4

Selecting Great Team Members

We are closing in on the nish line. After possibly months of searching,
dozens of conversations, and unquantiable pots of coffee, we are about to
make an employment offer. Whats left? We need to gather a bit more infor-
mation about the candidate, verify his skills and credentials, and then make
our decision.
VERIFICATION
Before we make our selection, we need to shine a bright spotlight on the
nal candidate. Well verify the information on his resume (commonly
called checking references) and collect new information about him by
perhaps looking at his driving record, credit score, or other such investiga-
tions. Before doing this, we might want to test the candidates compatibility
with the job and your company.
Testing
The biggest reason for employee turnover is job mismatch. In other
words, the employee was working in a job he was not well suited for.
Sometimes this is caught early and the employee can shift gears, nd his
true calling, and get on with a successful career path. Unfortunately, this is
rarely caught early and the person struggles for years, maybe a lifetime, in
a niche that does not make good use of his talents or abilities.
Recognize this about job mismatch: Not only is it the number one reason
for terminations, it is also the biggest reason for rotten, unfullling careers,
and the top cause of unproductive employees. All these demons begin right
at this point in the hiring process.
Both you and the employee are quite vulnerable during the recruiting
process. The candidate may be seeking a job because he doesnt have one.
He has a mortgage payment due in a few weeks and he will convince him-
self that any job is a great one. You may have needed to ll the job for quite
some time and are anxious to hire someone. It is easy to convince yourself
that this personperhaps your only remaining candidateis perfect. His
desperation and your impatience can combine to make a costly mistake.
Tread with care during this dangerous time. Lets look at some ways we
can increase the odds that your future employee is well matched to your
job and your company.
Assessments
Assessment testing is often a valid way to measure for job match. Many
validated tests are available that can help you match the candidates skills to
your job demands. What is it that these tests measure? Consider this
scenario: You are looking for a parts manager for your auto supply store. In
this job, he will look after an inventory of 40,000 parts, many of them look-
ing similar or having similar sixteen-digit inventory numbers. You give
your star candidate an assessment test that states he abhors detail, despises
routine, and has a strong creative streak to boot.
Would this man be happy in that job? Of course not; he is as good a
match to the job as the comedy team of Laurel and Costello. A good assess-
ment identies strong preferences and personality traits that often uncover
blatant job mismatch.
A word of caution is in order. Written skill tests are indeed an excellent
tool for assuring job match, but only if you use the right test. Some of the
tests on the market are not designed to screen employees and should not be
used to make hiring decisions. The Myers-Briggs Type indicator, probably
the most famous of the assessment tests, is an outstanding tool for develop-
ing managers and for understanding personality differences among your
team members, but it is not an effective tool for making hiring decisions. It
just doesnt measure job-t, nor does it predict job success, and should not
be used for that purpose. (In fact, the publisher of Myers-Briggs states, It
is unethical and in many cases illegal to require job applicants to take the
MBTI if the results will be used to screen out applicants.)
Skill Tests
Perhaps the best way to ensure that candidates can do the job is to have
them perform the job. Skill tests are good methods for doing this, having
the candidate demonstrate prociencies in some aspect of the position. Skill
tests or verications have long been commonplace in the workplace and
continue to play an important role in selection today.
AT&T was an early innovator in using skill assessment for white-collar
jobs. Even in the 1950s, the candidate for a middle-management position
would show how he would handle an in-basket exercise, prioritizing
requests, phone calls, letters, and other tasks.
Skill testing can also include demonstrations. For instance, have potential
salespeople explain how they would sell your latest product to Wal-Mart.
Your potential press agent can write a press release under a tight deadline.
Customer service representatives can show how they would deal with an
irate customer.
44 The Entrepreneurs Guide to Hiring and Building the Team
These assessments and tests can be excellent tools for helping you make
your selection. Put them in their proper perspective. Use the tests to verify
information or enhance your understanding of the candidates, but never
convert these tests to a scoring system that determines who you hire. These
tests are tools, not a system in themselves.
Job Previews
Spending a day working with your company is an excellent way for both
you and the candidate to discover how well the job ts. This is especially
helpful for entry-level positions or jobs in radically different industries. For
instance, spending a day trailing a server will quickly show the candidate
whether the restaurant business is a desirable place for them to spend ten
hours a day. Visiting sales prospects with your sales manager will help
your potential sales representative decide if you share the same styles.
Customer service representatives, chefs, teachers, and reghters can all
benet from the opportunity to live in your environment for a day.
What if the job preview scares them off? This is not a problem. If the
prospect is repulsed by your position in one short day, he most certainly
wont stay on your payroll for long anyway. Think of all the money you
will save in training costs. On the other hand, if there is a good match
between the candidate and the job, the one-day preview will inspire and
motivate him. This will make it so much easier to bring him on board as an
employee, giving him an excellent start in his company orientation.
DIG DEEPER
You have now been presented with credentials and claims of glory, par-
ticipated in excellent conversation, and been reassured by the candidate
that he is a great t for your organization. If it all checks out, you have
made an excellent hire.
But theres the rub. Will it all check out? Is he who he claims to be? Are
his accomplishments as golden as described? Is the resume genuine? We
must verify the accuracy of the information before using it to make our
decision.
Employment Reference Checks
A long time ago in a faraway place, companies were quite cooperative in
verifying employment information. Former bosses would provide candid
critiques of their former employees. The personnel department would give
details of dates, training classes, income, and earned bonuses.
Then, those companies found themselves on the bad end of lawsuits for
slander, libel, and defamation of charactereven if the information they
provided was accurate. They were paying enormous judgments even
for saying positive things about past employees. (I was so proud of the
way Fred bounced back from that marketing blunder and led the next big
Selecting Great Team Members 45
campaign.) These war stories have become so prevalent that now it is hard
to separate the true horror stories from the urban legends. Today, companies
are afraid to even acknowledge the person worked at their company for fear
of becoming another case study for the lawyers that advertise on TV.
While this lack of cooperation is understandable, you need this informa-
tion nonetheless. In fact, a persons past is the most important thing you
need to know in order to make your hiring decision. How do we bridge this
impasse?
Here is a simple, fast, and legal way to get around the companys reluc-
tance to provide information: ask the reference to call you back. Call the
reference at a time you are guaranteed to reach their voicemail. Youll say:
One of your former employees, Fred Schwartz, is being considered as a
sales manager for our company. He listed your name as a reference. Please
call me back if he was an outstanding employee. If Fred was an excellent
employee, your call will be immediately returned. If not, the silence will be
deafening.
Here are some other ways to get the most benet from references:
.
Ask each candidate, What will your references tell me when I call
them? This serves two purposes. First, it lets them know that you
really will be checking the references. Second, it gives them the oppor-
tunity to let you know their side of the story should there be any linger-
ing issues. (An additional benet: Since most companies are afraid to
say anything negative, there is a good chance the only way you will nd
out about issues is from the candidate himself as he rushes to give his
defense.)
.
Talk to the candidates former boss. The HR department prides itself on
saying nothing while there is a good chance the former supervisor will
be more forthcoming. Besides, the supervisor has rsthand experience
and can provide a better analysis
.
Network to get an evaluation of the candidates performance. Its a
small world; there is a good chance you know the candidates former
boss or someone who does. However, take great care as you do this.
Dont speak with anyone who could tell his current company that their
employee is out looking for a job. You could destroy your relationship
with the candidate as well as ruin his career.
Other Background Checks
Your situation may require more information about the candidate, and
there are several types of background checks you can consider for securing
this information. However, when deciding on which investigations to do,
you should be sure to select only those for job-related reasons. For instance,
it makes a lot of sense to examine a candidates driving record if he is to
operate a company vehicle. It is just plain nosey if the information bears no
relation to any job activities. Here is a roll call of some investigations busi-
nesses use most often.
46 The Entrepreneurs Guide to Hiring and Building the Team
Education
Education is the most often fudged resume claim. It is surprising that
candidates lie about this, since it is so simple to verify degrees claimed. All
educational institutions will verify degrees and attendance. Most will do so
by telephoneand they dont even require that you obtain the permission
of the candidate. (Why are they so cooperative? Because they have a vested
interest in ferreting out those who falsely claim to hold their degrees.)
Credit Reports
People wont manage your money better than they do their own. If this
position involves handling a signicant amount of cash or puts the
employee in a tempting position from time to time, you may want to view
the candidates credit report. In addition to seeing how they are managing
their money, these reports will also disclose liens and judgments.
There is a disadvantage to using these reports, however. And that is that
they are often just plain wrong. A leading consumer magazine has shown
that half (!) of the credit les they examined contained at least one major
error. (A major error is considered one that could cause the rejection of a
home or auto loan.) You do not want to compound this horric outrage by
rejecting a candidate based on an incorrect report. Before making any deci-
sion, always allow the candidate to view the report and make corrections.
Criminal Background Checks
Always perform criminal background checks on anyone in a position of
trust, who handles signicant cash, or who works around children. The
process for having these checks may be complicated, so check with your
states labor department for exact guidelines.
Driving Records
Check these records before employing anyone who may drive on
company business, regardless of whether he will be using a company vehi-
cle or his own. Your company could face enormous damage if an employee
with a bad record is involved in an accident, especially if it is disclosed that
you did not check this before hiring him.
Drug Testing
Todays candidates not only understand your insistence on a drug-free
environment, they actually consider this another good reason to work for
your company. (In fact, eliminate any candidate who expresses a concern
that you are invading his privacy.) Being asked to take a drug screening
does not insult good candidates, but the labs often do.
Take great care in choosing the laboratory you use for this screening.
Many labs, particularly those with low prices and heavy volume, do the
Selecting Great Team Members 47
bulk of their business in court-ordered follow-ups or police investigative
work. They will often treat their clients as criminals. Good candidates have
no problem being screened for drug use, but they expect to be treated with
dignity and condentiality.
You should personally go for testing at any lab you are considering. Not
only will this ensure that your candidates will be treated professionally, but
you can become familiar with the process your prize candidates are being
asked to experience.
DECISION TIME
You could drag the selection process out for months, constantly adding
to the bank of statistics, information, opinions, testing, and conversations.
There comes a time when you should stop gathering information and reach
a conclusion. It is time to decide.
Actually, no interviewing system would be needed if selection were only
about getting the strongest, smartest, best candidates available. Cold statis-
tics would determine who you hire. Those really arent the only criteria, are
they? Once you have screened candidates for their ability to do the job, get
down to selecting the person who would best t into your company. That
is almost a completely subjective matter. So, no formulas here. No scoring
Focus: A Good Marketer or a Downright Dirty Liar?
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a prominent outplacement rm, closely
examined 249,000 resumes and found that over half contained discrep-
ancies. Another study by ResumeDoctor.com found 40 percent had seri-
ous discrepancies. And still other experts estimate that a third of job
seekers shade the truth or at-out lie on their resumes. What are the big-
gest areas for discrepancies? The top ve are education, job title, com-
pensation, reason for leaving the last job, and list of accomplishments.
Aresume is nothing more than an advertisement, a marketing tool. Alit-
tle exaggeration can be expected and even accepted in any advertisement.
Exaggeration can easily warp into fabrication, especially on a resume.
While you can allow some puffery, you cannot overlook lying. So
where is the line? Separate opinion from fact. Allow a candidate to take
sole credit for leading a team, devising a great plan, or coming up with a
great idea. Never tolerate a made-up degree or an exaggerated job title. A
misstatement of fact on a resume is a lie and the candidate must be elimi-
nated from any further consideration.
Another note: Be stricter with resume entries than you are with verbal
comments. Realize that people can misinterpret questions or even bungle
a spontaneous answer. A resume is a thoroughly planned document that
has been edited repeatedly. You can consider any errors in facts as out-
right lies.
48 The Entrepreneurs Guide to Hiring and Building the Team
system, either. From this point forward, it is all about your judgment. Lets
look at some lters to use for making that judgment.
Avoid These Mistakes
The hiring process is lled with opportunities to stumble. Here are the
big three mistakes employers make when evaluating candidates. Before
making your nal decision, ask yourself if your judgment is being manipu-
lated because of any of these common fallacies in selection.
The Halo Effect
Perhaps the biggest mistake we make in evaluating people is letting one
or two great answers or comments color our total impression of the candi-
date. For example, you might observe that the candidate showed great
organizational skills and once designed a great sales campaign. Being
impressed with these achievements, you then view all of the candidates
other actions as impressive. Dont analyze through a halo. Let each action
or trait stand on its own.
You Make Up Your Mind the First Two Minutes
When I help people prepare for job interviews, I spend most of my time
showing them how to make a great rst impression. I remind them that
most interviewers make their hiring decision in the rst two minutes and
the initial impression is far more critical than the hours that follow.
If a candidate arrives dressed to kill, gives a rm handshake, and com-
pliments the golf trophy displayed in your ofce, you might be tempted to
send him directly to personnel to start lling out his W-2. It also works in
reverse: The gumchewer who fails to look you in the eye might have extra-
ordinary skills beneath the rough exterior. Forgive some of the interviewing
errors. Late? Dressed inappropriately? Mumbles? Sure, these are certainly
strikes against them, but think twice before arbitrarily eliminating someone
for initial mistakes. Yes, it is important that someone make a good rst
impression. Dont make your decision based on just that. (Another benet
of overcoming this mistake: Other employers, overwhelmed by the poor
rst impression, will reject some great candidates you can then hire.)
Grading on a Curve
When following a dud, mediocre candidates will look like superstars.
Solid candidates will appear to be rather weak if they follow just after a
skilled interviewee. Do not compare candidates to each other; compare each
candidate to the job description you so carefully crafted in Chapter 1.
Take Time to Ponder
Go off to a quiet spot and ask yourself some questions about the candi-
dates. Look beyond their resumes and statistics. Instead, focus on the
Selecting Great Team Members 49
impressions each candidates has conveyed and the potential character of
your work relationship with him. Ask yourself questions such as these:
.
How well does she t the job description?
.
How did her background checks line up with her resume?
.
Did the other people who spoke with her get the same impressions I
did?
.
Do I trust her?
.
Is she excited about this job?
.
How will she interact with the rest of my team?
.
Does she have strengths in the areas I most need from him?
.
Will she represent me well?
.
Do we communicate honestly and openly?
.
Can she grow and assume expanded responsibilities if the company
were to grow twice as big?
You will want to add more questions to the list, but this should get you
started. The point is to nd the time and patience to really examine the per-
son and quietly discover the depth of the potential relationship.
After All the Facts Are In
Youre going to love this next bit of advice. Once you have gone through
the process, spoken, veried, and examined, it gets down to listening to
what your gut is telling you.
If your gut is telling you to hire a person, it is almost certainly right.
Your basic business instincts are a legitimate decision-making mechanism.
Before you throw your hands in the air and wonder why I didnt tell
you to follow your gut before making you absorb fty pages of selection
technique, lets clarify this. The reason your instincts work at this stage is
because you have educated yourself about the job and fully explored the
candidates. Your gut is really an amazing computer that will churn all this
information, combine it with your business knowledge and experience, and
then sift it through your inherited good judgment. The gut feeling you
get is the end product of all this processed information. Ergo, your gut is a
great decision maker only after you follow the processes described in Chap-
ters 14. This is where recruiting morphs from being a science into an art
highly trained art, but art nonetheless.
But What If You Eliminate Everyone?
It happens. You begin with a thirteen-inch stack of resumes and one by
one they bite the dust. What do you do if you go through this entire process
and have no one left to hire? You may be tempted to pick the best of the
sad lot and be done with it. Overcome this temptation. If your job descrip-
tion was realistic and appropriate when you began this process, stick with
it. Dont lower your standards or settle for mediocrity.
50 The Entrepreneurs Guide to Hiring and Building the Team
Start the process over, but this time use different sourcing methods. If
during the rst time you used only passive methods, such as the Internet or
classied advertisements, expand your pool by seeking referrals or by pirat-
ing. If you thoroughly evaluate your activities and honestly believe you
have done the best you can do, then you should consider employing an
executive search rm. Yes, this is expensive, but the cost does not approach
the money you will lose by placing a bad employee in the empty position.
Barbara had reached the end of an exhausting selection process and
uncovered two outstanding candidates. The nalists were amazingly simi-
lar as well as equally talented. Reviewing their qualications, experience,
and credentials did not solve her quandary; these were also amazingly
equal. To really exacerbate the issue: She honestly liked them equally.
She decided to settle the matter by giving them a test about the com-
panys products. As you probably guessed, the nalists once again scored
the same. Not only that, they missed only one questionand it was the
same question! Despite this, Barbara was able to immediately make her
selection. She called the losing candidate and told him of her decision.
He was shocked. How could you make a decision based on that? he
asked. How could one wrong answer be better than another wrong
answer?
Its like this, Barbara explained. For question #67, the other guy
wrote, I dont know. And you wrote, Neither do I.
Sometimes, despite our efforts to use careful scientic analysis, it all
comes down to using common sense and listening to our gut. The selection
process is often like that. After all you have been through, you might feel
that the hard work is complete. Sorry, it has just begun. Now we need to
convince the candidate to become an employee, then assimilate her into
the team.
Selecting Great Team Members 51