Publican - ABLE BC

Human Resourcesby go2Recruiting the Right Staff throughEffective Pre-Screening TechniquesDiscovering too late that a new hire isn’t theright fit can be an expensive lesson learned. It isestimated that a bad hire can cost an organizationup to three times the employee’s annual salary –with the cost of recruitment time, job advertising,training, and salary, as well as the less tangiblelosses of productivity and low team morale. Thismeans a cook earning $30,000 per year couldpotentially cost you a staggering $90,000 if thingsgo wrong.For many companies, it is simply too expensive to“just hire and see how it goes.” Thankfully, thereare simple tools and techniques that can assistyou in pre-screening candidates before you moveon to the next step of conducting an in-depth,face-to-face interview. It goes without sayingthat you should have a clear and up-to-date jobdescription and know what role you want the newemployee to play. Once you have reviewed all theapplications for the job opening, you can developa short list of candidates by paying close attentionto the following guidelines:Cover Letter - Most résumés will be prefacedby a cover letter in which applicants summarizewhy they are qualified for the position. Apoorly conceived letter that is disorganized,grammatically incorrect, or contains numerousspelling errors may justify eliminating thatcandidate. This will depend on how importantcommunication skills are to the position. Forexample, they may be more essential for amanager than a dishwasher.Résumé - Compare the applicant's education,work experience, skill set, and other experience tothe job description and qualifications you require.Look for résumés that highlight accomplishmentsinstead of responsibilities. Accomplishments showwhat was actually achieved by the candidate,such as "decreased food costs by 10%," whichwould indicate that this person is an achieverand understands how day-to-day tasks affect thebottom line. Note any long, unexplained gapsin the applicant's work record. If the résumé hasbeen customized to address your job opening, youcan conclude that the job seeker has put seriousthought into the application.Phone Screening Interview - The hospitalityindustry, and especially the pub environment, callsfor solid people skills. Once you have compiledyour short list, a brief call can help you identifythe candidates whose skill set and experiencemerit further interviewing. Ask each candidatethe same set of questions (keep it to fewer thanfive) and take notes, so you can compare theiranswers fairly afterwards. Remember to ask thenon-negotiable questions; for instance, if you arelooking for a bartender, ask about the candidate'savailability to work at night. If someone can't workat night, you don't go any further. In screeninginterviews, you should verify the basic facts in acandidate's résumé. Pay close attention to theircommunication skills - and whether they showenthusiasm for the position. These are intangiblequalities, but they are important factors in a teambasedservice environment like a pub or bar.Employee Assessment Tests - Assessment testsadd a quantitative dimension to the selectionprocess by screening for job experience andpast behaviour, skills and abilities, personalmotivation, people skills and corporate culturefit. These tests have been in use for decades andhave a solid track record when used properly.Standardized tests that pose the same questionsto all job candidates help you compare allapplicants against a consistent standard. Thesetests are available from a variety of third-partyexperts; many of the tests are web-based and canbe downloaded by the job seeker, then submittedto you online. This is particularly appropriate if youare already using online recruitment. If you wantto design your own employee assessment test,solicit input from your current staff to devise theright set of survey questions, and consider havingthem take the test to see how well it measuresthe skills and attitude you need in an employee.Including your existing staff at this fundamentalstage of the hiring process helps them feel theyare contributing to the strength and versatilityof the team, while improving the quality of thetest. While such surveys are a key componentof candidate assessment, they are only onestep in the process. The raw data itself, or poorlyinterpreted results, could still result in a bad hire.Having engaged in this methodical pre-screeningprocess, you are now in a position to devote yourtime productively in conducting full interviewswith the short list of candidates whose experience,skills, and attitude should be compatible with yourstaffing needs and business goals.go2 is BC’s tourism and hospitality human resource association responsiblefor coordinating the industry’s Human Resource Action Plan. For moreinformation on using human resources to improve your business's bottomline, visit www.go2hr.ca.8 The Publican