What creates that outcome? Companies often hire people who look good on paper, but don’t fit when they get into the company, he notes.
But that hiring problem can be overcome. “We need to implement character-based hiring to hire people we want and get what we expect,” Jasniowski says. Fair enough, but how? Ask about dependability, honesty, thoroughness, discretion, creativity, flexibility and attentiveness, he advises. Check a potential employee’s loyalty, too, but remember it’s no longer what it once was between employees and employers, he notes.
There is no magical list of the three or four most important questions to ask potential employees. So create one by selecting questions determined by company culture, business type, geographic region, and challenges that the local work pool presents, says Jasniowski, who has his own Top 15 questions list. Right off the bat, he gets to the point, and asks, “What about your character makes you a good candidate for this job?” Also ask potential hires to give a few examples of things they’ve done on their own initiative.
Definitely ask interviewees how they deal with managerial criticism of their work. Also get the interviewee’s self-assessment of performance, he advises. Initiate candidates talking about their last performance interview by asking, “What was mentioned about how you could improve? Any re-occurring themes?”
Discover how interviewees handle problems by asking them to describe a recent problem with a manager’s decision, Jasniowski says. Listen, and then ask them, ”How did you handle it?” Also ask the applicant about their most recent problem with a co-worker. Again, he suggests listening carefully, then asking how they dealt with that problem.
Find out what situations kept candidates from fulfilling job duties at their last jobs, or what kept them from coming to work on time. Also ask them, “How did you fill downtime at your last job?” Explore their responses to job frustrations by asking interviewees to describe the most frustrating experience they’ve had in some position. Once again, listen carefully, Jasniowski counsels, and then ask the interviewees how they dealt with that.
Because priorities may change suddenly or frequently during a work day, check the candidate’s adaptability, Jasniowski suggests asking the candidate: “If you are asked to quickly do another task, how does that affect your mood? What if it’s the third time before noon?”
Investigate work attendance. Ask applicants what they believe is an acceptable number of days to be absent in a calendar year, he says. And test the interviewee by asking, “How do you handle situations that could cause you to be tardy or absent?”
Managerial issues
To keep those employees you do hire, Jasniowski emphasizes appreciating and recognizing them and their efforts. A high-turnover problem originates with managers, who are often good problems solvers, but who tend to focus on problems within employees and forget how important appreciation and recognition are, Jasniowski believes. “That (managerial behavior) extends from the factory floor to the executive suite,” he says. But start with the right hiring decision, he cautions. “Only hire people who are interested enough in the job to take the second step of calling back. This helps weed out people who aren’t really interested in the job,” he believes.
C. Kenna Amos, [email protected], is an Automation World Contributing Editor.
