discuss background screening services or complete the form on www.esascreening.com now!
by Employment Screening Alliance | Jun 28, 2016 | Background Screening
Background Screening | 5 Steps to Giving Quality Interviews Pt. 2
Background Screening | Study Behavior
Asking behavioral questions requires candidates to draw upon their background and experiences to describe how they used skills that are relevant to your position. Their resume may be filled with “I’m a team player”, “Organized”, “Multi-Tasking”, and “Born Leader”, but anyone can include this on their resume. Asking questions that force candidates to speak about these traits enables you to discover whether or not they do in fact possess them. Be sure to ask plenty of these questions right in the middle of the interview and score your candidates on how quickly they respond and the amount of tap dancing they do. But be careful – if it sounds too rehearsed then chances are it is.
Behavioral questions to ask:
- “Tell me about a time when you took charge of a situation and made something positive happen.”
- “Describe a situation when you were given a tight deadline to perform, and tell me how you managed to get it all done.”
- “Talk about when you had to deal with a co-worker that was hard to get along with. How did you get along with them?”
Change Things Up
You’re past the halfway point of conducting a better job interview, so now is the time to get a little bit crazy. Ask the candidate a question that has no right or wrong answer.
You’re past the halfway point of conducting a better job interview, so now is the time to get a little bit crazy. Ask the candidate a question that has no right or wrong answer. It could be why the sky is blue or why grass is green? It could even be why do worms not have eyes? Whatever your question, judge your candidate by doing a background screening on how well they answer and if they are thrown for a curve or not. If they stay on the ball and answer as if it was expected then you have a pretty sharp candidate sitting across from you. Even if they laugh a bit at first but manage to form a pretty good answer, you know you have someone who can improvise and react to situations. If they stumble about and seem completely flustered, you have to wonder about the candidate’s ability to respond to pressure seeing as the candidate has a hard time speaking off the cuff. Remember, these questions are not meant to derive a correct answer. The purpose is only to gauge the candidate’s reaction to a tricky situation.
Great abstract questions to ask:
- “If nothing ever sticks to a Teflon pan, then how do they make Teflon stick to the pan?”
- “Can a fish drown?”
- “Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?”
Maintain a Consistent Evaluation Process
Just because you’ve concluded your face-to-face job interview, doesn’t mean the process is over. Go back and examine the answers to your questions and score these answers against a guide that makes it easy for you to judge. Make sure to complete a thorough background screening. This guide needs to be somewhat flexible as there is not an exact answer for qualitative data, but you can form a set of guidelines for what the ideal answer would be. Having a set guide makes it easier for you to fairly judge each candidate’s response and select a candidate that fits your company’s needs. You should be well on your way to making a better hire after following these five steps for conducting a better interview. -Career Builder
Learn what ESA can do for you! Call 866-830-3724 to discuss background screening services or complete the form on www.esascreening.com now!
by Employment Screening Alliance | Jun 16, 2016 | Background Screening
Background Screening | 5 Tips to Ensure You Evaluate Candidates Consistently
Background Screening | In recruitment, impartiality is not just an ethical issue. It can also be a legal matter. For example if an appointment is seen as unfair and a complaint is made, or conversely if a candidate is rejected and, for whatever reason, decides to pull the discrimination card. Therefore, it is important to observe and maintain consistent standards when interviewing and evaluating candidates at all times.
Here are 5 tips to ensure you evaluate your candidates consistently:
1. Thorough screening process
The filtering of all your applications starts with a thorough screening process. The actual assessing then occurs during the interview process. But often it’s during the benchmarking or short listing process where if you are not careful you can in fact make some pretty serious hiring errors.
If you are lucky enough to have selected more than one candidate to invite in for interview, you must ensure that you have some structure around your interviewing process. There is no point asking the first candidate a series of behavioural- or competency-based questions and then asking the other candidate(s) an entirely different set of questions.
2. Consistency in questioning
Each candidate being interviewed for the same position must be asked exactly the same set of questions. And then, like a teacher marking a set of essays, you then need to decide what in your opinion constitutes a very good response, a mediocre response and a mediocre or insufficient response. Having a well-definedperformance profile will certainly help you here.
Think of an airline hiring a new team of flight attendants or a bank putting on a new shift in their call centre. The dedicated recruitment team will interview dozens (if not hundreds) of candidates for these roles and each candidate will be asked exactly the same set of questions.
Assuming you are not an airline, bank or hotel chain, even though you might not be looking to hire a group of people, you still need to ensure you have a fair assessment and benchmarking process in place so that ultimately you end up hiring the candidate who literally ticks all the boxes.
3. Have pre-determined selection criteria
Rather than looking at candidates from a subjective point of view, you should evaluate them all equally against a set of pre-determined key selection criteria.
These criteria could include:
- Application documentation – contents of resume and covering letter;
- Knowledge – the knowledge required to successfully perform the role;
- Skills – necessary technical skills;
- Education – the qualifications necessary to perform the role;
- Experience – including industry, career or management experience;
- Personal suitability – how close a ‘fit’ they are with the team dynamic and company culture.
Without wanting to seem overly neurotic, you might even want to create a spreadsheet with the candidates’ names down one side and the key selection criteria, competencies and essential skills along the top. Then you can actually rank each response based on an even scoring process.
4. Interview using the STAR technique
You will also need to establish a rating scale. One easy way to do this is based on the “S.T.A.R” technique where you can rate each of the candidates’ responses out of a possible four points.
For example if the candidate describes the task they were faced with and then what they did to try to solve the problem, they would score 2 out of 4. If they then talked about the actual outcome, this would be 3 out of 4. If they had also explained specifically where they were at the time (the situation) then this would equate to a 4 out of 4. It’s fairly straightforward.
5. Never make an on-the-spot decision
It is also important not to make on the spot decisions. The results of candidate evaluation should be discussed by everyone involved, notes compared and references checked before any decision is reached.
If several candidates are a close match, conduct a second round of interviews and if none of the candidates seem suitable, don’t just select the best of a bad lot. Rather re-advertise the position and start again. –recruit loop
Learn what ESA can do for you! Call 866-830-3724 to discuss background screening services or complete the form on www.esascreening.com now!
by Employment Screening Alliance | Jun 14, 2016 | Background Screening
Background Screening | 3 Important Tips for Hiring
Background Screening | Choosing the right hires for your organization — whether it’s a startup or otherwise — is crucial to building a thriving business. And while the importance of hiring the right people can’t be downplayed for any business, there may be more challenges for startups, including tight resources, uncertainty, or the fact that candidates may never have heard of your company.
People are truly the backbone of any successful company, and, as CEO, I’ve opted for a hands-on approach to the hiring process to ensure we hire the best. While this isn’t for all CEOs, I’ve found that as a female entrepreneur and executive, my insight bolsters our HR department and ensures we’ve built (and are continuing to build) the best and the brightest team.
Over the course of three years, I have grown Revel Systems from 0 people to a team of more than 160 employees, based here in San Francisco and across the globe. As my team has grown, I’ve developed a system for both evaluating prospective employees as well as nurturing existing ones. Although we tried a few outside hires for management positions, we found that our current, long-standing employees were a better fit for leadership positions, as they have a deep understanding of our culture and our product. This, as well as the explosive growth of this company, has prompted me to share some of the modes by which I grow the best team.
Here are three tips for hiring the best candidates:
1. Play an active role
The CEO of a tech startup wears a lot of hats. Indeed, this may be true of any startup employee. We’re fortunate enough at this juncture that we’re of the size that I can have a hands-on role in the hiring process. I believe this gives both me and our HR team the ability to find the most qualified candidates who are also the best fit for our culture.
This is a rather polarizing issue, though I’m certainly not the only CEO in tech to review new hires. It depends on an individual’s leadership and management style.
I opt for an active role in our hiring process, which includes interviewing all candidates, because it ensures an open line of communication between HR and myself. It also helps managers understand what the company needs as far as culture is concerned — I can communicate to them what sort of candidates we are looking for, and who would be the best fit.
Although this style may not be for all CEOs (and, indeed, company size also plays a major role), I find that having the opportunity to meet each and every candidate helps build a lasting and well-qualified team, which in turn leads to a stronger foundation for the company.
2. Emphasize culture
Culture is a significant part of any company, large or small, and I find it is particularly important for startups. A startup, as the name implies, is laying the foundation on which it will be built. Your hires are essential to this early stage, and can often make or break a company.
One way to ensure you make the right hires is to have a good understanding of your company’s culture — that is, of your company’s vision and working environment. As an executive, having that clear idea of your company’s culture should help you build a team that’s in-line with your vision.
Once you’ve decided on your particular company’s culture and values, make them known to all current and prospective hires. We include our values on our website, giving potential hires the opportunity to evaluate for themselves whether or not they may be a good match. And, one of the first steps in our hiring process is for job candidates to complete a set of “culture” questions which determine whether or not they’re a good fit.
Many of our roles require inter-departmental relationships, and it’s crucial that all hires work well across departments and roles. We help facilitate this by having various department heads interview job candidates, regardless of the role for which they are applying. This gives us the opportunity to truly evaluate whether or not a candidate is a great fit for our culture. Those hiring for positions within their department will tend to ask role-specific questions, whereas team members from other departments can evaluate whether the candidate is a personality and cultural fit.
Having built this company from the ground up, I am certain beyond a doubt about the importance of culture in the growth of a company.
3. Get social
A good recruiting strategy is like a good marketing strategy. A major part of it is getting your company name out there and creating visibility for yourself. I encourage my HR team — myself included — to grow their social networks as much as possible, and to post and share updates on our company.
Social media for recruiting is more popular than ever: 92 percent of companies use platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for recruitment, and 45 percent of Fortune 500 firms include links to social media on their career page sections. LinkedIn is of course especially useful for recruiting, but Twitter and Facebook are also great ways to share what’s going on at Revel. A good social-recruiting strategy is essentially marketing the employer — sharing great content and trying to reach as much of your target audience as possible.
No matter your style or methods, as the CEO of any company it’s essential to listen to your employees. Having a sense of their thoughts and needs will not only help maintain balance but will help your company continue to grow and thrive far into the future. –entrepreneur
Learn what ESA can do for you! Call 866-830-3724 to discuss background screening services or complete the form on www.esascreening.com now!
