How’s Your Hire Power?
Finding the right employee — whether for a full-time, part-time or seasonal role — can be a challenge. But following best practices can make it a more successful endeavor.
“We tend to ask ourselves ‘Will this be ‘Eharmony’ or ‘Emisery’?’ in our due diligence in picking friends, residential neighborhoods and personal relationships,” explains Steve Kleinman, PDRMA General Counsel. “You should exercise that same due diligence in who you hire.”
Hiring Reminders
- Provide an accurate, well written job description in a timely manner to the applicant in preparation for the interview.
- Listen closely to the applicant’s answers and consider them carefully; a sarcastic tone of voice, rolling the eyes, or an evasive answer is a red flag.
- Ask only questions that have a business-related purpose and be consistent in how you phrase the question for each applicant for the position.
- Verify key qualifications such as educational requirements, professional certifications, licenses, etc. — particularly for management-level positions.
- Have the right management representative(s) present at and/or conducting the interviews. Ideally, this is someone with keen emotional IQ, knowledge of the job specifications, and recognition of the value of the interview process.
- Provide current or prior employers of the candidate an executed authorization to provide a reference for the applicant. The authorization should include language specifying that the applicant waives, releases, and discharges the employer from any and all liability arising out of the reference.
- Review the new employee’s progress, performance and integration into your agency on a regular basis after hiring. If you find your early observations indicate it’s more of an Emisery than Eharmony relationship, promptly address the issue(s) with the employee (and/or legal counsel). Do not wait until the first formal review period to bring it to the employee’s attention. Proactively address performance issues in real time to maximize productivity and efficiency while minimizing liability.
- Err on the side of caution and consult with your corporate counsel or PDRMA’s legal counsel before making a decision that might have legal or liability implications.
- Enroll in PDRMA’s HELP — Essentials of Human Resources class to gain knowledge about hiring best practices.
|
Finding the right person is all about preparation, preparation, preparation. Your human resources team should stay current on legal issues and proactively develop a written list of interview questions and reference-check questions. Kleinman recommends you vet those lists with legal counsel specializing in employment law, since not all municipal corporate counsel specialize in this area.
Your standardized and vetted list of questions is just the starting point, however. “Take a step back and assess each position’s skillsets, and then customize the interview questions,” he advises. Some requirements cross all positions, such as attendance, punctuality, communication skills, interpersonal/social skills, professionalism, judgment and maturity.
“I recommend using behavioral-based interview questions, where you present the applicant with a hypothetical situation and ask him to describe how he would handle it,” Kleinman notes. “The answer provides insight into the applicant’s emotional IQ, interpersonal skills, background, personality, and compatibility with your agency’s culture.”
One issue Kleinman sees often with PDRMA members is how to handle the so-called hot potato. “Frequent job changes can reflect climbing the professional ladder, but gaps in employment combined with frequent job changes and/or a conspicuous lack of professional references from previous employers should raise a red flag.”
In these cases, the interviewer needs to verify the information provided by the candidate, including checking references. ”Sometimes members fear potential backlash from providing a good-faith, truthful reference to another member if the reference is negative — which begins the proverbial game of hot potato,” Kleinman explains. “Under ordinary circumstances, such fears are unfounded and members should extend the professional courtesy not to pass a ‘hot potato’ or potential ‘bad hire’ knowingly to another member. If you find yourself in such a situation, call PDRMA before responding to the reference check, and we will provide you with best-practice recommendations.”
PDRMA understands members have limited staffing and financial resources to devote to staffing and the return on investment in hiring temporary/short-term/seasonal staff may not be the same as for filling full-time and permanent roles. However, it’s important to consider the ripple effect of a bad choice — how it could impact your operations, morale and agency culture. It’s worth a careful evaluation of your current hiring policies and procedures to ensure you customize them to respective positions.
“For example, if your agency only conducts post-offer, pre-employment drug screens for full-time positions and another agency conducts post-offer, pre-employment drug screens for all positions, you may unknowingly hire someone who didn’t meet the hiring requirements at the other agency,” Kleinman explains. “Likewise, if your agency chooses only to conduct pre-employment physicals for full-time laborers and not seasonal/part-time laborers, you’re rolling the dice as to whether the seasonal/part-time hires are fit for duty. When weighing your options, seek best-practice recommendations from PDRMA.” |
