Employee costs are rising.  Despite attempts by management to control these costs, people continue to account for the lion’s share of any organization’s operation expenses.  Any person in an organization who is not producing at optimum capacity reduces productivity.  For many managers, the single largest “purchase” they make is a new employee.

Yet most managers and supervisors lack the skills needed to make a good selection decision.  Even human resources professionals have noted that interviewing can be a difficult job.  Gut feelings and subjective impressions often are the dominant factors in hiring decisions.  Such factors are notoriously inaccurately predictors of how a candidate will perform once he or she has been hired for a position.

If your organization has not trained managers to make accurate selection decisions, they are probably not doing as well as they could be.  Interviewing and selection skills are trainable.  Making an investment in training managers to interview properly could potentially save your organization tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars lost to bad hiring choices each year.

The results of a more systematic approach to the hiring process include:

• Reduced turnover
• Greater consistency between interviewers in evaluating the same candidate
• Training investment not wasted on employees who leave or are terminated early
• Ease in reaching a hiring decision because of well-defined job requirements
• Lowered advertising, agency or search fees
• Increased morale and productivity in work teams due to well matched new hires
• Costly unnecessary EEO/ADA complaints easily avoided
• Professional interviews which reflect well on your organization
• Increased percentage of new hires that perform up to expectations or standards.

These and other benefits translate directly into a saving of dollars and increased productivity.

Selection interviewing is not an exact science, but studies demonstrate that improved accuracy in the selection process is possible.  How to Pick the Right People uses this research and teaches concrete skills necessary to improve hiring accuracy.

Who Can Benefit from the How to Pick the Right People Workshop

Managers or supervisors who perform selection interviewing as one aspect of their professional responsibilities stand to reap enormous benefits from attending the How to Pick the Right People workshop.  Often these individuals make the final hiring decision, yet have little or no training to do it systematically or accurately.  It is also important to note that EEO/ADA regulations apply to all interviewers, not just those in Human Resources.

Human Resource professionals are another group whose primary responsibility involves interviewing.  This might include staff in both the employment and college retirement functions.  It is important to provide newer professionals with training as well as to refresh and support the skills of those more experienced.