Hiring Best Practice Using the Rule of Thirds

 

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

A best practice in photography uses the rule of thirds, where a picture, painting or photo is divided into three equal parts and nine boxes to make a visually pleasing and equally horizontal spaced image that is pleasing to the eye. Following this guide allows for the central points not only to be well-balanced and aligned but create more interest and energy that simply centering your subject in the middle of the picture or photography.

Hiring managers can follow the rule of thirds as a best practice when it comes to hiring their employees. To select the most well-rounded employee, managers should hire keeping these rules of thirds in mind during their next open requisition or position opening for a new employee.

Work ethic: 30% Hard workers are a huge asset to any organization. They walk in day in and day out ready to go the extra mile for their team and employer. It’s not a big secret that companies want these people. The benefits of a strong work ethic are numerous and aren’t limited to just the employer. When an employee has a strong work ethic it’s bound to spill over into their work which improves the company’s bottom line in different areas of the business. As a new generation enters the workforce employers are worried that past generation’s work ethic was much higher then those in their early 20s. When given the chance, 20 year olds can be more productive, innovative, and dynamic then their older counterparts.

Competency and Skill: Another important aspect of a new hire is their overall skill and competency levels. The cost of training a new hire is about 14,000 on average and training an employee who doesn’t possess the right competency and skill level is even higher. An important aspect throughout the entire hiring process is to find someone who posses the right skill set for the job. Prevention in this area is easily combated through skills testing and other testing methods. This part of the hiring process is important because it’ll allow an employee to enter their job without an excessive amount of training in the beginning. If a company is struggling to find the perfect fit with a certain skill set, this 30% is more important.

Cultural Fit: Every organization, from small business to large corporations has a culture. A company culture can affect everything from the reputation of a company to important HR metrics such as employee retention and quality of hire. The last 30% is based on how well a candidate or new hire can survive the cultural differences within the workplace. You can have the best employee ever, skill & work ethic wise, but if they don’t fit in the company culture they can really disrupt things. Make sure that those who you hire not only fit the competency level with strong work ethic, but that they mix well within your corporate company culture.

Each of these areas work together to form the perfect candidate, but finding that person can be difficult at times. Looking for a candidate that doesn’t possess all these skills can end up hurting your company in the long run. Finding a candidate that has a strong work ethic, but doesn’t possess the needed skills or finding a candidate that fit perfectly in your company culture, but lacks skills can potentially be a big issue.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s an author who writes at Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @blogging4jobs. 


Photo Credit.

The Great Candidate Quality vs. Quantity Debate Part Two

 

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

In Part One of this series we outlined the specifics behind the right times to pick quality over quantity and vice versa. If you’re a company that has had bad experiences with mass hiring and not necessarily picking the right candidates for the job, you’ll find these benefits to be very true. Hiring for quality has its perks and they’re good perks too!

Before we get into some of the top perks of hiring quality over quantity, here are some quick pointers on hiring quality employees.

Use Validation Testing. There’s nothing worse than a candidate coming in for an interview and saying their amazing at this and that, then not having a clue once they’re hired. Prevent this with using specific testing software that’ll see if the candidate really knows what they’re talking about. People lie on their resumes all the time. Prevent yourself from being lied to.

Use Referrals. The average time it takes to fill a job position using a referral is 29 days opposed to hiring someone off the street at 39 days. Use your employees to recruit their friends. We all know someone who knows someone who is good at whatever job position you need to be filled. Use your inter-office connections! Give incentives!  

Now that you know a couple ways to hire quality candidates, here are the benefits that you’ll reap from taking the extra step. The right employee can have an amazing impact on the success of your business. A quality person can do more with less. He can bring fresh ideas to the table. She can self-motivate and go above and beyond the job description.

Increased Productivity. This one seems to be a no-brainer. If you hire quality candidates and you treat them as such, they will be brand advocates and want to work hard for your company. Your success will be their success. According to the most recent Gallup calculations actively disengaged employees – those that are least productive – cost the American economy up to $350 billion per year in lost productivity. 

Decreased Turnover. Hiring a candidate that is not only right for the job, but fits into your company culture will result in decreased turnover.  If you’re hiring awful candidates not only will the high cost of training cripple your company, but also the loyalty within your office will suffer.

High Morale. You might wonder how this is derived as a benefit from hiring quality over quantity. Office dynamics play a huge role in the success of a company. If everyone is able to do their job right and even throw out game-changing ideas, your company will be on a metaphorical high all the way to the top of the Fortune 200/500.  After all, who doesn’t want to work for the leader in a particular industry? Put the proper people in place and they will take you there.

The pros and cons to hiring for quality over quantity could be listed out for decades and the debate over which to hire could span a lifetime. Based on what was learned from Part One, the coin could be tossed both ways. No matter, which way you go, know the benefits of hiring for quality.  What do you think? Quality or Quantity?

Photo Credit.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media.  She’s an author who writes at Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @blogging4jobs.