TrainingABC Blog

We all have biases. It's a natural phenomenon created by our life experiences. What's important is how we handle these biases. We can choose to stereotype and apply our biases to an entire group of people or we can respect the differences people have and accept that others are different. When we accept and respect differences we strengthen the workplace. Diversity is here to stay and if we accept that others are different and avoid stereotyping then our personal and professional lives will be more productive and fulfilling.

Interviewing an employee is one of the most important jobs that a manager will do. All interviews need to have a combination of legal and effective questions that will hire the best candidate and keep the company out of legal jeopardy. Setting the right tone at the beginning of an interview is essential to the whole process.

 

Hiring a new employee can be a legally dangerous situation. Turnover as a result of a bad hire can be costly. Most studies show a cost of about 30% of the employee's annual salary to find a replacement. In addition, interviews can put the company in legal jeopardy if they are not conducted correctly. One of the most important aspects of conducting a legal and effective interview is the preparation. In addition to preparing questions that are legally acceptable, an interviewer needs to make sure that the questions also are sufficient to provide an effective hire.

Change is inevitable. Unfortunately, change can bring about fear, uncertainty and distrust amongst your workforce. These reactions are normal. Most people will feel one if not all of these feelings at some point when faced with change. It's your job as a manager to get them through these tough times. The business world is constantly in flux and it will be a constant challenge for all managers to bring their employees along and through these changes. Here are three ways to help your employees to embrace change.

Turnover is a huge problem in every organization; however some are worse than others. Most estimates say that employee turnover costs from 35% to as much as 100% of an employee's salary. The cost to recruit, interview, hire and train new employees increases every year. Turnover, of course, cannot be fully stopped, but one of the most effective ways to lower it is to higher better employees from the beginning. If you the employee that you hire has the skills, knowledge, ability and desire to do the job you hired them for then there is a much better chance that they won't quit or be terminated. The most effect way to hire a solid, productive, happy employee is through behavior based interviewing.

Facts are the buried treasure of any interview. As an interviewer your main objective is to dig through everything and get the facts that determine if the candidate has the knowledge, skills and ability to do the job you are hiring for effectively. The way to accomplish this is through behavior-based questions. These are questions that are designed to uncover past behaviors that can be used to predict future behaviors.

Discrimination in hiring is prohibited by federal and most state laws and should be avoided at all costs. Individuals who have been discriminated against can seek redress in civil court and it can cost your company dearly in both reputation and dollars. Discrimination is prohibited against the following protected classes or groups: race, national origin, age (40 and over), sex, disability, military service, religion and color. The questions asked during an interview are the most important part of avoiding employment law discrimination. The best way to avoid any mistakes is to ask the same exact questions to every candidate who comes to your business for a job interview.

Note taking is absolutely paramount when conducting an interview. The notes you take will be the only way to verify the facts garnered in the interview. Relying solely on memory will lead to thinking only about impressions. This leads to biases and preconceptions. Whether we realize it or not, everyone has developed biases and even if they are subconscious they can affect the way we view a candidate. Interviewing is more than a gut feeling, it's about finding the best person who has the knowledge, ability and experience to do the job. Note taking is imperative for successful hiring.

It takes an extremely hard working dedicated organization to make it in the business world today. Times are tight. People have less money to spend and there seems to be a constant barrage of bad news. Businesses who wish to succeed need to not only work hard, but also to constantly improve themselves and their organizations in order to achieve success. It isn't enough to just work hard, but they have to work smart and constantly look for ways to change and innovate.

Discrimination itself is not actually illegal. We discriminate every day. When we go to lunch we discriminate against some foods in favor of ones we like. When we make friends we discriminate against some people in favor of others and we do so because of personal like and dislikes. This type of discrimination is, of course, not considered illegal.