BUSINESS Employee Acquisition, Motivation and Retention Be certain to include in a job description, all employment advertisements, listings or postings that there is a requirement to pass a background check, have a clean driving record and ability to pass an initial (and also ongoing) drug testing. Some government work may require this from you as a contractor. If you don’t do this, you will regret it! How to deal with the legalization of marijuana is beyond the scope of this article. It’s a Sellers’ Market In case you haven’t heard, the U.S. economy is breaking just about all previous records for full employment. Indeed, there are an estimated seven million unfilled jobs and only about six million job seekers, while the unemployment rate hovers around an incredibly low 3.6%. So, you had better know what you need and be prepared to pitch your company as a compel- ling career choice. NO, you don’t have to offer the highest wages and benefits, although you should be realistic. Many people don’t really know what career they want, and an offering to train a new employee for a career can be very appealing to a job seeker. As an em- ployer, you need to establish a vocation path that is appealing. Avoid Trying to Fit Round Pegs in Square Holes Your requirements for passing a background check, etc., will definitely thin out the herd of applicants. Depending upon where you live, you may only be leſt with a few skinny cows! Next, insist that they complete an application for employment, which you can find at office supply stores. Look for predictive “fit” indicators to use as potential screen- ing filters, but you should consider many factors. As one obvi- ous example, if someone enjoys working on car engines, tin- kering (know anyone who suffers from this affliction?), taking things apart or engaging in some other mechanical endeavor, that’s suggestive of a good fit. Keep in mind that even the so- called electronic locks and access control devices are actually electro-mechanical. Unless you have (or are about to have) significant access control business, you probably cannot afford someone with significant experience in this area. An individual with sub- stantial computer skills will likely be unhappy unless they are kept busy with this type of work. However, ideally, candidates should have basic computer skills. If they are unfamiliar with emails, text messages, smartphones and today’s internet world, you should probably pass on that candidate. Indeed, you should really include this skill set in your requirements, along with drug testing etc. 22 KEYNOTES DECEMBER 2019 “How much incremental sales volume will you need to offset the cost of the new hire, and how will you obtain it?” Avoid Selecting From a Basket of One Candidate Although we already stipulated that today’s employment scene is a sellers’ market, it’s a bad practice to choose from a field of only one candidate. If you find yourself in this unenviable posi- tion, go back and start again. It may be frustrating, but unless you are extremely lucky, you are far better off having to choose from several candidates who meet or exceed your “must have” requirements. Tips About Interviewing Unless you do lots of interviewing and have had some relevant training, you’re probably not very good at it. It’s OK — most are not! Here are a few recommendations for interviewing aſter the screening process. First, if you find that you are doing more than about 40 per- cent of the talking, ask more questions and listen instead. Have a list of standard questions that you ask every candidate. This will help you to be consistent but, of course, you may have some different questions applicable to the particular level you are recruiting for. You would not focus on managerial questions when recruiting for a clerical or technician slot. However, you should include some questions that may indicate a candidate’s potential for growth and promotion. Another common interviewing mistake (for any job level) is asking too many questions that can be answered with ei- ther “yes” or “no” responses. Having already read the resume or application, begin with “Tell me about yourself, especially anything relevant to your career.” Try not to interrupt, but follow up with more open-ended questions such as “Can you elaborate on that?” or “Tell me more about that. Can you pro- vide an example?” WWW.ALOA.ORG C M Y CM MY CY CMY K
