The Final Steps in Hiring

You have decided to hire Richard Newguy. He fits the job to a T. You interviewed him twice, checked his last job reference, and you are ready to call Richard and offer him the job. The next couple of days determine whether Richard will be a success at your shop, and Richard has nothing to do with it. It is up to you!

Two different processes here. One is getting Mr. Newguy ready, and the other is preparing your current people to accept him and make him feel part of the team.

Let's work on Mr. Newguy. After he says "'YES", plan one short meeting with him to give him your employee manual and insurance sign-up paperwork. (If you don't have an employee manual, start now planning to create one) Have Richard read the employee manual front cover-to-cover.
Send Richard for his drug-testing at this point. (If you are not drug testing, what are you waiting for--more on this another day.) Make a copy of his driver's license to send to your insurance company for a motor vehicle department background check. (We'll cover this another time, too.)

You are giving Richard a "conditional" offer of employment, that is he is hired if he passes his drug test and driving background search. You cannot withdraw your offer if he does pass. Call him as soon as these tests come back and congratulate him on officially becoming an employee.

If he is working out a two-week notice at a previous employer, contact him every couple of days. If Richard is as good as you hope, his current boss will be attempting to retain him with offers of more money or responsibility. This will turn heads if the offers are enough. By keeping in touch, he is reminded of his commitment to you. Tell him, if an offer comes up, where was the current employer before this? Why did it require Richard giving notice in order to get his long overdue raise? This is a critical time in Richard's mind. He is weighing the devil he knows, versus your unknown.

Have his new supervisor call during this period also. You want to start to develop the relationship that will be so important. If Richard asks you questions, tell him his supervisor will call back with the answers. This helps cement the line of authority. Make sure the supervisor has briefed Richard on your dress codes, parking spaces, lunch options, and an overview of what his first couple of days will be like. Emphasize that he will get plenty of help and training so he can be successful.

On the evening before his last day at the current job, make one last phone call. Tomorrow he will probably have a small party and say good-bye to his friends. They will all say how much they will miss Richard and this will tug on him. Fortify him with the knowledge that he is joining a new family and a new career with your company. Also, remind him what he needs to bring with him for Monday morning, things like driver's license, immigration paperwork if relevant, and a signed copy of the receipt for the employee manual.

At your company, tell people that Richard Newguy will be joining you and what his responsibilities will be, who his supervisor is, and who may be reporting to him. Have your personnel office, or your secretary, or whomever handles this ready for him on Monday morning. Have his payroll created so that there is no running around. Get the paperwork out of the way as quickly as possible. Have his supervisor give Richard a tour of the whole place, introducing Richard as they walk through. Everyone should be expecting him and should greet him by name.

Changing jobs is traumatic for the individual. They always say: "Should I have done this? " There is Monday-morning quarterbacking for the first couple of days, until they settle in. Assign a buddy to work with Richard and show him the ropes. Have the buddy go to lunch with Richard for a day or two and generally be his guide to the area.


Check in with Richard after his first day and answer any questions. Do this again on his third or fourth day, and at the end of that session, declare him ready to go to work!

Follow-up on Cash for Glass

OK, it was a radical idea. Having our major floaters and fabricators all go bankrupt so the government would buy them, just like the car companies. But, I heard from many readers who suggested which glass companies should go down the tubes.


No one company led the race to the bottom. It seemed that just about everybody had someone willing to volunteer them for bankruptcy.


The disappointing part is that I didn't hear from any floaters or fabricators stepping up and doing the volunteer thing. Not one patriotic company out there, willing to give it all up for the good of the industry. I had the letter ready to go, the one to Congress urging that the US government buy___________Glass Company (just waiting to fill in the blank), and start the rebate program.


Such is life, another good idea from your friendly blogger goes down the drain. This year I have been cheering for the Mets, predicting a strong economy by the 3rd quarter, and now, hoping for a major bankruptcy.


I hope your summer has been better.



Next week we'll get serious again, going back to our series on interviewing.

Cash For Clunkers--The Glass Option

You have heard the news...everyone is getting their rebate from Uncle Sam for their old cars. What about us? Uncle is helping the car dealers. I demand a program for consumers who want to turn in their old, ineffecient insulating glass from the 70's and 80's.

I want a government handout program for each clear annealed unit replaced with sputter coated low-e on hurricane resistant lami. And then rebate a higher price for every unit with argon. Fair is fair. The government bought GM and is now putting together a sale to sell more GM cars. I want the government to buy some glass companies, and then start a Cash for Glass program.

Write your Congressman. Write your fabricators and insisit that they go bankrupt so the government can bail them out. It will be good for the economy if one of these big fancy fabricators voluntarily lost enough money to cause bankruptcy. Who will be the first to volunteer? Oldcastle, step up for the good of America. Arch, stick your neck out. Vitro, you almost did this last month...come on, due it now and you will help Mexico and the USA.


Energy savings with low-e is better than getting an extra mile per gallon, of course it is. Come on Barack, buy a fabricator or two, and then let's see the rebate program!

The Art of Interviewing

1. Meet a total stranger.


2. Spend 15-30 minutes with them.


3. Decide if you want to employ her/him for the next ten years, or longer.


4. Beat your head against the wall.


5. Waste just a ton of money and time.


6. Start over at 1.

In my book there is no more important decision than hiring someone to work in your company. If you don't agree with this, close this page and go play solitaire.

This will be part of a multi-part blog---first, thoughts related to all interviews, then thoughts related to a blue collar job, and then to a white collar position.

So, let's discuss points that relate to all types of interviews.

• The number one rule---Don't Rush This Process!!
• If you make a mistake in the interviewing process, you may have a problem employee, a rabble rouser, a worker's comp maven, and a time-waster for the whole company. The costs to get rid of a poor employee are huge; investing a half hour now saves you tons of money in the future. Better yet, you want to hire great people, not just avoid the bad ones. In the current economic times, it is an employer's market. Take advantage of it.
• Have a cheat sheet prepared with a description of the job you are interviewing for, the duties and responsibilities, shift requirements, if OT is available or mandatory, if tools are needed, and if special skills are required. Your second cheat sheet has the pay range of the job, a detailed list of your benefits, vacation programs, sick days, and pension/401/k program. Using these sheets, you should be able to go through your presentation in six or seven minutes. Practice this in front of your mirror until you get it down pat.
• When the applicant comes in for the interview hand them an employment application. You can get standard ones at your office supply company, or if you are large enough, you'll have company specific forms created. Why do they have to fill out another paper if they have sent a resume or email? Simple. To see if they can. Is their writing legible? Do they understand the directions to fill the form out completely? Did someone else write their resume? If the application is poorly filled out, that is a good indicator that they will be a poor employee. If they see "see resume", they are taking short cuts, which you don't want to have on jobs. If they fail to read the questions on the application correctly, will they do the same with takeoffs and purchase orders? Give each applicant a clipboard and the application, telling them to fill it out completely. No exceptions. A good application is a sure sign of a good candidate. Count on it.
• If you are hiring for a position, and Spanish will be the accepted language for the position, get a Spanish application and have a Spanish-speaking Supervisor do the interview. There are many great employees who don't speak English. If your company can operate in a bi-lingual environment, do your hiring with the same guidelines.
• Review the employment application for a minute or two prior to the start of the interview. Prepare the questions you want to ask this person, maybe about gaps in the work history, why they left a certain position, or what they thought of their supervisor at their last job.
• Greet the person at your reception desk and walk them into the interviewing room. See how they react on first meeting you. Are they nervous? It is your job to calm them in the first thirty seconds of the interview with a greeting and explaining that this interview is a way for them to know about your company, as well as a way for you to meet them. Tell them to relax so they can have a comfortable interview. Does the applicant come across strong? Comment on that, saying you are glad to meet him/her, and you look forward to telling them about your company.
• Generally, I would speak first for about three or four minutes, explaining some company history for one minute, and then a couple of minutes on the job itself. After you have established yourself, it is time to for the candidate tell their story. Ask a couple of open-ended questions, and sit back and listen. The more you let the candidate talk, the better your decision making will be.
• Whether a factory or office job, everything should be the same up to here.

There are many of you who are saying this is too much time and effort for a clerk's or a factory job. WRONG. Every time you hire, you want to hire the best person for the job and to fit into your company. Spend the time; you will save big dollars by hiring once instead of twice. You will reduce your unemployment insurance costs, your training and, you know. After your interview, if you like the person, have their direct supervisor do the second interview. By letting them pick their own team member you will greatly improve the hiring process!

Back to your interview. Don't ask questions that try to get into the mind of the candidate, such as: What is your favorite color and why? Or, Who would you rather be, Captain Kirk or Mr. Spock? You can describe a situation and ask the candidate what they would do as the next step. Do ask in depth about their last job, what they did on a regular day, how about a day that was frantic, and why they are looking for a new job. If they have been laid off, ask if they will go back if they are called back? This is an important one for you to get a straight answer.

Phrase your questions as simply as possible. You are not trying to impress an applicant with your language skills. Let the applicant's speak. Even if they speak slowly, don't finish their sentences for them.

Never make hiring decision on your own if at all possible. Get a second opinion from someone in your company, preferably someone who has worked in the job being filled, or supervises the job. Even if you are in a rush, hold the second interview the next day, not the same day. Give the applicant a night to sleep on your job, and you should do the same. People look and act very different on second interviews. This will help you make the right decisions.

That's enough for today, more next week.

When the applicant asks questions, answer them unless they don't relate to the job at hand. Some topics you may want to cover in a second interview, so give a brief overview answer, and then tell them you can go into more detail on the subject at the next interview.

If the conversation lags or stops, feel free to end the interview. You don't have to run the full thirty minutes. You will probably know after five minutes of their questions if you want a second interview. To close out the interview, thank them for coming in and explain that you will be calling back selected candidates for a second interview.