Management Excellence by Art Petty

The Poor Interviewing Habits of Many Managers

You would think that we would have this problem crossed off the list by now.  I wonder how organizations and leaders in good faith can let managers recruit talent without teaching them HOW to interview and holding them accountable for executing this task effectively. 

Most organizations offer some cursory training in the compliance and legal issues of interviewing, but I’m hearing from too many job seekers with hilarious (sad, but true) examples of miserable interviews.  Consider the slob that took two smoke breaks while interviewing a talented professional.  In-between breaks, his focus was on convincing the individual that he should come to work for the firm, even though they could not pay him what he was making now.  Great recruiting!  Impressive.  This person has no business interviewing. 

Questions to consider:

• Are the interviewing skills of your managers helping or hindering when it comes to recruiting talent?

• Do you know what your managers are saying in interviews?

•  What’s your organizational batting average on landing the top recruits (and then keeping them)?

Great Marketing: Building Value with The Complete Customer Experience. 

I received my new 24” Apple iMac yesterday and once again, marveled at how hard this company works at creating an incredible experience for the customer.  The unpack to on-the-internet time is about 4 minutes, but the experience transcends the simplicity of set-up.  My wife helped me with the unpacking she marveled at the detail and quality of the packaging materials.  “It feels like we are unwrapping something very special,” was her comment.

It’s hard not to be awestruck by the beautiful design and the spectacular display on your desk, and I’m going on five years with our stable of Macs growing as our two sons head to college.  The products always work and it’s still exciting to use one. 

Questions to Consider:

• Are your customers saying the same things about your offerings?

• Are your employees obsessed with creating great customer experiences?

The Bottom-Line: Talent Fuels Performance:

There’s no way that an organization that accommodates sloppy interviewing habits is landing and retaining the best and brightest.  As a business leader, you want your customers to constantly be surprised and delighted.  A manager that takes mid-interview smoke breaks and badgers a talented candidate about salary expectations is someone that I want working for my competitor. 

My suggestions:

• HR, get it in gear as the trustee of talent and create systems and tools to ensure best interviewing practices are developed and reinforced. 

• Leadership Team: It’s not all HR’s job.  Set high standards and demand excellence at all levels in the hiring process. 

• Managers at all levels: evaluate the interviewing habits and track records of your managers and supervisors. 

There are no excuses for getting this wrong and just one reason for getting it right: success.