IEHA.orgNo manager likes hearing a valued employee is quitting. At the same time, no one likes hearing that someone who just completed training has decided the job isn’t the right fit for them. In many facilities, custodial workers are often the “face” of the housekeeping or environmental services department because they are regularly interacting with other building occupants. In the long term, it can pay dividends to find and retain excellent frontline employees, because they play a large role in customer relations.
Maintaining key employees and keeping turnover rates low can also have a large impact on your bottomline. According to some estimates, recruiting, training and providing orientation for new workers can cost a significant amount of money--upwards of $1,000 per employee. This is money that could be spent on new technology, training or certification for other staff.
So what’s the key to finding the best workers for your business? Much like anything, a little planning goes a long way. A study by Leadership IQ identified that new employee failures may result from flawed interview processes. Eighty-two percent of the 5,000 managers surveyed reported that the interviewers were too focused on other issues, too pressed for time or lacked confidence in their interviewing abilities to pay attention to red flags candidates exhibited during the interview process. Ultimately, your preparation is just as important as the candidate’s—you need to be able to ask the right questions during the interview to find out if the person will be a good fit for your workplace.
While it can be difficult to thoroughly screen employees in a cleaning operation because workers are often hired last minute or on an emergency basis, you can prepare a preliminary list of questions relevant to the position and workplace during a slow period so it’s ready whenever you need it.
To help you prepare for your next interview, we’ve compiled a list of steps you can take to make the most of your time and find the right candidate for the job.
I. Before the Interview
Step 1: Develop a Standardized Set of Questions
While it’s easy to review questions and ask questions based off of the candidate’s resume, this can make it difficult to critically compare candidates. Take the time to develop a set of questions that you’ll ask each candidate. Be sure to include questions that can help reveal how they may respond to situations particular to your business. For example, if they will be required to work extra hours in order to get the job done, ask “What is a situation you’ve experienced where you had to work additional hours to complete the task? How did you feel about that?”
You should also include behavioral questions on your list that are relevant to your workplace. For example, “If you came to work and someone had borrowed all of your microfiber for the day, what would you do?”
Once you have your list of questions completed, review them with other individuals who will be interviewing the candidate. This helps eliminate the opportunity for duplicate questions and making the most of everyone’s time, including the candidates.
Step 2: Carefully Review the Candidate’s Resume
This individual is taking the time to come to your business for the interview, so you should take the time to be prepared. Read the candidate’s resume and identify areas where you can drill down to get additional clarity around certain points. For example, if someone says they have management experience, find out how many people they managed and who they reported to? This will help you avoid missing certain points, which could happen if you’re reading it during the interview.
Social media is another place where you can get a better sense of the candidate. While you’ll likely perform a background check before employment, this can provide you additional background on the candidate. While legally the candidate’s social media activity should not factor into your final decision, it can provide some additional
II. During the Interview
Step 3: Start Slow
While it’s easy to rush an interview because of other more pressing issues, make an effort to start slowly so the candidate feels comfortable. Ask an “icebreaker” question such as “How about those Bears?" Not really, but you get the idea—ask where the individual grew up or what one of their favorite restaurants are to help start the conversation in a relaxed way.
Step 4: Don’t do all the talking
When interviewing someone, it’s easy to take the lead on the conversation and do most of the talking. But it’s just as important to listen to the candidates, and to let them interview you too. Give them a realistic view of the job and the work environment, so they can decide if it’s the right fit for them.
Step 5: Watch their body language
While body language won’t reveal the candidate’s deepest and darkest secrets, it can provide you with insight on whether they are trustworthy, insecure or reliable. Look for key things, such as the strength of their handshake, whether or not they make eye contact with you during the conversation, posture or whether or not they cross their arms (an indication that they might be defensive).
III. Following the Interview
Step 6: Follow up with references and validate past employment.
Don’t think that just because a candidate lists someone as a reference, that individual will give them a positive review. According to a 2012 CareerBuilder survey, 3 in 10 of responding employers said that when they checked a candidate’s references, a professional contact did not have positive things to say. In addition, 29 percent of the employers surveyed detected a false reference on a job seeker's application.
Even if your interview was clear of any red flags, it will greatly benefit you to perform due diligent and check the candidate’s reference. Ask questions such as what their relationship was to the candidate, their job title, dates and employment, how they would rate their overall performance and to detail their strengths and weaknesses. Posing an open-ended question, such as, “is there anything else I should know,” can also open the door to additional insights that might help contribute to your decision.
Step 7: Be attentive to follow-up.
While this may sound old school, if a candidate is interested in the position, they will follow up after the interview to let you know. If the candidate does not express interest in the position after you speak with them, there’s a good chance they aren’t the right fit for you.
As stated before, a little bit of legwork can go a long way to helping you identify and hire the right employees for the job. If you have a good idea of who you want for the job before you begin the hiring process, following these steps will help ensure that you find that individual.
