Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Hiring smart tough

Finding the right people for a job is not the easiest thing an employer can do.

In fact, it's one of the toughest.

However, there are ways for an employer find the person who best fits the job they have.

A seminar on "Hiring Smart" was given recently, by Charles Looper and Kristy Colvin, with Profiles International, Inc., to give area business leaders an idea of what can be done to get and keep good people.

Looper said the size of the business doesn't matter in finding good employees, but proper hiring affects all businesses, as they are built on the strength of their employees.

This starts, he said, with the selection process, which is often based on whether the interviewer likes the interviewee, instead of solely on their qualifications.

This, though, is not necessarily a bad thing, Looper said, but the "gut feeling" and resume are only the tip of the iceberg where potential employees are concerned.

Next comes the coaching and training phase, where the employer finds the new employee isn't all that had been hoped. Instead of outright firing the employee, the employer, Looper said, works to help them improve.

When this doesn't happen, he said, the employee is terminated and the employer is back to the start in having to find someone to fill a job.

The cost of hiring an employee can be expensive, he said, with those attending the seminar given a worksheet to help them determine what it costs their businesses to hire people.

These costs include the time spent going over resumes, taking applications, interviewing time and time spent checking the person's background, if this is done.

There are also the costs of advertising for the job, normally done through newspapers, trade journals and radio, among others.

As most companies have a 90-day trial period for employees, there comes the cost of paying them, social security, Medicare and workers compensation insurance paid for their benefit.

Next comes training costs, including orientation and specific job training, followed by the businesses accounting costs for W-2 forms, administration of benefits and other business oriented requirements.

When the employee starts working and it becomes obvious they can't do the job, the end result is lost production time, which translates into a loss of money.

If the employee isn't capable or willing to do the job, this affects others in the company, as their morale wanes because they have to "fill in" for the one not working out.

Bad attitudes can result in the loss of clients, customers or poor quality of workmanship.

Other costs a business can incur, depending on the business, are equipment for the employee, stationary, business cards, medical exams, drug screenings, employment agency fees and relocation expenses.

"People fail," Looper said, "because they don't match the job. Hiring is not finding a friend, and most decisions to hire are made in the first 4.3 minutes of an interview."

Employers, he said, must be careful when hiring and develop a legal umbrella for their business.

Fully half of the resumes employers get are exaggerated, he continued, and many possible employees have been trained in how to take interviews. There are classes available in many high schools and colleges just for taking interviews.

The problem, though, is the interviewers aren't properly trained in what questions they should be asking, or what answers they should be wanting.

There is also a problem in doing background checks as many past employers are unwilling to give out much information on those who have worked for them in the past. This is so they can protect their business from being sued for violation of a person's privacy.

The end result is former employers of a person may be willing to say the person did work for them and whether they would have them back again.

To avoid such pitfalls, Looper said, it is best to have applicants fill out a form giving the business permission to do background checks on them.

He handed out a release, which included giving the business permission to find out about the applicant's work habits, reputation, education history, driving record, character, driving record, criminal record, salary history, reasons for termination and any worker's comp claims.

Looper said if an applicant refuses to sign the release, the business should best not think about hiring them.

The release clears all involved of liability and responsibility for the information found.

In hiring smart, he said, businesses need to identify their hiring problems, quantify the cost of turnover, understand exactly what they are looking for, be innovative in trying to find employees and not just follow traditional methods, do background checks and assess the applicant with the job to be done.

By being innovative, Looper said, businesses should look to recruit employees from other companies without resulting to "stealing" them.

They can also consider hiring the disabled and handicap, look into hiring military retirees, check with outplacement firms, hire retired senior citizens, look at companies announcing layoffs, advertise in different places and set up relationships with educational facilities.

When advertising a job opening, companies should beware of using discriminating words, or being gender specific.

Tests are also available to match people with jobs, he said.

The important thing, he added, is to find out how the applicants think and what they want and expect from the company.