September 2, 2008

There is probably nothing that will make an employee more angry and bitter than to think an interviewer led them down a primrose path, painted a glowing picture of employment, only to come to the company and discover that the image created for them was a lie.  As a manager, you would hope that kind of disillusioned person would leave, but alas, they usually don't -- they remain, intent on inflicting their revenge on all around for what they view as a cruel hoax.  Why does this happen each day in interviewing sessions throughout America?  Do employers intentionally lie, purposely paint a picture that isn't true just to coax an applicant to say "yes" and join the workforce?

Yes, sometimes managers do stretch the truth. Oh, they probably wish and maybe in a polyannish way hope that the hype is at least sometimes true, byut let's face it.  It is such a problem to have turnover that most of us employers are so desperate for a warm body, we are holding our breaths that a fairly decent candidate will accept our offer and come to work -- yesterday, I mean, tomorrow!  As employers, we are usually so focused on whether the applicant is good for us that we forget to ensure that we are good for them.  The result is often that an applicant agrees to a job without a complete understanding of what they are getting themelves into -- and that is a recipe for disaster.  So, for the good of the employee, the manager, the coworkers, and everyone's sanity, it behooves managers to ensure that applicants have a realistic job preview before they are allowed to commit to employment.

How can you ensure employees know what they are getting into? 

(1) Give your applicant a clear, up-to-date, detailed job description and go over it with them line by line.  Provide specific examples including estimates of how much of an employee's workweek is generally devoted to each type of task. 

(2) Review a blank evaluation form with the applicant, showing them exactly what factors they will be appraised on and the relative value of those factors.  Give examples, specific to the particular job, of good and bad behavior under each evaluation factor, especially those factors which are vague terms such as teamwork or innovation.

(3) Articulate what you as the manager and the business as a whole is willing to do to assist the employee in mastering those skills on which they will be evaluated.

(4) Take the employee on a tour of the facilities, including their exact workspace.  Some people care very deeply under what conditions they work.  For example, some people find it very difficult working in a cubicle environment rather than private offices.  It isn't always a pride thing, but a noise distraction thing.  I heard of an employee who quit hour one of the first day when she realized that she would have to work in a cubicle and, having had a bad experience with noise distraction in a cubicle environment in another workplace, felt she simply could not be in that situation. 

(5) Allow the employee to speak one-on-one with someone currently in the position for which they are applying.  Tell your current employees to tell the complete truth -- to portray the job realistically -- the good, the bad, and the ugly.  A great thing to have your employees pass on is one thing they wished they had known when they first started this job.

(6) Where possible, allow the applicant to observe or even participate in major aspects of the job to see if they like it.  For example, in the calm, refined setting of an interview, it is one thing to tell an applicant, "Now, customers may yell at you, may call you names, may use foul language -- can you handle that?"  It is quite another to allow the applicant to listen in on a customer service call where one of his potential colleagues (which could be him) is being called a &*%#! 

Use your imagination and creativity to ensure that your applicants are receiving the clearest picture possible of their future employment.  I guarantee they will thank you for it -- and you will thank yourself!

J. Lenora Bresler is an attorney, senior certified human resource professional, and a professional speaker in the National Speakers Association.  Her specialties are in leadership, motivation, conflict resolution, diversity, and communication.  Learn more about her or contact her at www.jlenorabresler.com.