Hiring is an essential ingredient to administering Human Resources, but a very costly expense if done incorrectly. A couple of years ago, I went to a management seminar in Saint Louis that primarily focused on hiring - pre and post. The consultant, Rich Sissen, who conducted this seminar contended that ‘bad’ hires amounted to a ‘$50,000′ mistake. As a brick and mortar business owner myself, I’ve hired and fired more than I ever imagined. I think we all hope that new hires will exceed our expectations, but suspect very few businesses have structured plans to maximize their success.

Will the new hire fit the team?

Sometimes, new hires appear to be a perfect fit, possessing the exact job requirements - coming aboard with great recommendations. But will they fit the team or department in their new position? How would you know without some method to thoroughly evaluate your candidate?

Behavioral Evaluations

Per Rich, a new hire’s overall job performance is determined by whether or not that individual can and will use his/her skills, capacities and aptitudes to his/her best advantage in a given job. You can predict how a person will use his/her skills, capacities and aptitudes in a particular job from the presence of absence of three controlling factors - drive & ambition, behavior pattern and behavioral energy. This directly relates to their level of comfort on the job. Rich’s Behavioral Evaluation consists of descriptions in six behavioral areas plus a section of analytic comments and conclusions called the Success Profile.

What Rich trains managers to look for in candidates

Drive and Ambition- the attitude an individual brings to the job regarding personal achievement which determine his level of drive and ambition. How strong is his need to gain the rewards of success and how hard will he work for these benefits? Does he take things as they come? Is he complacent? Does he feel a real need for higher income or greater recognition?

Behavior pattern- People tend to behave much the same way day in and day out. Everyone’s behavior pattern is based upon the attitudes acquired toward himself and toward life. It becomes almost impossible to alter your behavior pattern for any length of time and remain comfortable after you have adopted your life’s attitudes and thus your behavior pattern.

Aggressiveness- the individual’s need to take charge and be a controlling influence on his surroundings. Is he reluctant to take initiative? Would he rather follow than lead? Is he easily discouraged? Is he decisive and oriented toward direct action? Is he assertive, forceful and compulsive? Does he enjoy having authority?

Sociability- the individual’s desire to be involved with people. Social ability is a vital part of a person’s ability to interrelate with others in the job situation. Is he a poor mixer, shy and bashful? Is he helpful only when asked? Does he have a tendency to be bold, outspoken and direct? Is it natural for him to be congenial, fluent and easy to like? Does he actively seek to meet people? Is he normally a good mixer who is influential and enthusiastic?

Ability to overcome resistance- the attitude of persistence and self-confidence a person has concerning objectives. Is the individual likely to procrastinate or give in easily? Is he overly sympathetic to another’s viewpoint? Does he avoid controversy? Will he stick to his own convictions and be convincing? Does he have a natural desire to be persuasive and influential?

Behavioral energy- the individual’s level of vitality, intensity and overall behavioral energy. The intrinsic guide to how much behavior can be projected into the work situation and for what period of time. A person cannot role play uncomfortable behavior indefinitely. Depending upon his level of behavioral energy, he can do so for a short period, i.e., during an interview and for a minimum time after job acceptance. The higher the behavioral energy, the longer he can project different kinds of behavior. An individual simply cannot keep up the pace required for the job unless his natural vitality and endurance correspond to the degree of behavioral energy required for the job. High behavioral energy also gives the individual the ability to cope with frustration for longer periods of time without it affecting his work.

Motivation- an individual’s needs and values. All people are not motivated to reach the same kinds of goals. Does the person have a strong money motive? Does he seek influence and independence? Is he primarily concerned with security and social approval? Will his motives help or hinder him on the job?

You can read more about Rich Sissen on his website, www.sissenandassociates.com

Thanks for sharing steve.

nice share bro much appriciated

I just read this . Very intersting points and views.

Thank you for sharing.

Having been in the position to do the hiring at several past jobs, I can say that your article is spot on for any type of employer, not just in a web host provider business. Especially in evaluation how that person will fit into the team - many people leave that part out and wonder why things fall apart after a new hire.

I can affirm that employee churn is expensive. One ad in the the daily newspaper or on Monster will cost hundreds of dollars - and that's the least expensive item. Training (learning curve) to bring a new hire up to speed - to fit in to your program and culture, is time consuming and dollar intensive. A bad hire can set you back months, and will definitely affect your bottomline.

True!!!! I myself have experienced that a fresher puts in lots of effort and becomes L2 in less than 3 months, while an L2 personnel hired, remains L2 for years. They simply lack the self motivation. However training we can offer, they just remain lazy, resulting us in no other option other than to ask to look for new job I don't fire, I give them warning and along with it, a fixed time to find a new job. Do or Die!!

Attitude matters. I agree that a bad hire is more or less equal to $50000 mistake.

Drive and Ambition is the hardest to guage because a lot of people have this at the beginning of the job but as things go on they begin to lose it. You have to see who will retain their drive and ambition over time as well.

Good points, thanks for taking the time to post.

you hit the right track it would help some readers t be more approachable specially when business is the talk.

Great post!

In Rich's Success Profile, he color codes and numbers the results, and then either recommends or discourages that new hire. I highly recommend his service, if for no other reason, it's one more safeguard to losing a ton of money and time in making a bad hire.

Thanks for this. Very interesting. Its really hard to find good employees these days.