It can be really hard to find the perfect new hire for your business. A person may look great on paper. They may even be able to talk the talk, but once you get them into production they pick fights, can’t do the work, or are in some way a bad fit for your team. Wouldn’t it be great if your HR team could find the best possible fit for your business every time?
Here at Business Success Consulting Group, we provide HR tools for HR managers, business owners and executives to help them find the right employee for any open position.
Here is one HR tip that we give to our clients, as we hone their hiring skills:
Ask them questions that they aren’t expecting.
Gone are the “where do you see yourself in ten years?” questions. Every applicant is expecting the same, tired old questions and they have a pat answer all ready to go. This answer will not tell you anything about the individual himself. Instead, ask something unexpected, like “What was the first thing you noticed in the room when you walked in?” or “Do you think people should do a spring cleaning every year?”
These questions are obviously not something a prospective employee has in his or her repertoire, so you won’t get pre-thought out answers. You will be able to see how he or she reacts when asked something for which they don’t have an immediate answer.
The answers are not particularly important, but their reactions to the question are. Do they cringe when asked something unexpected, go dead-eyed, refuse to look at you, or answer in a monotone? These are all signs that you have a person that won’t be as productive as you might like.
This simple hiring tip can help you weed out potential employees that won’t work well within your company dynamic, and find those that will. For example, a person that answers rapidly, looks at you while he or she is talking and appears to be interested in the question are more able to handle unexpected situations that come up in their job.
We work with employers every day to improve their HR section and help them meet their staffing needs. For more HR tools, get our free report “How to Pick Top Players.” This report gets beyond interview questions and can help you improve your hiring techniques right off the bat. If you would like our help directly, contact us today right here on the website.
