Actual Comments of Why Employees Leave
“My education and experience have been primarily in development and system design/architecture. The role I was hired into was solely management.”
The Solution
The outcome of this comment was fairly predictable. The best technical person is not necessarily a good fit for management.
What was missing in the interview process? The responsibility for this situation is two-fold. Did the candidate talk a good game and oversell his abilities and/or desires to manage? Secondly, we do not know how or if the position was explained to the “candidate during the interview. However, why didn’t the interviewers match the candidate’s education and experience with the position requirements? The No. 1 priority when hiring is the interview. And, the first step to successful interviewing is assessing the position and the organization. This will take some work on the employer’s part, but if it is well done, the employer can increase
employee retention and is only hiring for the position once rather than multiple times.
Tips for hiring employees with the right job skills:
• Define what makes a good fit for the job. Know the benchmark skills, abilities, and work styles of the best employees currently in the position. What are the 3 – 5 truly essential criteria – things that cannot easily be trained and/or are a legal requirement for the position?
• Use performance-based interviewing techniques as they can add insight into how an applicant will perform on the job because responses are generally based on past performance. Subjective open-ended and yes/no questions or relying on gut instincts often provide vague responses.
• When talking with a candidate, clearly define the position and ask the person how his prior education and experience would fit into the requirements of the job.
• Ensure questions are asked to help determine if the candidate is a good fit for the organization’s culture. Many employers focus on technical skills while completely ignoring what makes people successful within the culture of your organization.
What are your methods for hiring? Do you follow a formalized process? Do you even believe it’s important to have a process? If you don’t, you should.
(This blog post brought to you by HSD Metrics, an exit interview company that helps companies reduce employee turnover by providing automated reference checking, exit interviews, and by measuring employee retention. The comments from exiting employees that are featured in this blog are collected from actual exit interviews conducted using ExitRight, HSD’s exit interviewing service. Because we place the privacy of our clients at the top of our priority list; the names of all involved parties are kept completely confidential. For more information about our ExitRight® survey, or to schedule your demo, contact us today.)