Hiring Wisdom: 4 Things About Making the Hire/Don’t Hire Decision

The following is a best practice, proven technique for making better hiring decisions:

If you make the final hire/don’t hire decision, there are four things to consider:

The results of testing should count for 30 percent.
The interview should count for 30 percent.
The results of the reference check should count for 30 percent.
Your feeling, intuition, and opinion should count for only 10 percent (because, no matter how hard you try to eliminate your biases – they may still be there.)

If the applicant scores poorly in any one of these areas, it’s a deal breaker. However, an exceptional rating in any one area shouldn’t, on its own, get someone hired.

You’ll want to have good ratings for all four criteria before you make an offer of employment.

This was originally published on Mel Kleiman’s Humetrics blog.

Mel Kleiman, CSP, is an internationally-known authority on recruiting, selecting, and hiring hourly employees. He has been the president of Humetrics since 1976 and has over 30 years of practical experience, research, consulting and professional speaking work to his credit. Contact him at mkleiman@humetrics.com.

http://blissassociates.com/ Bill Bliss

Mel,

This is a good view, and simple also; I like that! One other point for those situations where there are more than one person who “weighs” in on the hiring decision – ensure everyone who will be part of the decision making process is fully aligned on what the job really is, what skills, talents or competencies are needed (vs. those that are nice to have, but not deal breakers) and what the top five outcomes are that are expected by someone who performs the job well. All too often, those involved in making the hiring decision do not have this alignment, and then the decisions makers are all looking for someone or something different. What happens then is that the person who is hired is the best of what is acceptable to all, rather than the best to perform the exact job everyone agrees must be done.
http://twitter.com/sparkhire Spark Hire

Good breakdown of the hire/don’t hire decision making process. As you’ve noted, the interview process is very important. Whether your interview is in person or through online video, the interview is the place where you can learn more about the candidate. Instead of just seeing skills and qualifications, the interview also tells you about important intangibles like personality fit and communication skills. This is why the interview and the gut instinct you get from the interview are such important aspect of the hiring process.