MRO Today - How to improve employee selection

How to improve employee selection

by James W. Bassett

Seventeen thousand dollars in product was missing from Dent Supply Company’s Southland branch according to the physical inventory. Walter Dent, the owner, knew employee theft was the probable cause.

Dent had each of his employees complete an investigative questionnaire for shortages. Analysis of the questionnaires pointed to two employees as the culprits. Dent terminated both employees based on petty theft admissions and rules violations. He began to wonder how he might prevent future theft problems.

Job applicant screening is the key. Preventing employee theft is just one benefit. Reduced turnover, better job performance, less absenteeism and improved customer service are just some of the others.

The story of one bad hire
Archie was recommended for employment by one of Dent’s friends. Dent meant to check Archie’s background, but got busy and forgot. Instead, he gave Archie a quick interview and put him to work. Archie was one of the two employees who caused the shortage.

Hire the best job candidates quickly
Qualified job seekers don’t stay unemployed long. If you can make conditional job offers to top candidates during their first visit, you will hire more of the best. To do that, you need to learn as much as you can about your applicants.

There are two basic sources of information about job applicants. The first is the applicant himself. Use the right screening tools and he will provide much of the information you need. The second includes outside sources like criminal record checks, credit reports, drug tests, and work references. This information is less readily obtained, but equally important.

Here are seven steps to help you hire better.

1. Have each applicant complete a thorough employment application
All employment applications are not created equal. A comprehensive employment application is worth its weight in gold. Most applications are too brief, failing to ask many critical questions. If you think your employment application could be improved, obtain a copy of the Ultimate Employment Application from www.TheftStopper.com.

2. Give the applicant an answer-truthfully speech
Job applicants are more likely to answer your questions truthfully if you tell them why they should. Instead of saying, “Here, fill out this application,” tell the applicant something like this: “Joe, I’d like you to fill out this employment application. Please take your time. Make sure your answers are true, correct and complete. We will check all your answers for accuracy. Answering all questions truthfully will increase your chances of getting hired. We’re not looking to hire perfect people, just employees who tell the truth.”

Will this speech magically persuade every applicant to answer every question truthfully? Of course not. But applicants will give you more truthful answers with this speech than without it.

3. Have the applicant take a good pre-employment honesty test
Expect dishonest people to apply to work for you. It’s the “honey attracts bears” principle. Your business will attract dishonest people hoping to become your silent partners. A good pre-employment honesty test can tell you an applicant’s likelihood to steal from your company – and much more. You can administer the test during the applicant’s initial visit, score it on the Internet in minutes, and use its follow-up questions during her initial interview.

The best pre-employment honesty tests include:
a. Three types of questions about theft, i.e., theft admissions, theft attitudes and behavior in hypothetical theft situations.

b. Questions about other important areas such as work attitudes, work history, customer service attitudes, current alcohol and drug use, and undetected crimes.

c. Validity scales to identify those applicants trying to “beat the test” by answering falsely to make themselves look like saints.

d. A post-test interview worksheet in addition to test scores. The worksheet is a print-out of questions answered “wrong” with suggested follow-up questions included. The follow-up questions help evaluate the seriousness of the applicant’s admissions.

4. Interview the applicant
Steps 1, 2, and 3 will wash out many undesirable applicants. Next, interview those still in the running. But before the interview, review both his application and pre-employment honesty test results, making notes about any of his answers you want to follow-up on.

Begin the interview by briefly introducing yourself and your company. Candidly explain the negatives as well as the positives of the job you are seeking to fill. Make sure he is still interested after hearing the job’s negatives. This step decreases your turnover.

Next, talk with him about his previous jobs – those he liked and those he didn’t. Obtain clear and logical explanations why he left each job in the past five years. Make sure he explains any gaps between jobs. These gaps often conceal unfavorable short-term job experiences or incarcerations.

Try this approach: Ask about previous jobs, beginning with the most recent, and working backwards. Question him as if he had written nothing in the work history section.

Here’s an example of a typical dialogue:

Interviewer: “Please tell me about your most recent job.”
Tim: “Well, I didn’t list it. I only worked there three weeks: Dooley’s Plumbing Supply.”
Interviewer: “Why did you leave?”
Tim: “They said I was coming to work late.”
Interviewer: “How often?
Tim: “Just once or twice a week.”
Interviewer: “Before Dooley’s, where did you work?”
Tim: “The one I put on my application.”
Interviewer: “Which one was that?”
Tim: “Uh, Bob’s Hardware, I think.”
Interviewer: “When did you work there?”
Tim: “Same dates I listed.”
Interviewer: “And those dates were…?”
Tim: “I can’t remember exact dates right now!”
Interviewer: “You filled this application out 10 minutes ago. You remembered then...?”
Tim: “You’re trying to intimidate me!”
Interviewer: “No need to get upset.”
Tim: “I’m not getting upset! Don’t try to mess me over!”
Interviewer: “Okay, Tim. Thanks for coming in today.”

Tim could benefit from Honest Abe’s advice: “Tell the truth and you won’t have to remember so much.” Tim was a job hopper with an anger management problem. He couldn’t begin to remember all of his jobs.

5. Conduct a do-It-yourself credit check
With the applicant’s consent, conduct an Internet search under “Free Credit Report.” Print two copies of the applicant’s credit report – one for him and one for you. Compare his starting pay with his debts and reasonable living expenses. This comparison will tell whether he can afford to work for you. Employees whose installment debt plus expenses exceed their income have a monthly shortfall to make up. Some will steal to make up that shortfall.

6. Conduct quick and easy criminal record checks
Tell the applicant that he can shorten the hiring process if he stops by the nearest police station, obtains a copy of his criminal record and brings it back to you. Few applicants who have criminal convictions will return. They will seek employment elsewhere instead.

The drawbacks of criminal record checks: Experts claims that criminal record checks fail to identify at least 30 percent of applicants with criminal records. Most employees who steal are not caught. Most employees caught stealing are not prosecuted. Many employees who are prosecuted are not convicted. Thus, few employees who steal from their employers end up with criminal records for employee theft.

The advantages of criminal record checks: If record checks miss 30 percent of applicants with criminal records, then they do identify 70 percent of applicants who have criminal records. A 70 percent batting average is still pretty good. Criminal record checks are far more likely to reveal scofflaws – persons who ignore or disregard the law – than convicted felons. Scofflaws often have multiple misdemeanor convictions. For example, one applicant was cited five times for littering and three times for reckless driving last year. He would probably scoff at your company’s rules.

7. Check the applicant’s references – both previous employers and personal.
Previous Employers: Many human resource departments will provide only minimal information about former employees. If possible, call the applicant’s previous supervisors. Previous supervisors typically feel willing to help their former employees who did a good job. Most supervisors can be coaxed into giving a reference.

Here’s one technique:
Reference Checker: “Mr. Edwards? Alice Johnson has applied to work for us here at Medwick’s Distributors. Alice said she worked for you from February 2003 through June 2004. Is that correct?”
Supervisor: “Yeah, that’s about right.”
Checker: “Was her performance good, fair or poor?”
Supervisor: “The lawyers say I can’t answer that one.”
Checker: “She was that bad, huh?”
Supervisor: “No! Alice did a real good job for me!”
Checker: “Thank you sir. I appreciate your time.”

The reference checker confirmed that Alice was a good employee. When the reference checker asks “She was that bad, huh?” and gets stone silence from the respondent, that’s a bad reference. Just be patient and listen carefully.

Personal References: Here are a few questions found on employment applications that often yield better references than those the applicant lists on his application:

• “Have you ever worked for our company before?” If so, find out the name of a former co-worker or supervisor you can talk with about the applicant.

• “Do you have any friends, relatives or acquaintances who work for our company?” Current employees who know the applicant can be very helpful, too.

• “Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offense as an adult?” If so, his probation or parole officer might provide some background.

Some frustrated reference checkers claim that individual named as personal references will never say anything negative about the applicant. Not so! Asking personal references the same questions you ask work references can yield intriguing results.

For example:
Reference Checker: “Mr. Smith? Sally Sauder listed you as a personal reference on her application to work for us here at Blake’s Supply.”
Mr. Smith: “Yeah, I’ve known her since she was a child.”
Checker: “I don’t have her application in front of me. Where’s she working now?”
Mr. Smith: “Nowhere since they laid her off from Don’s.”
Checker: “Where was that?”
Mr. Smith: “Don’s Bar & Grill.”
Checker: “Why did they lay her off?”
Mr. Smith: “Said she was smoking pot during work. But it was on her own time – her break.”
Checker: “Is she on probation or parole now?”
Mr. Smith: “No, she finished that last year.”
Checker: “What was the charge?”
Mr. Smith: “You’d better ask her that one.”
Checker: “Thank you, Mr. Smith.”

Establish a mandatory applicant screening procedure, starting with a comprehensive employment application and a pre-employment honesty test (for examples, go to www.TheftStopper.com). Make sure all steps in the hiring process are followed on every applicant you hire.

Hiring the best will make your life easier and profits increase. Hiring undesirables will cost your company money and make your life miserable. You can reduce employee theft drastically and protect your profits. Just follow the seven easy steps.

James W. Bassett is the author of the Shortage Questionnaire, the Specific Loss Questionnaire, the Ultimate Employment Application and the VAQ Pre-employment Honesty Test. He can be reached at (513)421-9604 or through his Web site at www.TheftStopper.com.