It’s summertime, finally! Long days, warm nights, the beach beckons. Mostly I’m eager for a break from the daily grind of packing lunches, checking homework and hounding my son every night to get ready for bed. It’s the little things. In major news, my son is heading off to Boy Scout camp next week. It’s his first time away from home starting with a ten-hour bus ride sans electronics. Bonus – my husband is chaperoning. That’s right, one week all to myself. My brother-in-law asked, “What are you going to do?” to which I replied, “Whatever I want!”
I’m excited for all the kids attending this or any other camp this summer. I have wistful images of campers canoeing, hiking, playing tug of war, sitting around the campfire telling ghost stories and, I hope, laughing often, especially after a year that was stressful for all of us, young and old. They’ll be totally unplugged (how wonderful) while getting dirty, breathing fresh air, meeting new people and learning new skills in an effort to earn various merit badges to affix proudly to their green sashes. Which got us thinking it would be fun to earn some grown-up merit badges this summer in (drum roll please) employee selection and development. I know I lost you when I dared to write fun and employee selection and development in the same sentence. Sure, it’s mostly figurative and might not include hearty belly laughs, unless you get a special kick out of reading resumes and conducting phone screens. Camp Omnia is just our little way of paying homage to summer rituals while we continue adulting. That’s why in today’s blog, as part of our Camp Omnia series, we’re going to work on our Selection Merit Badge.
We all likely dread the hiring process. It can be tedious and time consuming, plus there is a lot riding on making the right hire. Making even one hiring mistake can haunt us for months (or longer) and cost us a lot (money, time, the will to face our team) … maybe that last part was a bit dramatic. Or was it? The cost of a bad hire can be anywhere from $11K to $24K depending on the size of the organization, and those are just the hard costs. Hiring mistakes can hurt morale and productivity. For example, 39% of employees in one survey reported an increase in stress after working with a bad hire. To which I say, “only 39%?” I suspect 61% of respondents misunderstood the question.
That’s why using every tool and piece of data at your disposal is so important. It reduces the chance of making a bad hire. I’d like to say it removes the chance of making a bad hire entirely, but that wouldn’t be true. Human behavior is a tricky business and most things in life are not foolproof, as much as we wish they were. Plus, things can change even with good hires, and sometimes those things are out of our control, like an employee deciding to pursue a whole new career or perhaps one who decides to move to be closer to family (or a beach). But the more tools you use and the more data you collect, the more your odds improve. You can never have too much information when deciding on who to hire. To that end, let’s talk about how to improve your selection odds dramatically by using three simple tactics with 3 bonus tools to help you along the way. Get your selection process down pat to earn that badge (sash optional).
Selection Merit Badge Checklist
Tactic 1 – Create a consistent hiring process and use it.
There are no points just for getting it down on paper, which is like rowing a canoe to the middle of the lake and then throwing the oars overboard. You have to commit to taking the steps each and every time you hire.
Tool 1 – Our hiring process and resume checklist tools are two helpful resources and a great place to start if you are building or revamping your system.
Tactic 2 – Have your interview questions ready for every stage of the interview process and practice how you will respond if you need to dig for more information.
It’s a good idea to have a consistent set of questions for the phone screen and first interviews, your follow-up interviews with final candidates can be customized to uncover whatever it is you still want to know more about. Your phone screen and first interview questions should vary somewhat by job, but if you have them categorized and ready to go, it will keep you from fumbling through the interview and give you a clearer lens for evaluating candidates because you can see how they all responded to the same questions.
Tool 2 – Click to download our guide to phone screens and our behavioral Interview questions; that’s right, two tools for the price of one (free). No that doesn’t work. I’m bad at math.
Tactic 3 – Use the Omnia Behavioral and Cognitive Assessments to help make more informed hiring decisions. If you are already using these assessments, don’t forget to take advantage of our unlimited client support. Our client advisors are always ready to review assessment results with you.
The Omnia Assessment takes a lot of the guesswork out of hiring by providing insight into candidates’ natural traits and how those traits align to the job. It’s a simple, accurate assessment that gives you data you can use before investing time, energy and money into each new hire. Best of all, you can use the data throughout the employee’s lifecycle for management, motivation, team building, communication, career pathing and engagement. Look at that, six more badges!
Last but certainly not least, the Omnia Cognitive Assessment is a powerful predictor of work performance by providing a reliable measure of a candidate’s general mental ability. Individuals with high cognitive aptitude are more likely to think abstractly, learn from experience and apply reason to a variety of situations in order to make effective decisions.
Tool 3 – Don’t just take our word for it. Listen to what other Omnia clients have to say:
“Omnia profiles and advisor consultation have been the most valuable resource I’ve used to guide my clients through hiring, reorganization, talent development, and career decisions.” ~ Emily Huling, CIC, CMC, CSP Selling Strategies, Inc.
“The Omnia Assessments are so comprehensive in helping you to find the right person for your open position. We experienced a lot of turnover before we tried out the Omnia assessments and were amazed with how detailed they are about each person. The site is easy to use, and they are very helpful with creating a profile for your open position. It’s amazing how accurate the assessments are.
Our turnover has decreased significantly after we started using these assessments for our hiring needs. I would definitely recommend these to any company who wants to hire the right person the first time.” ~ ~ Dana Dasch USPTA
Congratulations, you’ve earned your selection merit badge and unlimited bragging rights! Break out the marshmallows, have some smores and don’t adult for the rest of the day.
