38

Are You Ready for the Next Hiring Boom? What You Can Do Now to Position Your Company to Compete for Talented Employees

Mary E. Vielhaber Professor of Management Eastern Michigan University Department of Management 466 Owen Building Ypsilanti, MI 48197 734-487-3240 mary.vielhaber@emich.edu

Richaurd R. Camp Professor of Management Eastern Michigan University Department of Management 466 Owen Building Ypsilanti, MI 48197 734-487-3240 richaurd.camp@emich.edu

Mary E. Vielhaber, Ph.D. (University of Michigan) is Professor of Management at Eastern Michigan University where she teaches classes in the areas of organizational development and communication. She is co-author of Strategic Interviewing: How to Hire Good People, published by Jossey Bass and has published in a range of professional and academic journals.

Richaurd R. Camp, Ph.D. (Wayne State University) is Professor of Management at Eastern Michigan University where he teaches classes in the areas of staffing and human resource development. He is senior author of Strategic Interviewing: How to Hire Good People, published by Jossey Bass and has published in a range of professional and academic journals.

39 Both authors contributed equally to this manuscript.

The pressure to hire new employees is mounting. Your management is growing increasingly impatient. You know that you have to fill the open positions more quickly and with better talent or your job in employment will be on the line. The problem is there are few available candidates. When you have someone who is interested in the open position, your managers can't seem to agree on what they want or whether the candidate is right for the job. When it takes so long to define what you really want and get the process moving, you miss the top candidates. You almost long for those days, just a few years ago, when hardly any hiring was taking place. If you knew then, what you know now. Does this sound unrealistic? It wont be. When the baby boomers start to retire in large numbers, the anticipated drop in high school graduates occurs and the inevitable recovery of the economy takes places, many managers and employment professionals will be facing this type of challenge. Will you be ready? Or, will you be caught off guard and unprepared for the next hiring boom? The recent economic decline has led to a precipitous drop in new hires. Most organizations are not spending the time and resources recruiting and hiring new employees that they spent throughout the recent past. If this is true for your company, you have an ideal opportunity to evaluate your hiring practices and prepare for the next hiring boom. When the economy rebounds, and hiring starts revving up, organizations that plan now will have the competitive advantage in attracting and selecting talent. These progressive organizations will be prepared to handle the challenges associated with hiring talented employees who contribute to the organizations success. Although all managers should focus on this issue, HR professionals, in particular, need to take the lead by identifying which of the following strategies will strengthen your approach to hiring, developing, and retaining employees. Taking the actions now discussed within each of the following strategies can help your organization be prepared when the call comes to add people in key positions. Additionally, taking these actions can result in a variety of other organizational benefits.

40 Strategy 1: Define performance expectations for key jobs before you are under pressure to fill a position. Hiring is a real challenge when employers have difficulty defining what they want the new employee to be able to do and what accomplishments they expect. You hire someone to do a job or a series of jobs. If you cant define the expectations you have for an employees performance in a particular job, you are not likely to find someone who can meet your expectations. Instead, you are likely to hire someone who meets only some of your expectations. Defining performance expectations takes both time and effort because you need to review both the required job duties, what is often referred to as job requirements, as well as the accomplishments you expect the person to achieve. When there is an open position, simply filling the position becomes the priority. Asking the manager to define the performance required for success in a job can be viewed as slowing down the process and being non-responsive to the hiring managers needs. Clearly, the ideal time to define the performance expectations is before the position becomes available. Managers may resist taking the time to define performance expectations unless they see that benefits extend beyond the hiring process. The role of the HR professional is to make the case for using performance expectations for multiple purposes: hiring, developing, appraising and planning. Whether its for identifying training and development needs, or conducting performance appraisals, or developing staffing plans, both managers and HR professionals need accurate information on the performance expectations for each key position. HR professionals must partner with the hiring managers to define the performance expectations that drive the performance management processes of hiring, developing, appraising, and retaining employees. Naturally, even when hiring has slowed down, it probably wont be possible to define all of the performance expectations for every position. Keep in mind that position requirements can change. By focusing on positions of strategic importance or the positions with high turnover, you can be prepared to move quickly to hire new employees who meet expectations and quickly add value in their new jobs. Strategy 2: Develop a consistent definition of a competency that focuses on behaviors within your organization Almost every organization today would say that they hire and promote people based on a set of competencies. Yet, if you ask several HR professionals from the same organization to

41 define a competency, you are likely to get at least two different definitions of the meaning of competency. Some HR professionals may see a competency as specific personal characteristics described by labels (e.g. change agent, leader, detail-oriented) while others may view a competency as a set of behaviors (e.g. leads a team, delegates responsibilities, evaluates performance). Using labels to identify personal characteristics that will be used to determine who you will hire can lead to misunderstandings and disagreements. What one person understands when using a particular word or label may not match others interpretations. If you cant agree about what you are looking for in a preferred candidate, there is little chance you will agree as to whether a particular person meets your expectations. For example, if the hiring manager says he or she expects the new employee to be a change agent, the HR recruiter must determine what behaviors the manager expects the person to demonstrate when implementing change. To hire successfully, you not only need to determine the performance expectations, but you also need to clarify how the person needs to behave in meeting the expectations. Beginning with a common understanding throughout the organization that competencies will be based on specific behaviors is key. Once both HR and management are starting from a shared definition of a competency, the next step is to identify the key competencies that lead to the behaviors required for success in the organization. Challenge others to go beyond labels to describe the specific behaviors that demonstrate a particular competency. Without behavioral descriptions of competencies, HR professionals who recruit and screen candidates can be off the mark in identifying qualified candidates. The result is the manager loses confidence in the effectiveness of the HR function to accurately identify candidates who will become successful job incumbents. Strategy 3: Link competencies to performance expectations for each position. Reaching agreement on the key competencies essential for success is the starting point. The next step is to link the competencies to specific performance expectations for the position you are trying to fill. Most hiring managers, for example, want to employees who are team players. Still, if you ask five different hiring managers to define the behaviors associated with being a team player, you probably will get five different answers based on how each manager views their individual needs, circumstances and performance expectations. One manager may emphasize cooperation as a key competency by describing performance expectations such as

42 communicating effectively with others, resolving conflict constructively, or focusing on the teams needs over the individuals desires. Another manager may emphasize initiative by describing performance expectations such as thinking outside the box, taking action to improve the teams performance, and willingness to help out others. Once you know what you expect the successful candidate to do (performance expectations), you can work backwards to isolate the key competencies required to meet the level of desired performance. The key competencies should link to the performance expectations for each position. This approach will allow your organization to be more responsive when hiring. You will be able to move faster since much of the upfront work will be done, or at least a base will be there to build on. Line managers will also appreciate the fact that they are not getting multiple requests for what they perceive to be the same activity defining competencies. Strategy 4 -Evaluate the messages your company is currently sending new hires during the hiring process and create messages to reinforce the image you want to create. Hiring is more than just selecting qualified candidates. Hiring is also the first step in socializing your new recruits into your companys culture. While the organization is seeking information from candidates about their competencies, candidates are gathering data about the values and standards of the organization. The way you manage your selection process sends a message to your applicants about what your organization values. If you dont know the message you are sending through your hiring process, you need to take steps to find out. This can be accomplished by asking applicants (at the end of the selection process) to complete an anonymous questionnaire asking for their perceptions about the organization and its values. Naturally, applicants need to be assured that their anonymous written responses will not have any impact on their hiring decision nor be seen by the person who hires them. . As a result of recent financial scandals, many organizations today are taking a closer look at the way their values are committed to new employees. Knowing the messages that you are currently sending during the hiring process can lead to discussions about the messages you are committed to communicating. You may learn, for example, that some individuals are sending messages to candidates that are inconsistent with the values and messages you want to send. This calls for discussions that lead to an alignment among all employees who participate in the hiring process regarding the key messages that reinforce your company values.

43 You can also tighten your selection process by eliminating redundant messages that are communicated by multiple interviewers involved in the series of interviews a typical candidate completes. For example, if several interviewers take time to describe the products or services the company generates, this takes time from the assessment of the candidates competencies and actually wastes both the interviewers and the interviewees time. When redundant messages are eliminated, that time can be used to more accurately measure candidates that ideally would result in a better selection process. When you communicate the messages aligned with your unique corporate culture and values, you also differentiating your company in the marketplace and showing your companys commitment to its values. With a pressing need to fill open positions, human resource professionals find it difficult to focus on the message that your selection processes are sending. When the demand diminishes, you have the opportunity to gather the data and put the processes in place to send the message that you want to send. Naturally, this assumes that the organization knows the values it wants to convey to new hires. If you have not thought much about your corporate messages in the past, gathering this type of data from your hiring process can serve as the starting point for the discussion that will lead to stronger, more positive messages. Strategy 5: Broaden your interviewer training to assure you are addressing performance management issues. This is may be the last thing that you would think of doing during slow hiring times. Why provide interviewer training when you are not hiring people? Will managers voluntarily participate if they see no need for hiring? When the previous hiring boom was in full swing, managers were scrambling for talent. Many managers focused more of their time during interviews on selling candidates than measuring their skills. Combined with the recent slow down in hiring, many managers are now very deficient in their ability to accurately measure someones ability to perform their job. Interviewer training that focuses on measurement of candidate competencies also teach managers how to evaluate employee performance in meeting job expectations as well as how to identify training needs based on job competencies. As a result, while training professionals are preparing managers for the inevitable increase that will occur in the hiring cycle, they are also sharpening managers performance management skills.

44 But how do you motivate managers to attend interviewer training? A major factor will be how you present the objectives and the benefits of your interviewer training. If the training is developed and presented as skills linked only to hiring, quite naturally only those doing a great deal of hiring will be interested in attending. During slow hiring periods, the value of interviewer training will likely be questioned. However, if the interviewer training you provide is presented and viewed as the first step in the performance management process, one that helps managers manage performance along every step of the process including hiring, coaching, counseling, and evaluating performance, you naturally broaden the pool of managers who want to participate and deepen their interest. This is especially true if, through the training, you can help managers save some of the valuable time they spend in the multiple activities involved in managing performance. However, this cannot just be lip service. Training professionals must be sure that the interviewer training actually provides a process to help managers effectively use the information in the hiring process in other steps of performance management. The benefits derived from better coaching, counseling, training and evaluating will reinforce the usefulness of an interviewing process based on clearly defining competencies and performance expectations. Strategy 6 Sharpen your selection tools, particularly your team interviews and interviewer guides. Team or panel interviews are a topic that have peaked the interest of many staffing professionals. Team or panel interviews involve more than one individual interviewing a candidate during the same interview. Although team interviews do not eliminate individual interviews, they reduce the number of interviews needed. Thus, instead of five or six individual interviews on the same day, a candidate might participate in an individual interview, followed by a team interview with 3 or 4 participants and then end the day with another team interview. While there are pros and cons to the team interview process, one of the challenges is finding the time and the right strategy to implement team interviews when they have not been used before. To be done effectively, team interviews require some investment of time to make sure that all the participants are on the same page. In busy hiring times, it is hard to bring hiring managers together to invest in the team interview process. Slow hiring times provide that opportunity. Even if hiring managers are still unable to collectively invest the time, slower times allow staffing professionals to individually meet with hiring managers and collect the necessary information and formulate it into a starting point that could be collectively reviewed by the team

45 interview panel. This can reduce some of the frustrations and roadblocks that can occur when initiating team interviews. Another technique that can be developed or enhanced during slow hiring times is the use of structured interview guides. Semi-structured interviews that include behaviorally-based interview questions clearly enhance the accuracy and professionalism of the interview process. Slower hiring times provide the opportunity to review and enhance old guides or develop ones in areas where they previously did not exist. A Strategic Focus To address the issues we have raised, some managers and staffing professionals will need to shift their perspective on the role of the staffing function. Rather than focusing on filling positions, they will need to see the hiring process as a strategic component in an integrated performance management process. With this perspective, everyone involved with staffing must pay more attention to related performance management activities, including coaching, training and the performance appraisal process. This will add greater value to their organizations by emphasizing these interrelated activities with a performance management based on clearly defined competencies and performance expectations. Human Resource professionals often lament the fact that human resource activities are not integrated enough into the strategic direction of the organization. Yet, ironically, in many organizations today, the functional divisions of human resource activities lead to an HR department that is poorly integrated. An integrated performance management process that links hiring, coaching, training, and evaluating will lead to better-quality human resources and, in turn, improved productivity and results. With this kind of evidence, Human Resources will make a compelling case for their critical role in setting the strategic direction of the organization. So, dont delay. The economy will rebound and when it does it will likely require everyone involved with staffing to gear up quickly for hiring the most talented candidates. Take the time now to define and link performance expectations and competencies; evaluate the messages you are sending during the hiring process; address the relationship between interviewing and other performance management processes; and sharpen your selection tools! If you do, you will be ready for the next hiring boom.

46 References Schramm, J. (February, 2008). Regaining the Edge. HR Magazine, 53(2), 104.

Copyright of Insights to a Changing World Journal is the property of Franklin Publishing Company and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.