Involving Supervisors in Interviews

Sometimes candidates give answers like the ones above.  Seriously, I’ve heard some AMAZING answers to the question of where they see themselves in five years.  I’ve also seen some supervisors eat it up and insist upon hiring the individual who gave that answer.

So how do you prep your supervisors for an interview and ensure they’re going to be productive and give a valid opinion?

You need to give them some sort of direction.  If you can give them a list of questions you want answered or information you need gleaned and you trust them, you can let them interview the individual by themselves.  I personally don’t like this approach… inevitably the supervisor will ask if children will interfere with their schedule or if they have a chronic illness that will make our insurance premiums increase.  Train them on what they can and can’t say, then make sure they follow the rules.

The approach I like is to have a meeting with the supervisor prior to interviewing to go over what we would like to accomplish, the individual’s background, any specific questions we have, and then go from there.  They feel comfortable speaking up, but you’re there to really guide the interview.  This way you can debrief and discuss the candidates together, you get their opinions and viewpoint on answers you heard as well.

There are pros and cons to each situation and what works for me may not work for you.  The bottom line is that you need to ensure the supervisor is actually prepared to interview before they meet the candidate.  I’ve had a fairly good interview with a candidate, then sent them to the supervisor who was told this candidate, “kept all those bitches in line” at his last job.  It is our responsibility as HR Pros to prepare the supervisors for interviewing.

If they are just going to ask something dumb, or worse illegal, why even bother?

Because supervisors don’t like to be handed a new hire and told they have to train them and lead them.  If this individual turns out to be horrible, the blame lies squarely on HR and you get a reputation for not knowing what the business needs.  It doesn’t matter if you hired 10 amazing people before this one, the ONE new hire that didn’t work out will be on your head.  Giving supervisors some of the responsibility fosters a partnership in the new hire and makes the supervisor invested in their success.  They also see the other candidates and realize that this individual really is the most qualified and best fit out of the pool.  This isn’t to say you always have to hire the one the supervisor likes, but letting them have input in the decision fosters better hires, more collaboration, and a better experience for the new hire.  Nobody wants to be told on their first day that they were “forced” upon their supervisor who is now “stuck” training them.

Opinions on Potential New Hires

When recruiting for a position, whose opinions do you want for the hire?  Should HR really be the sole entity responsible for the staffing of your company?

NO.

We need to be there.  We need to be involved.  We may even carry the brunt of the responsibility, but it should not all be on our shoulders.  There needs to be at least one other voice involved, even in a small company.  The most obvious individual to get involved is the new hire’s supervisor.  What if this person also happens to be your entire HR department, which is how it is in my company?  All staff reports to me, the HR Manager.  Now what?  Who do I turn to?  I want another set of eyes, someone to keep this candidate talking and possibly unearth more red flags that I hadn’t caught.  Another individual may get a different vibe from a candidate that I missed.  There are three viewpoints that need to be involved in every single hire.  These roles may be filled by only two people, but typically more feedback will produce a better hire.

The viewpoints are:

• HR.  A no-brainer, but someone needs to be there to ensure nothing illegal or ridiculous is asked in the interview, or biased opinions are not given the highest priority.  A good HR Pro will already know exactly the type of person needed for the position and the qualities that will help them succeed.
• Supervisor.  The last thing a good supervisor wants is to be given an individual and told they have to accept them.  Supervisors who are involved in the hiring process will feel their opinions are valued and they can see what the other options were.  This engages the supervisor in their role, as well as gives a more hands-on perspective to the skill set you need.
• Co-workers.  Those who work most closely with this individual would also like to speak with them before an offer is made.  This isn’t always possible, and it depends on what type of culture you are trying to foster.  If you want your people to feel like a team and you trust them, they should certainly at least sit in on an interview.

I have facilitated interviews with a panel of five and I’ve conducted interviews one-on-one.  There is no right or wrong way, it all depends on what outcome you want and the resources available.

For the next few days, I will be taking each of these viewpoints and expanding on them, as well as expanding on the recruiting processes I use.  If you would like me to address a specific topic or situation, please hit me up in the comments and I will respond.

Couldn’t Agree More…

Couldn’t Agree More…

Kudos, Tim.  I second that motion.

Simplicity is Our Job

Your CEO/owner/boss/etc. is a busy individual.  That’s why they hired you.  Your job is to support them.  My first boss told me, “Your job is to make me look good.”  This may sound egotistical, but it’s the absolute truth.  The best thing you can do for your career is to make your boss’s life easier.  This encompasses a lot of tips for first-time professionals: dress well (so your boss doesn’t have to explain you to others), be knowledgeable about the business (so you can actually carry on a conversation and add value), etc.  All of these boil down to one thing: doing your job exceptionally results in your boss’s life being easier.

In order to do this, you need to hone your “simplicity” skills.  Taking something complicated and being able to straightforward give facts is an invaluable skill.  Your boss (and others who are invariably watching you) will notice that you’re the one to go to for answers.  Simplistic isn’t skewing the facts or being lazy, it’s being able to sift through jargon with an awareness of what is relative to the business and thus valuable to the C-suite.

The second step is the ability to analyze the simplistic data and provide a suggestion.  Your boss will love getting hard facts and a suggestion on what to do.  They may not like the idea, but by hearing “no” and reasons why you will learn something.  You’ll also be seen as someone who is willing to take risks and think outside the box.

“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.”

-Charles Mingus

In HR, we not only need to make things simplistic for our fellow managers, but also for the employees.  Taxes, benefits, policies… these things are all daunting to employees, especially new hires.  Knowing how to give complete, simple, concise information is key to achieving your own goals.

Too Much Information

Have your notices concerning the new Health Insurance Marketplace been sent out yet?  If not, you have a whopping 11 more days to distribute them!!

Things like this make me nervous.  I hate sending out information to our employees that they 1) are not going to understand and 2) will freak out over because they think we’re messing with their health insurance.  Unfortunately, this also falls during Open Enrollment for me.  Our new insurance starts on Oct 1… and no decisions have been made yet.  None.  We don’t know what we’re going to do.  So the employees are unsure about their medical plans, I have two pregnant employees who are literally due any day now, and I have no answers for them regarding their benefits.  Now I have to send out a notice about the Marketplace and confuse them even more.  

Regardless, the notice is required by law so I’m sending it out.  Key points for minimizing the damage to be done:

• I’m warning them it’s coming out.  I will be distributing the notice with their pay stubs tomorrow, so today I will send out a company-wide e-mail letting them know it’s a required notice but it has absolutely NO BEARING on our renewal and we are NOT suggesting everyone goes to get their own plan.
• They freak out anyway.  The e-mail will cause a frenzy, so I have dedicated time today to speak with everyone and unruffle feathers.  I realize in a large company this is absolutely not possible (I only have about 48 employees to unruffle).  In that case I would have met with the managers.  Stolen ten minutes out of the last managerial staff meeting to explain that this notice is coming out but it doesn’t change our employee benefits.
• Stress that it is important information, but no action is required.  It’s not critical to them to understand exactly how the Marketplace works or to research every plan out there.  If they’re happy with our benefits, then they can stay with our plan and no surprise penalties are in store for them.  There are some who will want to research every minute detail, but that’s on them.  A good chunk will just want reassurance that they don’t actually have to go to the Marketplace.

Anything the employees don’t understand is scary.  Throwing too much information at them is a dangerous thing.  No matter how long your company has been around, everyone feels instability during the economic recovery.  HR is the Change Agent that needs to do everything they can to make transitions seamless and easy.  My philosophy is this: be extremely knowledgeable.  Know everything you can about changes and be ready to answer questions.  Those who need reassurance will be comforted by your confidence and those who want the research will be happy you know your stuff.  We are changing lives by making changes easier.

Investigating a Complaint

HR handles a lot of traffic and a good chunk of it is complaints.  The key to being an effective HR Pro is to be able to sift through all the whining and get to a legitimate problem that needs a solution.  Experience at a company will tell you which employees have actual complaints and which ones consistently must whine or they blow up, but how do you differentiate them?  I am an efficient individual, I like to get to the point quickly, digest the information, and make a decision quickly.  I’ve found one question that cuts to the heart of whether a conversation is going to result in a legitimate complaint:

“What would you suggest as a solution?”

People who like to whine don’t have solutions.  Or their solutions are so embarrassingly unrealistic that they give up halfway through their explanation.  A slightly raised eyebrow will end their commentary, a few of these encounters will teach them that you are not going to just endlessly listen to them.

Those with legitimate complaints have often already thought of a solution.  They try to present the problem so that you’ll come to the same conclusion they have.  If you ask this question and their solution is not workable, continue digging for more information.  Oftentimes they’ll withhold selective information that would lead to a different solution than the one they want, so if you can find out all the details you can work on an answer together.  Asking this question of these employees will help them feel empowered in their role, guiding them to something that is workable will teach them more about the company’s strategy and your goals as a manager or HR Pro.

The benefits of listening to employees are endless… just don’t let their complaining be endless as well.

Empathy

Once upon a time I had an employee request bereavement leave for her grandfather’s death.  She was a very young 18 and clearly distraught.  I was not much older than her at the time and could relate because I had lost both of my grandfathers.  She was near hysteria as we were discussing the specifics.  I assured her I would take care of everything with minimal action required on her part, don’t worry about your position or what’s happening here, just grieve and keep in touch if you would like to extend your leave with vacation time.  At this point in the conversation she said, “Three days should be enough.  He was castrated so there will just be a small memorial service.”  My initial reaction was one of disbelief… WHAT did I just hear?!?!?!!  Luckily my next reaction was not to laugh, I simply mumbled something about being sorry for her loss and reassuring her I would take care of everything.  Later, during a department meeting surrounded by my very supportive and disbelieving HR fellows, I was laughing so hard I was crying.  This poor girl was so distraught and clearly had no idea that the word she was searching for was cremated not castrated.  

Employees have a wide range of issues.  Once you’ve been in HR for awhile you’ve seen them all… from the individual who has the sixth family member diagnosed with cancer to the one who calls in sick because their hamster has a cough.

Don’t ever laugh at them.

It sounds ridiculous, but it needs to be said.  You’re there to gain and keep employees’ trust.  The only time they ever speak to you may be when they’re having their first child or inquiring about catastrophic insurance for a spouse’s terminal illness.  For the most important times of their lives, HR is there.  It doesn’t matter if you think it’s ridiculous that they need a day off because their dog ran away and they’re traumatized.  It’s important to them and you need to give them respect in their time of need.  These are the times you reach out to your HR network and share your disbelief with a sympathetic HR Pro.

What mind-boggling requests/accommodations have you received?

Raising Employees

YES… I have actually seen an employee do this

Handling employees is akin to raising children.  There are rules to follow and if you let them get away with ignoring the rules they will learn that nothing you say matters.  How do you deal with a three year old in a full-blown tantrum?  Time-out is one way.  What is the grown up equivalent of that?  Suspension.  You get the idea.  Just as I have to parent each of my children differently, care should be taken when discussing corrective action with each employee.  The difference is that adults SHOULD be old enough to understand that the rules are applied fairly to everyone and the consequences are the same for everyone, but sometimes they don’t.  Worst case scenario… when one parent undermines the other.  This also happens in business.  HR says you must follow the rules and the manager vetoes the corrective action.  It’s infuriating and can lead to the HR Pro having a tantrum of their own.

Sorry, Charlie.  You cannot.

HR has to be the bigger person.  Always.  Learn how to get your point across better next time, or learn a different way of handling this particular manager or employee.  If it is a big issue or a continuing one you may want to take it to the manager’s boss.  Have your facts in order, do your investigation thoroughly, examine all points of view and make a recommendation.  You’re not going to win every battle, but if you are prepared you will retain your credibility even in a loss.  In HR your credibility is your most valuable asset.  Maintain it at all costs.

Releasing EEs into the Wild

You’ve hired a new employee.  You’ve trained them, given them the tools necessary to do their job.  You’ve checked on them at one week, then two weeks, then a month.  They seem to be getting the hang of things, they may be a little slow still but they’re learning.  You’re ecstatic and congratulating the team on doing such a wonderful job incorporating this new individual.  Then it starts, right around the 60 day mark.  First a complaint here or there regarding mistakes.  Little things.  Then it becomes more frequent, mistakes get larger or compounded.  The reports show this individual is doing right around 10-20% of the work while their counterpart is taking the rest.  After speaking with those who interact with this individual, you’ve pinpointed a few key items to work on.  You sit with the troubled employee, coach them, set clear expectations.  The next week dawns with them making marked improvements on Monday, then they show up half an hour late on Tuesday and seem to spend the day in another land.

When do you release them back into the wild?

There’s no perfect formula.  You’ve done what you can and they’re just not cut out for the position.  Before terminating, consider these key questions:

• Have you given them the right training and tools to be successful?
• Would more training or time to work on their shortcomings help?
• Do they have the right skills?  Can these skills be developed?
• Is babysitting them through the process worth it, or do you need to just cut your losses and move on?

Recently I had this situation.  Ultimately I decided to cut our losses.  The individual was just not cut out for the position we had them in and I didn’t have anywhere else to put them.  Each situation is different and each employee is different.  Sometimes releasing them back into the wild to help them find a better fit is the best way to change their life.

HR is the Answer

Our Director of PT recently brought up The E Myth Revisited as a must-read for our Board of Directors.  As a Board, we have all read the book and are going to work on the action items listed within to help revitalize our business as we anticipate tremendous growth within the next few months.

The book and the concepts within are fantastic.  If we can all get on the same page and all work towards the same goals we can realize amazing success.  As I’m reading through this book, for the second time to make sure I didn’t miss anything, the only thought I have is “HR 101”.  Setting up the business, creating positions for the work that needs to be done, dividing it up according to each individual’s strengths, setting standards and processes for each transaction, policies for everyone to follow… all of these things I learned in college.  Because I had graduated with my AS before I graduated high school, the concepts contained in this book were introduced to an 18 year old who was then taught how to implement them.  Building a business goes back to the basics of HR, which translates nicely into HR’s strategic role.  HR doesn’t need a “seat at the table” or to be invited as part of the “strategic planning” for the company.  We ARE the strategic planning.  If HR is doing their job right, the company is a well-tuned, efficient little money machine.  So what if the CEO doesn’t buy into your ideas, or your managers aren’t implementing what you’ve put forth?  Sell them on it.  That’s part of HR, too.  When you understand the business and the mission and the objectives, use your HR know-how to improve and streamline it.  Experience has taught me that there is always a way to be stealthy when changing a company, whether you’re changing a vendor or a culture.  Not only that there’s a way, but that stealth is necessary.  Call it manipulation.  Call it conniving.  Call it whatever you want.  Just do it for the greater good.