Hiring staff is never easy. But it’s always expensive. If the new hire “doesn’t work out” and has to be replaced, your costs will rise. That’s why you must be particularly careful when choosing trainees or people without prior experience.
There are many benefits to hiring inexperienced staff, but you must be careful when making your staff pick. One of these benefits is you get loyalty. Your company is the only company they are familiar with and may be hesitant to leave. Or your budget is tight and you can’t afford to hire staff with experience. Whatever the reason, read the tips below to help you in your selection of hiring inexperienced staff.
The Biggest Trap
“They’re only pairs of hands”. “We can always find unskilled people”. “Anyone can do this job”. “If they can’t handle it, we’ll find someone else”. “We can always find more trainees”. If you hear yourself or one of your staff using these words or others like them, look out! You can potentially waste money.
A Costly Trap
It costs money to select staff. It costs money to terminate them. But the big cost is the cost of keeping incompetent staff on the payroll. If those poorly chosen people must be replaced, think of the costs of failed training, lost customers, frustration of other staff, extra supervision, damaged equipment, even perhaps costs of overtime that needs to be worked to compensate for their incompetence.
The Harsh Reality
When appointing trainees, school leavers and inexperienced staff you need to take great care. It’s riskier than appointing people who have suitable backgrounds and experience. The potential for failure is much greater.
Some Basic “Do’s”
- Set a strict probation period. Either you or the new hire should have the freedom to decide whether you should stay together. Skills aren’t the only thing involved. A new hire may develop skills but you or he or she may be quite uncomfortable in your culture.
- Set Goals For Initial Training. Before you make your selection, set the training goals for the person who gets the job. Remember the initial training should be based on what you expect the successful candidate will be able to do on the job. If you’re using a 3 month probation period set training goals for 30, 60 and 90 days.
- Use Skill Tests. You won’t be able to replicate job skills exactly. But you should set up tests to help you decide whether candidates have basic aptitudes. Where possible develop your own tests using your own tools and equipment. They should be based on the training goals you’ve already set.
- Use Prepared Scripts When Interviewing. You have little or no experience to work with. You need to ask each candidate the same questions using the same words and in the same order. And white down each candidate’s answers for later comparison.
- Be Cautious About School And Academic Achievements. Even if you’re recruiting graduates, remember that you’ll be expecting on job competence and culture fit. Scholastic records may tell you something about these matters. But take care that you don’t overemphasise them.
Some Basic “Don’ts”
- Don’t Overvalue Non-Work References. References from teachers, clergy, coaches, family friends or “prominent citizens” can be very persuasive. They do not tell you how well the applicant will perform or even feel comfortable in your workplace.
- Don’t Let “Interview Performance” Overwhelm You. You are trying to form an opinion about whom to offer a job in your business. The candidates will be trying to impress you. It’s easy to be impressed by articulate, well presented and intelligent applicants. Trust your training based test results over your interview perception.
- Don’t Rush. Take your time. You’re about to make a large personal, vocational and financial commitment. You’re also about to make a significant impact on someone’s future. Take care to respect both parties. Compare test results carefully.
- Don’t Ask Unanswerable Questions. Your candidates have no experience doing the work of the vacant job. They can’t make sensible responses to questions about it. In particular, never ask questions that start with “What would you do if ….?” Such questions invite only opinion and speculation. What people do on the job may be very different to what they say they’d do in an interview. And avoid statements that start with, “We’re looking for a person who …” You’re providing an answer before asking the question.
Conclusion
Take great care when selecting people who don’t carry much relevant experience and background. If you’re successful, your return on investment will be hugely successful. If you fail, there will be no return on your investment.