How To Avoid Hiring Nuts, Lemons & Lay-abouts

By Admin | June 4, 2015

How To Avoid Hiring Nuts, Lemons & Lay-abouts An estimated 30% of “blue collar” employees, and 10% of others, leave within the first four weeks of employment. And, guess what? They’re not the nuts, lemons and lay-abouts!

Yet, both the early leavers and the nuts, lemons and lay-abouts are major components of the same problem – poor staff selection.

Estimated Costs Of Recruiting An Executive – $15,000 to $120,000

Note this well: The costs of staff replacement are enormous and not readily understood by managers. Recent studies indicate that it costs between $15,000 and $120,000 to recruit somebody for a middle ranking executive position.

The tangible costs include:

Advertising
Time involved in interviewing
Credit and reference checks
Agency fees
Psychological tests and various other means of determining the ability of the candidates
Telephone calls and paper work
Relocation costs, etc.

There are also some significant intangible costs to be borne in mind, including:

Internal disruption to the usual work routine
Reduced efficiency and productivity while the gap exists
Possibility of a decline in product and service standards.
Possibility of a loss of sales and customer goodwill

And then there are the potential “dirty costs” of hiring nuts, lemons and lay-abouts:

Industrial disputation
Legal costs
Claims for unfair dismissal

Not to mention

Stress
Worry
Emotional trauma
Misdirected focus
Disrupted business and family relationships.

But, here’s the good news:

These costs can be substantially reduced by better recruitment/selection techniques at the job interview.

The Key Aspects Of Staff Recruitment – In A Nut Shell

Much has been written on this subject, and just about all of it says the same thing – nothing new ever arises. But, my goodness… how we flaunt the basics. Please, please, please, note this:

Define the job in writing by giving specific details of the functions to be performed, the approximate time each function takes, the qualifications and experience required, etc.
Analyze the various advertising media to determine the most likely to attract the ideal applicant.
Check and re-check your advertisement to ensure it is crystal clear about the person you are seeking.
Remember anti-discrimination legislation when wording the advertisement.
Use standard application forms to ensure that all detail obtained from applicants are comparable.
Pre-plan the interview by framing relevant questions to ask the applicant.
Always check references to determine the personality, experience and ability of the applicant. Credit checks and criminal checks may also be useful.
Insist on submitting the applicant to a practical test. If they say they can type a standard business letter at 100wpm, or use a particular computer program or drive a truck, make them prove it.
Upon completion of the interview, attempt to analyze the applicants’ suitability by using standard review forms (so that a uniform approach can be adopted when reviewing all of the job applicants).

Once all applicants have been reviewed and the decision made, it is good business practice to advise the successful applicant in writing, setting out clearly the terms and conditions of the employment offer. At the same time, letters should be sent to the unsuccessful applicants thanking them for their time and effort. This does the goodwill of the business no harm.

Now, if you genuinely want to avoid hiring nuts, lemons and lay-abouts you simply must request my comprehensive, yet very practical report. It’s FREE to owner/managers with a serious interest in the subject.

My report will detail:

13 questions you simply must be able to answer before you even contemplate hiring new staff.
A brilliant worksheet which will ensure the following isn’t a reality…“If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you won’t know what you’ve got”.
3 critical (yet often overlooked) objectives of a job interview that can cost thousands of dollars!
6 “must know” items about a candidates work history
7 probing questions to ask about their educational background
14 practical tips to make your interview both time and results effective
12 super costly mistakes to avoid at the interview stage
Avoiding the Top 10 common mistakes in employee selection
A generic interview review form that will allow you to compare apples with apples