Time and again I read recommendations for evaluating quality of hire. Ask the managers, ask the employees, ask an astrologer. None of these things will ever give you more than a subjective opinion about the kind of information you need to improve the quality of hire. Here’s why.Imagine advertising for superheroes. There are a dozen steroid-pumped, ego-centric applicants sitting in your waiting room wearing masks, capes, and...

Get used to it: unless your organization hires everyone who applies, you are testing. Some people (even attorneys who should know better) vigorously deny that their organizations test applicants (pssst?interviews are tests!).Whether an organization uses verbal questions or written questions, they both have the same objective: to separate qualified applicants from unqualified ones before spending big bucks on salary, benefit...

Every so often, I come across shameful hiring information included in newsletters. I always thought journalists were supposed to research their facts; however, in a recent career newsletter, there were three articles that immediately got my attention. If any readers come across articles like these, may I suggest you flame the author for reporting pure nonsense to both recruiter and applicant.Secret DocumentsOne article sugg...

It’s a common assumption. A good sales manager should first be a good salesperson, right? Wrong. It is a big jump from being a skilled “doer” to being a skilled “coach of doers.”In many cases, the top sales person is an enigma. Salespeople are ego-driven and competitive and want to be recognized and rewarded. But like a cup with a hole in the bottom, no matter how much water you add Monday, it needs to be refilled by Tuesda...

The phone rings. Someone on the other end says he or she wants to build (or buy) a Web-enabled hiring test. Let’s say it will be for salespeople (generally the caller is a recruiter or HR manager, but sometimes he or she is a gopher).After discussing the idea for a few minutes, I make a few suggestions. These always include following the ‘Guidelines’ to make sure the test is based on job requirements and business necessity...

Dissecting the hiring practices of a well-known company The Wall Street Journal recently posted an audio weblog describing the hiring practices used by a well-known Internet service provider. Apparently, some people believe this provider is setting some kind of hiring example. However, after listening to the recording, I think it is a better example of a hiring process that sounds good on the surface, but contains so...

Solutions to two common problems Much of my career has been spent managing, training, and hiring salespeople. In almost every organization, it seems that well-meaning sales managers hinder the hiring process, salespeople actively resist training, and high turnover is the norm. Nowhere have I seen this trend more exaggerated than in financial services. The sales turnover numbers in this industry stagger the imaginatio...

What the organizations with the best customer service reps have in common Being a selection wonk, I continually look for disconnects between company policy and employment practices. Glaring examples tend to occur when I have a problem and need assistance from an employee who was supposed to be hired for his or her customer-service skills. A Promise Made Late last year, I received a Christmas package from my son an...

Many organizations incorrectly assess salespeople Almost every sales applicant experiences interviews and tests. Is this good or bad? It's hard to tell. Although it would take dynamite to separate most hiring managers from their favorite test, few organizations have conducted studies showing whether its scores predict performance. High production takes more than just "selling the pencil." It takes a combination of ski...

A rose by any other name is still a rose Assessment! What a concept! Imagine a world where job applicants are screened for their job skills…before being hired! Wow! Assessment = Judgment = Test = Interview = Application = Resume It's so simple, it's complicated. Folks, anyone who screens resumes or applications, conducts interviews, or reviews past work history to predict future job performance is already using...