The Art of Hiring Smart
By Joyce Moed, Reporter

ORLANDO, Fla.- What is a good hire? What are the costs involved in hiring a new employee? What is a behavioral interview?

These questions were answered during the "The Art of Hiring Smart" session on June 14th as part of the Florida Credit Union League’s 73rd Annual Convention and Exposition. The convention took place from June 13th to 16th at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes.

Barbara Bauer, vice president of the Omnia Group, which specializes in management and personnel consultations, began the interactive session with a discussion about the costs involved with hiring a new employee. Together with the audience of credit union professionals, it was determined that the average cost of a hire, for the position of teller or member service representative, equaled about $7,680–taking into account: advertising for the open position, the manager’s time conducting interviews, background testing, drug testing, orientation/training and the salary during the usual 90-day probationary period. Upper management positions are more costly as they often including temporary housing and relocation.

"That’s a big number." Bauer said. She offered advice on ways that may lead to hiring the correct person to avoid having that $7,680 be repeated for the same position.

One thing employers can do, she said, is prescreen applicants better during the interview process.
"Two-thirds of applicants have an error or omission on their resume," Bauer said. "A good interview question is ‘Have you had any jobs not on your resume?’"

Another way to avoid a fast turnover rate is "you really want to take a look at your environment," she said. "Why do you think they leave?"

Bauer stressed that most people do not leave because they are switching careers. "People leave people," she said.

So what is a good hire?

"Someone who knows how to do the job, rather than how to get the job," Bauer said. "Someone who delivers on expectations in a specific time."

Before hiring anyone for any position, Bauer said there are always five questions an employers need to ask themselves: 1) Can we do this job differently or with another employee? 2) Why should anyone want to work for us? 3) Would you work for this manager? 4) How will we know that we hired the right person? 5) What are we going to do to make sure this new employee is successful?

Once those questions are answered, you can start the hiring process, Bauer said. This process includes: identifying the traits you are looking for, advertising for the position, reviewing resumes and conducting interviews.

When advertising the position, there are many venues to consider, Bauer said, including: looking internally, employee referrals, newspaper and/or Internet announcements, scouting, job fairs, walk-ins and local colleges/vocational schools.

Before conducting the in-person interview, Bauer suggests a telephone pre-screening. If all goes well during the pre-screening, it’s time to bring in your best candidates for in-person interviews. Bauer stressed the importance of knowing the off-limit interview questions, which includes such subjects as the job candidate’s marital status, living situation, religious affiliation, political views and health issues.

The process should include two types of interviews, Bauer said, one being the "traditional interview" and the other the "behavior interview." A traditional interview consists of the interviewer asking the prospective employee a series of questions. The behavioral interview consists of more of a talking session, with the interviewer listening 80 percent of the time, and speaking only 20 percent of the time.

Once the interviews are complete and you hire the best person for the position, the final, often overlooked, step is choosing their start date.

"Don’t have someone start on your busiest day," Bauer said. "If your busiest day is Monday, have them start on Tuesday."

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