Volume 19 Number 7 | July 21, 2021
“Have they told what they want you to accomplish during your first 30 or 90 days?” I recently asked an individual who was mulling over the offer of a supervisor’s job.

“All they said was that they want me to develop a relationship with the guys on my team,” he said. “Later, they will lay out their expectations.”

If pushed for more clarification, it’s likely his future boss might have handed over a job description, which would be of dubious value.

I would suggest that the hiring process should not begin with a manager dusting off a five- or 10-year-old job description and looking for someone who can do what’s there. 

Traditional job descriptions are the face of workplaces past, from a time when workers were hired to complete repetitive tasks, which more and more can be completed by robots. 
During Interview Right to Hire Right workshops, I illustrate the common sense of asking about candidates’ past on-the-job performance when hiring. I provide participants with examples of everyday ways people in vastly different contexts rely on what’s happened in the past to make decisions related to the future.

We consider past performance before investing in mutual funds. Horse racing fans consider how horses have performed in the past before putting down their bets. Politicians urge voters to consider their track record (always good) and that of their opponents (always bad) before voting.

A recent article by Edmonton Journal sports writer Bruce McCurdy, comparing the salary and performance of Edmonton Oilers goaltenders Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen, contained an equation that demonstrates the link between workplace hiring and professional sports.

“In the [salary] cap world where ‘Salary = Expectations,’ the two towering tenders each delivered results that were diametrically opposed to those expectations,” McCurdy writes.

Expectations of professional athletes rise as salaries increase. During the just-ended season, Smith exceeded the expectations associated with his relatively modest $1.5 million salary, while Koskinen underperformed what is expected of a goalie paid three times as much—$4.5 million annually.

To place this in the context of hiring, we need to step back from McCurdy’s “Salary = Expectations” premise and consider the basis on which the salaries of professional athletes are negotiated—past performance.
Please provide us with an example of how you have helped an organization save money or become more efficient. 

Why ask about this? Given the opportunity, most staff members could identify ways that would make the organization more lean and efficient. What makes top performers stand out is that they not only identify ways to save money—they take action to implement their ideas.

How candidates may respond and how to score those responses:

Unsatisfactory response (worth a score of 1) – These candidates claim they could have identified ways to save money but didn’t because no one asked.

Acceptable response (score as 3) – These candidates describe ideas they had to save money that they passed on to their supervisors or others who were in positions to implement their suggestions.

Outstanding top-performer response (worth a 5) – These candidates don’t wait for others. When they see ways to save money they act on these ideas. If they lack authority to implement their ideas, they approach their supervisor with their ideas and suggests ways in which to implement their cost-saving measures.

Caution: Each workplace and every manager is unique. Workplace cultures and values are different. There is no such thing as a perfect interview question. Questions that work for one manager may not work for another. Before choosing to use this, or any question, consider whether it fits your unique set of circumstances. Is the question right for you and your work environment? The same is true for the suggested rating scale, which may or may not reflect the culture of your organization or your observations of how your top performers respond to circumstances similar to those described. You should adapt both the question and rating guide to fit your circumstances and leadership style.

During my Interview Right to Hire Right workshops, participants learn to write behaviour description interview (BDI) questions based on their understanding of what makes top performers successful.
Day One: Greet new staff on their first day with a poster that welcomes them. Include a photo and a bit of the newcomer’s background (where they worked previously, where they went to school, hobbies, etc.) to help existing staff get to know them.

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In your responses to letters of resignation, express your appreciation to staff members for their service. Be specific about how the organization benefited from their contributions.

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Appropriate: Ask new staff members to complete an interest sheet when they sign up for benefits. Start building your list with these 7 questions to ask to recognize staff Appropriately plus other questions that you feel will provide clues into how to recognize them in Appropriate ways.

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Off-site: It could be easy to miss recognizing staff you don’t see regularly. Keep off-site workers top of mind with a recognition log. Record whenever you acknowledge their contributions and review your log regularly. How long has it been since you recognized each off-site worker? Is it time to find a reason to praise them for their efforts?

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I like to share examples of staff recognition successes with members of the Briefly Noted community. What works well for you? Please email a description of what happens to nmscott@telus.net and give me permission to share it with others.
CONTACT NELSON SCOTT:
Telephone: 780-232-3828 • Email: nelson@GREATstaffrecognition.com