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To Train... Or Not to Train, Part II

In the last issue of Hiring Line, we addressed the issues of hiring candidates that need to be trained. In ths issue we discuss the aspects of hiring experienced candidates.

What "Experience" Means

With careful interviewing hiring someone that needs no training in the function of what we do can be an answer to a tough immediate problem. The major reason we try to hire experienced people is because we think we know the person has "been" where we are at least once before. The major advantage is that they know what they are getting into and we know they know. We know what to expect and can reasonably measure their previous success doing it.

There are some risks though that can insure a more successful hire: First of all, don't assume! To assume, as the old saying goes, makes an ass out of you and me. The key is to question, question and further question in detail during the interviews to get detailed, exact previous functions, to be sure the candidate has experience in exactly what we need.

Personality

One way to insure success in hiring an experienced person is to recognize the personality aspects of employment. Overwhelming evidence of almost every study conducted to determine why employees leave positions or get fired indicates that the most prominent reason Is personality conflicts. This is expecially significant when the candidate being considered has been in the job market more than ten years. His work habits as well as his work personality have already been formed. To assess the compatability of his with those of the company, a few simple steps can be taken. The first is to have the candidate interview with most all of the people he will be working with and for. Interview him on a professional level as well as social. An off-site dinner with spouse or date will reveal the personal values this person has. Careful observation and listening in these social interviews will give the prospective employer a chance to assess the real lasting personality of the candidate .

The Past

The other way of assessing personality and compatability centers around previous employees and previous jobs. How the candidate feels about his present job and past jobs, present and past employers will tell exactly how he will feel about the new job and the new employer.

Careful and detailed questioning of previous employers, even peers with whom the person has worked with in the past will give a prospective employer insights as to how the candidate interacted with others. Simply asking these people how the candidate got along with others, if there were any personality conflicts, will likely tell if the person will have future problems.

Most of the time we want to hire experienced people because we need or want immediate production or results. That's fine, nothing wrong with that as long as we keep in perspective that besides a quick fix, we are also hiring someone who will have to perform over the long run too. We sometimes get so caught up in concentrating on the immediate need we forget the future considerations and the fact that we have to live with what we hire beyond the immediate fix. How the candidate has performed over the long haul with past employers will normally indicate how well he is going to do in the future.

Measure Performance

To insure success, once an experienced candidate is hired, his performance needs to be measured. It is important to remember that since we assume the candidate knows what he is doing, because we are convinced he has done it in the past, that he will perform. This is all the more reason to set clear objectives that can be evaluated at the time of performance reviews. A new employee, no matter what level, should be reviewed at the end of his first 90 days. This will confirm, deny, or augment any assumptions his new employer had. If they are measurable, objective issues they will indicate not only if everybody got what they came for but more importantly assess how far off they might be in their initial assumptions.

Experienced candidates will likely stay in their new positions about the same length of time they averaged on the last positions. They will stay or leave for about the same reasons. If the new employer can tolerate or even accommodate them, the "marriage" will be great. It won't be much different than in the past. Hiring trained personnel, just as hiring people who need to be trained, has its own risks and rewards.

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