Smart Choices: How to Hire the Right People

In the best selling book, Good to Great, Jim Collins writes, “Those who build great companies understand that the ultimate throttle on growth for any great company is not markets, or technology, or competition, or products. It is one thing above all others: the ability to get and keep enough of the right people.”

To hire the right people, you must develop effective selection skills. Conducting a job interview looks easier than it is. According to studies based on the employment records of thousands of management and line employees, little or no correlation exists between the “positive reports” that emerge from the typical job interview and the job performance of the candidates who receive those glowing reports. However, this correlation goes up dramatically whenever interviewing becomes a structured, well-planned process – one that’s integrated into an organization’s overall staffing practices.

Over the years, I have conducted numerous interviews and trained managers on effective interviewing and selection techniques. Following are a few tips to help you get started.

Before The Interview

Know what you need – Determine the key competencies required for the job before you interview a candidate. Write a job description and ask your coworkers for feedback. Create a list of questions for the interview. For example, if you are hiring someone for your business office, think about the type of questions that will help you determine whether the person has good nonprofit accounting knowledge and organizational skills.

Advertise the position – Don’t just advertise in your local newspaper – cast your net even further!

Look at what works – What personality traits make someone a good fit for your culture? Is your organization laid back or formal? Do people work 9 to 5 or around the clock? Ask questions that will help you determine whether the candidate will adapt well to your organization’s culture.

Schedule multiple interviews – Conduct 15 minute telephone interviews to screen out inappropriate candidates. Schedule the staff members who will work one-on-one with the candidate to interview the top candidates. Ask for their feedback.

During The Interview

Ask the right questions – Dig deep to find out whether candidates more comfortable with details or the big picture. Are they a self-starter or an order-taker? Create questions that will give you the answers you need. If time management skills are required, for instance, you might want to ask, “What is your method for organizing your day?” Compare what each candidate says to determine who is strongest in this area.

Close your mouth and open your ears – Too often interviewers turn an interview into a “grocery list” of their wants and needs. Ask focused questions, and then listen carefully. Take notes.

Go with your gut – If you did your homework – that is, determined the key job requirements and asked questions that would ascertain the skills required – the hiring decision should be a natural next step.

Organize your notes – After conducting all the interviews, I recommend using a simple grid to help choose the best candidate. Simply put the names of each candidate horizontally and put the job requirements or key competencies vertically. Then make up a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest rating. Rate each candidate from 1 to 5 on each of the job requirements or competencies. The person with the highest ratings is probably your best choice.

Above all else – Consider input from each of the interviewers, and trust your collective judgment. Put aside any and all stereotypes, and select the best person for the job.

The Bullies Have Left the Playground

If you have ever experienced an office bully, if your strained relationship makes you feel unproductive, and if you go to work with a knot in your stomach, then you are not alone. In 2013, the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) reported that 35 percent of the U.S. workforce has experienced workplace bullying. Bullies yell, spread rumors, roll their eyes, or purposely forget to invite you to meetings. According to WBI, workplace bullying is “repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons, by one or more perpetrators in the form of verbal abuse, offensive conduct/behavior, and work interference.

Rakesh Malhotra, founder of Five Global Values, writes, “Most bullies portray themselves … as polite and respectful, as they are charming in public.” Bullies often see themselves as the victim and don’t get or care how they make others feel.

“The biggest problem I have at work,” one bully says, “is that I don’t get respect from others.”

When bullies run amok in the workplace, they can cause emotional and psychological turmoil. Dr. Gary Namie, who is leading a campaign to enact the Healthy Workplace Bill, which requires employers to implement policies and procedures to prevent workplace bullying, says victims can suffer from “hypertension, auto-immune disorders, depression, anxiety and … have their work and career disrupted.” According to one victim, “I did not go to the satellite office for months because I did not want to see the bully.”

To learn more about workplace bullying, The Lindenberger Group, a human resources firm based in New Jersey, conducted written surveys and interviews last year with 121 participants, ages 20 to 65, representing companies with 50 to more than 5,000 employees and from a variety of industries.

More than 80 percent of respondents said they believe that bullying is a serious problem, but fewer than 25 percent of companies do anything about it.

Bullying includes swearing, shouting, humiliation, and unwarranted criticism and blame. According to one victim, “I had to do an errand, so I left the office and locked the door. When the bully could not get in, she called me on my cell phone, cursed at me, and threatened to have me fired. The next day another employee showed the bully that she had the key to the office on her key chain. She never apologized. Her response was just ‘Oh, silly me.’”

In the study, more than 50 percent of respondents witnessed or were victims of bullying in their current workplace (the number jumped to 60 percent when citing a previous company).

More than 95 percent of victims reported increased stress, and 90 percent reported lower job satisfaction. Other effects include health complaints (65.4 percent) and lower productivity (57.9 percent).

According to the data collected, respondents said men are bullies more often (55 percent) and women are victims most of the time (77.1 percent). Most victims (59.3 percent) and bullies (68.6 percent) polled are ages 41-60, which leads to an interesting question: Will millennials (born 1977-92), known to “play well with others,” be less prone to bullying?

Another finding is that most bullies (77.6 percent) are at a level above the victim. In the movie The Devil Wears Prada, the bullying boss is described as being “not happy unless everyone around her is panicked, nauseous, or suicidal.”

The majority of respondents (78.2 percent) stated that no actions were taken to correct bullying. However, when action is taken, coaching is the preferred strategy (50 percent) followed by termination (38.9 percent).

Most respondents believe that bullies have psychological issues (88.1 percent), while others see bullying as career driven: to weed out competition (60.3 percent) or get ahead (52.4 percent). One victim states, “Our office bully needs to learn to control her temper and stop throwing people under the bus.”

Eighty percent said they favor laws to prevent workplace bullying but believe that laws have not been passed because employers worry about lawsuits (63 percent) or don’t understand differences between bullying and harassment (59.7 percent). Bullying can be directed at anyone regardless of race, religion, nationality, gender, age, disability, or skin color. Harassment is treating someone differently because of those differences.

More than 90 percent said they think that discipline is the best course of action, 88.8 percent favor policies, 86.4 percent want to know how to report bullying, and 84.8 percent favor training. According to one executive, “It’s important to take complaints seriously and act quickly.

The course of action for human resource professionals is clear: Develop policies, provide training, let employees know how to report bullying, offer coaching, and create exit strategies. The course of action for managers is also clear: Take complaints seriously and follow through with disciplinary action.

Mentoring and Millennials

In their book, The 2020 Workplace, Jeannie C. Meister and Karie Willyerd report that the top three things Millennials want from their bosses is straight feedback, coaching and mentoring, and personal development. There is a danger in not providing these kinds of learning experiences in your organization as one in four Millennials anticipate leaving their present employer or work setting within the next year and one in three Millennials admit they are not putting their full energies into their current job.

A Case Study for Managing Millennials

Jack was hired four months ago to work in research and development for a company that specializes in health care products. Jack graduated from college last June and this is his first professional job. He was assigned to a few projects and has done a good job so far. Because Jack has expressed a desire to take on more responsibility, his boss, Karen, asks him to take on lead for researching a new product. Jack is psyched … this is his opportunity to show what he’s got. After a couple of days, Jack has researched a lot of information from specialized magazines, on the Internet, and by connecting with college friend through Linked In and Twitter. He wants to meet with Karen to ask her some questions and keep the momentum going but she has been traveling and sends him a few quick emails in response that don’t really answer his questions. Frustrated, Jack posts on his Linked In page and his Twitter update “My boss is useless … not answering my questions so it’s keeping me from getting my work done.”

What mistakes did Karen make in managing her new Millennial employee, Jack? First, she should have let Jack know the company policy on using social media to be critical of the company. Next, for a new project like this, where Jack will have a lot of learning, she might have had him work in a team with more experienced researchers. And, because she won’t always be around to give Jack on demand coaching and counsel, she could assign him a mentor.

According to Bob Canalosi, chief learning officer of General Electric Health Care, a top leadership competency needed in the 2020 workplace is to be a “legendary builder of people and teams.” Canalosi explains this as “coaching and mentoring both face-to-face and virtually; challenging people to achieve more than they believed they could.” Marshall Goldsmith, executive educator and coach, also predicts that a top competency for leaders of the future will be “sharing leadership.”

The Millennial Generation, born between 1977 and 1998, are the latest generation to enter the workplace. They are 75 million strong in size and are characterized as being self-confident, focused on learning and moving up quickly, team-oriented, well networked, and technologically savvy.

Millennials have one other thing in common: no matter how smart and confident they are, because they are new to the professional workplace, they need and want mentoring. In addition, the timeline for leadership development is ramping up. Millennials may be thrust into leadership roles faster than any other leaders in the last thirty years, as there are not nearly enough Gen X workers to fill the ranks of the departing Baby Boomers. The good news is that they want to be leaders.

Traditional mentoring, long renowned for its success is developing leaders, is typically a relationship between someone more experienced with someone less experienced. “Mentoring,” says author Gordon Shea, “is a fundamental form of human development where one person invests time, energy and personal know-how in assisting the growth and ability of another person.” There are several different ways that you can incorporate mentoring into your workplace.

Years ago, Jack Welch realized that General Electric was falling behind other companies in its use of the internet as a business tool, so he instituted a “reverse mentoring” program at GE. He required more than 500 of his top executives to find a younger, tech-savvy “Web mentor” to teach them how to use the web and understand e-business. Organizations from Proctor and Gamble to the Seattle Public Schools have implemented reverse mentoring programs to help them understand technology, business trends, and pop culture. And, Wharton School of Business requires older MBA candidates with long resumes to partner with younger, full-time students.

Reverse mentoring can be used to teach today’s senior leaders how to use social media to connect with customers. It’s also an effective way to give your Millennial employees a window into the higher levels of the organization, so that when the older mentors retire, the younger generation has a better understanding of the business.

The beauty of reverse mentoring comes from the fact that Millennials thrive on relationships. Powerful relationships are created when younger employers are engaged in teaching senior employees. Because Millennials love sharing their ideas and want to know that they are being heard, if you invite them to give you constructive feedback, you can gain a different perspective and help them learn leadership skills. Reverse mentoring can benefit both Millennials and the organizations they work for.

In a group mentoring environment the mentor works with a larger group than the one-on-one relationship used in the reverse mentoring approach. There are several different types of group mentoring. For example, in facilitated group mentoring, the group may hire an outside expert to facilitate discussion on a topic they want to learn more about. Peer group mentoring brings together peers with similar development needs. Participants present a problem or issue and the other members of the group respond to the problem or issue. The collective wisdom of the group is harnessed to solve problems and value is created for all group members. In team group mentoring, the team defines mutual learning goals and works with one or more mentors who facilitate their learning.

We See The World Global Peer Mentoring Project is a collaboration between Communities in Schools of New Jersey Mentoring Success Center and YouthWorks CIC in Belfast, Ireland. High school students meet with youth from across the globe and discuss topics like human rights and education. The program encourages students to share experiences and learn through video conferencing, social media video and other technology. Following the recent political events in Egypt, they connected with teens there to learn from one another.

Millennials want opportunities to interact with and learn from their peers. Group mentoring may offer these workers a familiar, comfortable setting in which they can interact with peers, while at the same time receive guidance and support from a more senior person. And, group mentoring can be built around electronic communications platforms like Skype, web casts, etc.

Anonymous/on demand mentoring is generally used to move “high potential” individuals to their next level of achievement. This process is often anonymous – the protégé may not know who the mentor is – and commonly uses outside or third party experts selected by the company. Protégés are matched with trained mentors through psychological testing and background reviews.

There are many benefits of an anonymous mentoring relationship including a higher level of discloser and candid interaction. The anonymity frees up the mentor, who may have learned a lot from his or her mistakes and therefore may be more comfortable sharing his or her war stories anonymously. Another benefit is that it ensures that mentors have an agenda-free interest in the protégé’s professional development. And, the protégé may be more willing to open up and discuss problems and uncertainties they experience when their identity is anonymous.

Time zone, issues of geography and culture differences also tend to be less important in anonymous/on demand mentoring as the communication between mentors and protégés is entirely online. This mentoring option is perfect for Millennials, who are technologically-savvy and want timely information and feedback.

Traditional one-on-one mentoring is still a powerful way to develop Millennials. One-on-one mentoring gives them practice with one-on-one interactions and affords them personal attention, feedback, and the opportunity to share and challenge ideas. Millennials like structure and stability, so one-on-one mentoring should include scheduled meetings, clear and consistent communication, and a more take-charge attitude from mentors. Being authentic is important to Millennials; mentors must lead by example. Mentors can invite their protégés to shadow them, have protégés observe them conduct a meeting or presentation, give protégés recommendations of e-books to read, and check in with protégés from time to time just to see how they are doing.

One-on-one mentoring can utilize new technologies such as conducting meetings via Skype, introducing your protégé to others via Twitter, inviting your protégé to participate in Webinars you conduct, or writing on your blog about your protégé.

One of the quickest ways to sabotage a mentoring relationship, for either partner, is to lose trust. Transparency and confidentiality must be discussed such as setting boundaries about what conversations are private and what can be shared with others.

Mentoring is an affordable, creative and smart tool to tap into the talents of your Millennial workers, engage them in your company, ready them for future leadership roles, and meet the challenges of the 2020 workplace.

Fifty Ways to Lose Your Employees

“People join companies but leave managers” is a common quote. A study done by the Saratoga Institute found that the relationship a worker has with his or her immediate boss is the main reason why people stay or quit a job. And, The Corporate Leadership Council noted that the quality of management is extremely important in retaining key talent.

In other words, managers play a crucial role in employee retention. Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordon-Evans, authors of Love ’em or Lose ’em, a wonderful resource on retention, write that the best managers, whose employees want to keep working for them, do several things well. According to Kaye and Jordon-Evans, good managers provide their employees with honest feedback, respect differences, listen, empower their workers, and create an enjoyable work environment.

So, in tune with the lyrics of the Paul Simon song, Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover, here are what you need to do to keep, not lose, your employees:

1.      Slip out the back, Jack.  As Kaye and Jordon-Evans suggest. empower your employees. Create a strategic vision and communicate it. Develop clear job descriptions. Ask employees for their input and ideas. Then let them do their job and get out of the way.

2.      Make a new plan, Stan. Describe your company culture in job ads. Interview job candidates for fit. And conduct reference checks with fit in mind.

3.      You don’t need to be coy, Roy. Link vacation time and stock options to tenure. Reward good performance.

4.      Just set yourself free. Communicate changes ahead of time so employees know what is coming down the pike, why change is happening, and how those changes will affect them. Anticipate and expect questions.

5.      Hop on the bus, Gus. Provide new employees with social onboarding activities that will help them get to know their co-workers like treasure hunts, tours, meet and greets, company training, buddy programs, and mentoring programs.

6.      You don’t need to discuss much. Offer a competitive compensation package so employees won’t be seduced away by higher wages and better benefits.

7.      Just drop off the key, Lee. Provide training and development to allow employees to learn new skills.

8.      And get yourself free. Last, go back to what the research says and train your managers on the skills needed to retain top talent … like providing helpful performance feedback, being a good listener, respecting differences, and creating a satisfying workplace.

I am curious. What are your top retention strategies? In your experience, what works best and what doesn’t work so well?

Everything You Need to Know … About Employee Handbooks

Employee handbooks should be designed to do more than just communicate information and answer routine questions; your handbook should help you achieve your organizational goals and objectives. Thus, while a list of rules of conduct and a summary of benefits are important information, you should evaluate your handbook on its ability to help your organization meet its objectives.

One purpose of your employee handbook is to help you attract and retain employees. Your employee handbook should help your employees answer — hopefully in the affirmative — two important questions: “Why should I work here?” and “Why should I continue working here?”  If your employees are not receiving a positive message about your organization, your handbook is not doing its job.

Your handbook should also help convey useful information about hours of work, paydays, leaves of absence, and benefits. More importantly, your handbook should help create an atmosphere of trust and respect and give your employees a sense of belonging.

At the same time, your employee handbook must help you comply with your legal obligations and ethical requirements. It must also help you protect management’s right to make changes and adapt the organization’s policies and programs as needed.

Since your organization and its employees are affected by all of your written and unwritten policies and procedures, you should ensure that your employee handbook incorporates as many of your organization’s written and unwritten policies and procedures as practical. You must further ensure that your handbook communicates top management’s commitment to your policies. As a result, your handbook will promote consistency and assist you in preventing claims of disparate treatment.

You should regularly assess your employee handbook, not only from the standpoint of how well it communicates policies and procedures, but also from the standpoint of how well it helps you achieve your organization’s goals and objectives. Employee handbooks that fail to help your organization succeed in these areas should be rewritten.

Below is a recommended list of employee handbook topics:

SECTION ONE: GENERAL EMPLOYMENT POLICIES

This is where you define the basic policies that explain how, when and where your employees are expected to work. You may want to include the following information in this section:

Purpose of Handbook
Vision and Mission
At-Will Nature of Employment
This Handbook is not a Contract Statement
Reservation of Rights Statement
Statement of Non-Discrimination
Sexual and Other Unlawful Harassment Policy
Disability Accommodation Policy
Business Ethics and Conduct Expectations
Ownership of Work Materials Policy
Conflict of Interest Policy
Whistle Blower Policy
Access to Personnel Files Policy
Non-Disclosure (Confidentiality) Policy

All of these elements are important in their own way. Without a non-disclosure agreement, your employee could breach confidentiality and have no idea that they were not supposed to discuss a topic outside of work. Without a conflict of interest policy, you might have an employee seek a business relationship with another organization that puts your operation at risk, yet have no recourse as your policy was not spelled out. Therefore, it is important to include most, if not all, of the sections above in your employee handbook.

SECTION TWO: EMPLOYMENT STATUS

This is another category that is important in your employee handbook. You may want to include the following two sections:

Introductory Period: if you wish to have a “trial” period for new employees, define what that period will look like and how long it will last.

Employment Categories: what does it mean for someone to be defined as temporary, part-time, full-time, exempt, non-exempt, etc.?

SECTION THREE: RECRUITING AND HIRING

Your employee handbook should lay out the ins and outs of your employees’ legal obligations during their employment at your organization as well as your process for recruiting and onboarding. At a minimum, you need to cover your policy on eligibility to work in the U.S. The following categories are also recommended, but not required:

Job Posting and Employee Referrals Process
Employment Applications Process
Employment Reference Checks Policy
Policy on Employment of Relatives
Relocation Expense Policy
Process for Reemployment of Former Staff Members
Employment Offer Policy
Position Descriptions
Promotion Policy
Transfer Policy

SECTION FOUR: COMPENSATION AND SALARY ADMINISTRATION

Include the following items in this section:

Timesheet Policy
Overtime Policy
Pay Periods

These items are also recommended:

Compensation Philosophy
Pay Deductions and Setoffs Policy
Direct Deposit Process
Personnel Data Changes Process
Administrative Pay Corrections Policy
Compensatory Time Off Policy
Pay Advance Policy

SECTION FIVE: GENERAL WORKPLACE POLICIES

What time should I show up for work? What is the dress code? How many breaks can I take? Spell this out. In order to ensure the best work ethic and safe work environment, you may want to include the following sections in your employee handbook:

Working Hours
Attendance and Punctuality Expectations
Safety Protocols
Workplace Violence Prevention
Smoking in the Workplace
Drugs in the Workplace
Security Inspection Policy
Acceptance of Gifts, Gratuities, and Services Policy
Authorization to Sign Contracts & Agreements
Communication with the Press

These items can also be helpful:

Work Breaks Policy
Lactation Breaks Policy
Emergency Closings Policy
Flexible Work Arrangements
Personal Appearance/Dress Code
Open Door Policy
Housekeeping Policy
Visitors in the Workplace
Children in the Workplace
Staff Travel Recommendations
Corporate Credit Card Policy
Political Activity Policy
Solicitation Policy
Confidentiality Policy

SECTION SIX: EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PROGRAMS

You may want to include some or all of the following items in this section, depending on your specific benefits package:

Benefits Overview
Medical/Dental/Vision Benefits
Flexible Spending Accounts
Transit/Commuting Benefits
Life Insurance/Disability Benefits
EAP
Retirement Savings Plan
Statutory Benefits (Workers Compensation, Social Security, Unemployment)
Education Assistance
Benefits Continuation

SECTION SEVEN: LEAVE

By creating guidelines of when it is appropriate to paid time off (PTO), vacation, or sick days, your employees will be better able to manage their leave time. Include the following sections in your employee handbook:

Holidays
Vacation Policy
Sick Leave Policy
FMLA/State FMLA
Military Leave Policy
Jury Duty

The following items can also be helpful:

Personal Leave Policy
Bereavement Leave Policy
Parental Leave Policy
Medical Leave Policy
Pregnancy-Related Absences
Unpaid Leaves of Absence
Court Leave
Other State-defined Mandated Leaves
Severe Weather and Emergency Situations
Overtime

SECTION EIGHT: ORGANIZATIONAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY

Every organization is different as to whether they allow their employees to use their phone or computer at work, and whether they supply their employees with these tools.  Include the following policies in this section:

Document Retention Policy
Phone and Mail Systems Policy
Computer and Email Usage Policy
Social Media Policy
Smart Phone Issuance and Use While Driving

The following items can also be helpful in this section:

Personal Property
General Use of Equipment
Internet Usage Policy
Use of Cell Phones Policy
Business Expense Reimbursement
Company Vehicles

SECTION NINE: EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AND WORKPLACE CONDUCT

How do you expect your employees to behave while at work? What qualifies as misconduct? What kind of performance is considered grounds for termination? How will employee performance be evaluated? Include these policies:

Personal Relationships Within the Workplace
Employee Conduct and Work Rules
Progressive Discipline Process
Problem Resolution Process

You may also consider adding the following items in this section:

Outside Employment Policy
Performance Evaluation Process
Employee Relations
Complaint Procedure
Suggestion Program

SECTION TEN: SEPARATION FROM EMPLOYMENT
Include the following items in this section:
Employment Separation
Return of Property
Non-Compete and Conflict of Interest Policy

You may also consider including an item on references for current and former employees.

SECTION ELEVEN: EMPLOYEE ACKNOWLEDGMENT FORM

Employers often worry that their employee handbooks will be used against them in litigation. In particular, you could be concerned that employees will claim that your policies are contracts that must be followed exactly. However, the simple act of putting your policies in writing should not create a binding contract, if the policies are written as guidelines that explain "generally" or "typically" what your requirements are and how employees "normally" will be treated.

Label your “introductory period” policy carefully. Do not use the traditional phrase "probationary period" with its union security clause connotations. Instead, use you might want to use the term, “introductory period”, meaning that the new employee is being introduced to the organization and that both the employee and the company have the opportunity to evaluate fit.

Include a clear at-will statement in the policy. An example of an effective statement is: "Your employment with the Company is considered to be at-will, and the employment relationship may be terminated at any time by either party." Make sure other policies also include appropriate at-will disclaimers. It is not enough to include the at-will statement just in the introductory period policy. You also should have a separate at-will policy and discuss the issue in other policies, such as those addressing hiring, termination, discipline, performance evaluation, and complaint resolution.

No matter the size of your organization, a well-written, up-to-date, legally compliant employee handbook is a best practice that will benefit you and your employees.

Communication Matters

As a human resources consultant, I have conducted many employee surveys over the years to ascertain what employees like about their workplaces and what they think needs to be changed. In many cases, one of the key recommendations from employees to make the workplace better is “provide better communication.”

What do employees want to know about? They want to know before a change occurs that it is coming. They want to know why the change is happening. And most of all, they want to know how it will affect them. If you can get ahead of your communications efforts by providing answers to these questions, your employees will be less stressed, more productive, and your change efforts will be more successful.

According to A Manager’s Guide to Communicating with Employees, “from a communications perspective, employees feel appreciated and valued when:

• §  they are the first to hear important news
• §  they are regularly consulted
• §  they are listened to
• §  their suggestions are acted upon.”

Some of the best ways I have found to communicate with employees are as follows:

• 1.      Send mass emails for communicating information that is timely such as an office closing due to bad weather.
• 2.      Conduct regular staff meetings to discuss department news, delegate work, and share information from senior management.
• 3.      Conduct regular Town Hall meetings, hosted by senior leaders, to provide high-level information about upcoming events or give status updates. Anticipate and welcome questions from your audience.
• 4.      Encourage employees to let you know what’s not working and offer their suggestions for improvement. Create a culture where open communication – the good, the bad and the ugly – is sanctioned.
• 5.      Provide a suggestion box and reward good ideas. Let employees know that suggestions need to be positive, respectful of others, and doable. For example, “Fire my manager” is not an appropriate use of a suggestion box.
• 6.      Walk around the office and be available for spontaneous conversations.
• 7.      Meet regularly with employees, one on one, to discuss their performance.
• 8.      Conduct fun teambuilding exercises and meeting ice-breakers for employees to get to know one another.

Finally, to be a good communicator, make sure that you have been heard. Ask questions to learn if your message has gotten through to your audience. As George Bernard Shaw is quoted as saying: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

I am curious … what are your best ideas for effective workplace communication?

Judy Lindenberger, MBA, is President of The Lindenberger Group, an award-winning human resources consulting firm located in New Jersey (www.lindenbergergroup.com). To contact Judy, call (609) 730-1049 or email info@lindenbergergroup.com

A Case for Conducting Reference Checks

With resume falsification an ongoing concern, many organizations have become more aggressive in conducting reference and background checks. Doing so is a best practice and is not required by law. If you plan to conduct reference and background checks, which I highly recommend you do, here are some pointers to follow.

As a starting point in your reference checking activities, you may want to verify the correct spelling of applicant’s name(s), check for aliases, verify the applicant’s SSN, verify current and previous addresses, and verify the applicant’s home telephone number. Next check information related to educational, business, and professional achievements. You can verify degrees earned, certificates received, and professional designations obtained. And, depending on the nature and requirements of the job, such as bonding or security clearance requirements, the degree of contact with the public, and other factors, check the applicant’s credit history and conduct a criminal conviction check.

Since some references may be reluctant to discuss an employee’s work performance or conduct, it has become common practice to have applicants sign a form, releasing their references from liability for responding to your inquiries.

In my experience, telephone or email inquiries are usually the quickest way to contact references. You could also send a letter on your company stationary requesting a reference. As a rule of thumb, I like to get three references for each qualified job candidate.

Seek only information that is relevant to the position being filled and which will help you to choose the best candidate. Never request or collect information about an applicant — or employee — that you can’t or won’t use. Reference questions about an applicant’s propensity for filing discrimination charges, OSHA and workers’ compensation claims, union grievances, or employment practices lawsuits, for instance, place you on a slippery slope, since you may not be allowed to use this information in making a hiring decision. For example: if you do not hire an applicant after receiving information about previous discrimination claims activity — even though your decision was based on other factors — the EEOC may charge both you and the organization ­that provided you with negative information with unlawful retaliation.

Plan your questions and ask each reference the same list of questions. Give the person time to respond, don’t put words in his or her mouth, and, if you aren’t sure what he or she is trying to say, ask follow up questions. Here are of some of my favorite questions to ask when doing a reference check:

§  How do you know this person? For how long?

§  How would you describe him/her professionally and personally?

§  On a scale of 1 – 10, with 10 being the highest, how would you rate this person on meeting his or her business goals?

§  We all have strengths and areas of weakness. What is his/her greatest strength and biggest challenge?

§  What would you advise me about how to manage him or her?

§  Would you hire this person again? Why or why not?

§  Tell me about this person’s level of integrity.

§  In your opinion, what is this person’s growth potential?

§  Is there anything else I should know?

Given how important each hiring decision is, I believe it makes good sense to spend the extra time to conduct a reference check. What about you? What have been your experiences in conducting reference checks and how has it benefited you?