Learn from hiring mistakes of other companies

Failing to invest the needed time, however, will result in unnecessary expenses and numerous problems that take up even more time.

The following true stories from Ozarks employers are meant to illustrate what not to do when hiring. Each of these companies has learned – or is still learning – the hard way, but other companies can avoid having to do so.

Opposites don’t attract

In one establishment, the owner decided to hire a general manager whose strengths equated to the owner’s weaknesses and whose weaknesses matched the owner’s strengths. The owner believed that together, they would make an unstoppable pair.

Instead, the owner ended up firing the general manager because he didn’t like him and hated working with him. The owner forgot a basic rule: We like people who are like us.

Bait-and-switch interviews

One company in the Ozarks has a unique concept for filling a high-level, professional position. A completely different job description than the job the applicant applied for is given to him. If the applicant is interested in the different job, he receives high ratings in flexibility and is hired for the job for which he actually applied.

As one might guess, most job seekers who experience this process are not interested and seriously question how management makes other decisions.

The stress interview, popular in the 1970s, produces similar results. The concept consists of a group interview, with each person speaking and behaving in manners designed to induce a high stress for a candidate. If the candidates answer the questions well in spite of the stress, they are given high ratings in stress management. After the interviews, they are told they were the unwitting participants in a stress interview, and everyone in the organization is actually very friendly and nice.

Job seekers in today’s job market won’t be interested in positions when these techniques are employed. First impressions really do count. The few Ozark enterprises still utilizing this system must interview an inordinate number of individuals to fill one position. So much time is spent that the staff participating as interviewers are unable to execute work that might have generated sales.

Moving too fast

Another favorite – but wrong – hiring style among Ozarks corporations is to hire anyone who walks through the door. This method is referred to as warm-body hiring. The lack of patience to wait for the right person results in hiring an associate who will increase errors, overtime and stress, as well as decrease production, sales and customer satisfaction.

In the end, warm-body hires will be coached, disciplined and terminated, wasting precious management time and business revenue.

Missing the boat

Another common scenario that impacts revenue is to leave a job open and not hire a great candidate who has just been interviewed until more choices are available. Unfortunately, it is hard to find a good worker in this area who will remain with a business any length of time. While waiting for other choices to come along, you will lose the great candidate to a company knowing a key rule in selection: It only takes one.

Don’t play (too) nice

The Ozarks is known for being populated with friendly folks. One company hired a man and within two weeks knew he should be fired. In order to be nice, not hurt his feelings and avoid confrontation, he was not fired for 10 years. In the meantime, he decreased morale to a record low and significantly interfered with teamwork due to his negative attitude. Hardly anyone had spoken to him during the two years prior to his termination, and when he left, his co-workers threw a party.

Some organizations follow Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity, which is to keep doing what they have always done and expecting different results. One corporation had a manager with a 25-year record of hiring unsuccessful sales representatives. After obtaining professional assistance, the right people were hired and the establishment now boasts sales in the millions.

Making selection mistakes has damaging repercussions, but the good news is that by learning from the mistakes of others, hiring problems can be avoided.

Lynne Haggerman, M.S., is president/owner of Haggerman & Associates, a firm specializing in management training, retained search, outplacement and human resource consulting. She can be reached at lynne@haggermanandassociates.com.