How to improve communication is always a topic that my clients want me to cover in training or coaching projects.
Here are 3 questions to get us started:
- Have you ever hired a loser?
- What did you learn from this experience?
- What are your favorite interview questions?
The answers to the questions above were discussed in my last group coaching training with Department Managers and Leaders. This article will cover all 3 questions. I look forward to hearing about your own best practices that work for your company.
Hiring Strategies to Improve Communication #1: Know the Cost of a Bad Hire 
- Interview time
- Reference checking time
- Manager training time
- Potential customer problems
The important thing is to realize the cost of a bad hire. This happens to all of us at times. We were caught off guard because the person came so highly recommended or you may have needed a body immediately because of a timely project and the person in charge just quit.
Hiring Strategies to Improve Communication #2: Learn From the Experience
Participants in the training shared the following mistakes and what they learned:
- To evaluate the candidate even if he or she is a close friend
- To put your ego aside and don’t hire a candidate just because he or she is like you
- To look at both the personality and skill set of the candidate
- To make sure that the hiring manager has enough information about the job
I can see many of you shake your heads right now, because you may have made the same mistakes.
An HR Professional told us that he hired someone because he was so impressed with the resume and missed obvious flaws in the candidate’s personality. We can teach skills, it’s a challenge to show someone how to be a good team player.
Hiring Strategies to Improve Communication #3: Use Creative Interview Questions
- Describe a typical workday at your previous/current job.
This is the time when you can hear if there’s a lot of blame or negativity. - Tell me about the best boss that you ever had.
You can see if there’s leadership potential. - How would your coworkers describe you?
Go deep here. Ask the candidate for specific examples when he or she tells you about the positive qualities. - Did you ever have to deal with a coworker who didn’t pull his or her weight?
This question may uncover how the candidate handles conflict.
Share these 3 hiring strategies to improve communication with your team to discuss new ways to make the hiring process as productive as possible. Stay tuned for future articles that contain information about interviewing strategies, orientation options, and performance appraisals.
I want to hear from you!
Send me your biggest mistake in hiring or interviewing candidates. Let us know your best hiring practices. You can respond directly to the blog or send me an email HERE.
This is Joyce Weiss
Corporate Communication Strategist and Career Coach
Remember…You Get What You Tolerate!
P.S. Read more articles and listen to podcasts at our Team Building Strategies Knowledge Base
