The Three Best Predictors of On-the-Job Success

I’ve been interviewing candidates for 30+ years and tracking their subsequent performance for just as long.

I’ve found that ability to do the work, fit with the actual situation, and motivation to do the actual work to be the best predictors of subsequent success.

However, unless you define the actual work you can’t measure any of these factors accurately. For example, consider a top-notch person who is highly motivated to work 24/7 on tough technical problems for a supportive manager in an even-paced, mature organization. Change any factor – the manager, the type or number of problems, the company culture, the pressure to perform, or the level of support – and it’s problematic if this same person will as successful or motivated.

It seems obvious that if you don’t define the work ahead of time the assessment will be flawed. Yet somehow the obvious is lost on those doing the assessing. Here’s a quick solution whether you’re interviewing or being interviewed:

1. Define the work first as a series of 5-6 performance objectives (more). It’s better to say “upgrade the customer billing and reporting system” rather than have a BS in Accounting, 2-3 years Accounts Receivable (AR) experience with in-depth exposure to Great Plains billing software.” (If you’re a candidate ask the interviewer to describe the critical performance objectives for the job. Don’t be surprised if most interviewers don’t know these, including the hiring manager, but this is a great way to demonstrate your insight and switch the conversation to performance and potential rather than skills and experience.)
2. Define the situational fit factors. These include the manager’s leadership style, the company culture, and any unusual aspects of the job including the pace, the need for flexibility, resource limitations, and the quality of the team. For example, for the Accounts Receivable position it would be important to note if the manager is a control freak or totally uninvolved, or if the project is six months behind schedule, or if the department is understaffed. All of these will affect performance. (Job-seekers should always ask about these situational fit factors during the interview since they could be a setup for failure.)
3. Conduct a Performance-based Interview (more). Assessing ability and fit involves having candidates describe their most significant comparable accomplishment (MSA) for each of the 5-6 critical performance objectives defining the work. This is the Most Important Interview Question of All Time I’ve written about previously. Done properly, this one question uncovers talent, fit and motivation. (Candidates need to answer this by describing a major equivalent accomplishment providing lots of specific details. To get ready for the interview, prepare a half-page write-up for each of your top 5-6 accomplishments with every detail you can remember.)
4. Peel the onion for each MSA question looking for patterns of success. To uncover the underlying drivers motivating the candidate to excel, ask about the manager’s style, the environment, the resources, the team, how projects were organized and how challenges were overcome. Even if you correctly assess talent, few people excel in all situations, that’s why measuring fit is so important. After 3-4 MSA questions patterns of consistent behavior will emerge. These factors tend to involve the quality of the manager, the types of work the candidate finds motivating, the degree of job structure, and the types of people the candidate works with. (Job-seekers should know this about themselves as they compare opportunities. In the long run, they’re far more important than the money and the location.)
5. Find the source of motivation, not just the level of it. The three drivers of success, ability, fit and motivation are interdependent, unfortunately most interviewers measure them individually, or not at all. For each accomplishment ask the candidate to provide three examples of initiative or going the extra mile. Most people can come up with one or two. Only the truly self-motivated can describe three. Soon you’ll have multiple examples of initiative in different situations. Collectively they’ll reveal the underlying source of the candidate’s drive. Make sure your job is comparable on this score, since the difference between a talented person and an all-star is motivation.

Predicting hiring success involves assessing a candidate’s ability to do the work, his or her fit with the actual circumstances of the job, and the person’s underlying motivation to do the actual work required. Few would dispute this. Yet most managers over emphasize raw talent or generic motivation, without proper consideration for the actual job and situation. This seems foolhardy, since the manager will be clarifying expectations once the new hire is on the job, so doing it before the person is hired takes no additional effort. Even better, the manager might discover that the best candidate is not the one who makes the best first impression, but the one who is actually the best performer.

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130422022109-15454-the-three-best-predictors-of-on-the-job-success

Using Performance Profiles to Improve Recruiter Effectiveness

It is my contention that the only way to systematically hire superior people is to clearly define superior performance before beginning any new job search. Using a performance profile instead of a job description is an effective means to accomplish this. The benefits of using a performance profile include more accurate assessments, a bigger pool of top candidates to choose from, significant reductions in time to hire, and – by clarifying expectations upfront – a more highly motivated and competent workforce.

Over the last 25 years, I’ve come to the conclusion that every job has six to eight key performance objectives that determine on-the-job success. This is what separates the best, highly motivated employees from the average employees. While the hiring manager needs to take responsibility for determining what these are, the recruiter can play an important role in facilitating the preparation of these performance profiles.

Following is a shortened example of a performance profile for a software developer. As you can see, it differs from a typical job description by listing what the person taking the job must do to be successful, not what skills and experiences the person must have. In this way it defines the job, not the person. This fundamental difference has a domino effect in the way candidates are sourced, assessed, hired, and subsequently managed.

Performance Profile for Software Developer, Quick Version

1. Complete software design, writing high-quality, efficient code to meet project deadlines.
2. Quickly understand project scope (one week) and prepare detailed design layout.
3. Prepare and organize activities to meet a tight, time-phased software development plan.
4. Work with team of other developers in meeting aggressive project deadlines.
5. Effectively work with users to develop specs and implement programs during first month.
6. Overcome critical technical challenges specifically (describe).
7. Lead project from post design to final implementation.
8. Effectively utilize configuration management system to track changes.

Once completed, a performance profile lists the key results required in priority order, the critical processes or steps used to achieve these results, and an understanding of the company environment. Candidate competency and motivation is then determined by obtaining detailed examples of how a candidate has achieved similar objectives.

Recruiters who take a lead role in preparing these performance profiles are much more influential throughout the hiring process. Hiring managers and candidates alike see recruiters who have this type of understanding of job needs more as advisors and consultants rather than just head-hunters.

Described below are the three basic ways to prepare performance profiles.

1. The Big Picture Approach
Ignore the job description and just ask, “What does the person taking this job need to do to be considered successful?” Start off by getting the top two to three objectives, and then determine the two or three most important things needed to achieve these objectives. Also ask what the person needs to do in the first 30 days, first 90 days, and first six months.
As part of the major objectives, consider projects, problems, and improvements needed. Include some technical, team, and organization objectives to obtain a true understanding of all job needs. Here’s an example: “By Q2, complete the assessment of all marketing needs and competitive products to support the fall launch of the XYZ product line.” The Big Picture Approach works best when the job has specific projects, tasks, or assignments that need to be completed.

2. Benchmarking the Best
For jobs that are more process-focused (e.g., call center, retail, non-exempt), performance objectives can be determined by observing what the best employees do differently than average employees. At the YMCA, we discovered that the best camp counsellors proactively engage with their kids in daily activities. At a major fast-food restaurant, the best counter staff went out of their way to clean up the store during their shift. At a large call-center, the best reps were able to complete the processing of orders with all team members in a very positive manner, even at the end of a long day.

3. Convert “Having” to “Doing”
Just convert each “must have” skill or factor on the traditional job description into an activity or outcome. For example, if the job description indicates the salesperson must have five years of industry sales experience, ask the hiring manager what the person needs to do with that five years of industry sales experience. A typical response might be, “Conduct a thorough needs analysis and present the product as a solution.”

Here’s another example for the oft-stated “good interpersonal skills.” Ask the hiring manager what good interpersonal skills look like on the job. You’ll probably get a response like, “Work with other departments in completing the launch of the new system.”

Using the above techniques, collectively or individually, usually results in a list of 10 to 15 objectives. The top 6 to 8 are usually all that are needed to assess candidate competency and interest. It’s best to pare the complete list down to a more manageable number, and then put these in priority order. During the interview, you’ll look for candidates who are both qualified and highly motivated to achieve these top objectives.

I suggest to my clients that they make each of the performance objectives as “SMARTe” as possible. SMARTe objectives are Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Results-driven, Time-bound, and include a description of the environment. The example in Step 1 above is a pretty good example of a SMARTe objective.

The SMARTe acronym is also useful for interviewing candidates and digging deep into their accomplishments. For example, ask candidates how long the project took to complete, what the environment was like, what actions they actually took, and what specific results were obtained. The key to this assessment approach is to first obtain a list of SMARTe performance objectives, then ask the candidate SMARTe questions, and don’t stop until you obtain complete SMARTe answers.

Performance profiles are a practical way to assess competencies, skills, behaviors, and motivation. It’s what a person does with these attributes that really matters, not the attributes themselves. During the fact-finding questioning, you’re evaluating how these attributes really come together to achieve measurable results. These results – and how they are achieved – can then easily be compared to the objectives described in the performance profile.

Another key point: Candidates like this form of interviewing for a number of reasons. First, it lets them talk about their accomplishments. This builds their egos, and is a subtle but powerful recruiting technique. Second, they learn what they’ll really be doing once on the job. This is the key determinant that the best candidates use to accept or turn down an offer.

Interviewing is only one aspect of a complete interviewing and recruiting process. Too many recruiters and managers wait till the end of the process to “sell” the candidate. By then, it’s too late. Recruiting must start at the beginning. If you describe a compelling job and then challenge the candidate to earn it, they’ll sell you. If you want to hire superior people, start by defining superior performance. Then get everyone with a vote to agree. Once you know what you’re looking for, it’s much easier to find it.

http://louadlergroup.com/using-performance-profiles-to-improve-recruiter-effectiveness/

The Complete 2-Question Interview

Before I got into the training of recruiters and hiring managers and writing books about the trials and tribulations of all this, I was a full-time executive recruiter, for 25 years. Part of this was becoming a better interviewer than my hiring manager clients to ensure good candidates didn’t get blown away for bad reasons. These were the two questions that leveled the playing field:

The First Question: Can you describe your Most Significant Accomplishment (MSA)

I recently wrote a related post on this topic titled the Most Important Interview Question of All Time. You might want to try to answer the question for yourself to see why it’s so important. As you’ll see it involves asking candidates to describe their most significant business accomplishments in great detail. While it’s only one question, it’s repeated multiple times to ensure you’re covering all aspects of expected performance. Most jobs can be better defined as a series of performance objectives like “redesign the inventory management system to track returns” rather than a list of skills, e.g., “3-5 years of supply chain management experience and a BS.” I refer to these performance-based job descriptions as performance profiles.

Getting the full answer to the MSA question requires a great deal of fact-finding on the part of the interviewer. One way to do this is to ask SMARTe questions. After the candidate provides the typical 1-2 minute overview of the comparable accomplishment, ask the following:

• Specific task: Can you please describe the task, challenge, project, or problem?
• Measurable: What actually changed, or can you measure your performance somehow?
• Action: What did you actually do and what was your specific role?
• Result: What was the actual result achieved and/or what was the deliverable?
• Timeframe: When did this take place and how long did it take?
• environment: What was the environment like in terms of pace, resources, level of sophistication, the people involved, and your manager?

While this only covers a small portion of the fact-finding possibilities, using just this short list will give you a deeper sense of the accomplishment and how it compares to the performance profile. If you’re into behavioral questions, ask STAR questions, too, but make sure you ask these as a sub-set of the accomplishment under discussion. (STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result.) It typically takes 10-15 minutes “peeling the onion” this way to totally understand the accomplishment. A trend line of performance will quickly reveal itself when this same question is asked for different accomplishments.

The Second Question: How would you solve this problem? (PSQ)
The MSA questions represent the candidate’s best examples of comparable past performance in relation to actual job requirements. The second question uncovers another dimension of performance, including job-related problem-solving skills, creativity, planning, strategic and multi-functional thinking, and potential. Using the above inventory management objective, the form of this question would be, “If you were to get this job, how you go about tracking returns into our ERP system?” Based on the person’s response, get into a back-and-forth dialogue asking about how he/she would figure out the problem and implement a solution.

After trying this question out a few times, you’ll discover that the best people quickly obtain a clear understanding of the project or problem, and as part of this, they ask logical questions to obtain a clearer understanding of the problem. Based on this, you’ll be able to ascertain if the person can put together a reasonable go-forward plan of action. In fact, giving a detailed response without consideration of the differences at your company, including the resources available, the culture, and the challenges involved should raise the bright red caution flag.

The Anchor and Visualize Pattern
As long as it’s job-related, the problem-solving question (PSQ) is a great means to understand critical thinking skills in comparison to real job needs, but caution is urged using this type of question. While being able to visualize a solution to the problem or task at hand is a critical component of exceptional performance, it’s only part of the solution. Accomplishing the task successfully is the other part.

So after the candidate finishes answering the PSQ, ask something like, “Can you now tell me about something you’ve actually accomplished or implemented that’s most comparable to how you’ve suggested we handle this problem?” This is just a more specific form of the MSA question. Following up the problem-solving question by asking the person to describe a comparable major significant accomplishment (MSA) is called an Anchor. Collectively, the MSA and PSQ are called the Anchor and Visualize questioning pattern. The order doesn’t matter. What does matter is that for the critical performance objectives you ask the candidates what they’ve accomplished that’s most similar and how they would figure out and solve the problem if they were to get the job.

The ability to visualize a problem and offer alternative solutions in combination with a track record of successful comparable past performance in a similar environment is a strong predictor of on-the-job success. One without the other is a sure path for making a bad hiring decision.

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130228212434-15454-the-complete-2-question-interview

Job-seekers: How to Answer “The Most Important Interview Question of All Time” – Part 3

About 95% of the 325,000 people who read “The Most Important Interview Question of All Time” (MIQ) agreed. Here’s why I believe it:

1) As an outside recruiter, I never vote on who should be hired. However, by presenting concrete evidence versus fact-less claims, i.e. "not technically strong enough," or “the person just wouldn’t fit,” I’m in a better position to ensure my candidates are assessed objectively.

2) Asking a series of MIQ-like questions to determine the candidate’s trend of performance over time demonstrates consistency of performance in a variety of situations. This is far superior than asking a bunch of random behavioral interview questions.

3) The candidate’s answers to these MIQs need to be compared to a performance-based job description to accurately assess competency, motivation and fit with the actual job requirements. Without some type of performance benchmark like this, most interviewers default to their built-in biases: technical, intuitive or emotional.

4) Top candidates aren’t interested in lateral transfers and don’t want to work for managers who seem like weak leaders. Asking the MIQ demonstrates that the company has high selection standards and that the hiring manager knows exactly how to asses, hire and develop strong people.

As more interviewers use this style of performance-based interviewing, it’s important that job-seekers become fully prepared. Here’s how:

• Read the Most Important Interview Question of All Time and answer every follow-up question completely for your most significant career accomplishment. Write these down. Although it will take some time to do this properly, you’ll be more confident during the actual interview.
• For each of your past jobs summarize your other big accomplishments. Pick 3-4 and describe these in two or three sentences each, include dates, facts, and specific performance details. Use the list of follow-up questions in the MIQ for ideas of what’s important.
• Based on these accomplishments pull out your big strengths (4-5) and a few weaknesses. Tie each one to a specific accomplishment writing down a few extra details. Use a specific example from one of the accomplishmentrs to demonstrate each strength. For each weakness, describe how you overcame it, and how you’re dealing with it today. Describing weaknesses this way demonstrates that you're a person who can be coached and wants to become better. Saying you don't have any weaknesses means you can't become better.
• For practice, have someone ask you to describe each of the major accomplishments. Spend 1-2 minutes providing a good summary of each one. It’s critical that you talk at least one minute, and no longer than three. Short answers are too vague, and long answers are too boring.
• Practice describing each strength with the example. These should each be about one minute each. The examples are what interviewers remember, not general statements.
• Don’t try to fake this stuff. Everything must tie together. Writing everything down and practicing it is essential. Don’t take any shortcuts.
• If the interviewer doesn’t ask you the right questions, ask the person to describe some of the critical challenges involved in the job. Ask for details like those in the sub-questions to the MIQ. Then give your best comparable accomplishment.

For more on how to prepare properly, check out my post on how to Use Solution Selling to Ace the Interview. Caution: doing this as described will not help you get a job you don’t deserve, but it will help you get one you do. Good Luck!

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130128185005-15454-job-seekers-how-to-answer-the-most-important-interview-question-of-all-time-part-3

The ANSWER to "The Most Important Interview Question of All Time" Part 2

In a lively blog post last week, I suggested that the following was the most important interview question (MIQ) of all time:

What single project or task would you consider the most significant accomplishment in your career, so far?

So far over 300,000 people attempted to answer the question following the set of follow-up questions provided. It takes about 15 minutes to fully understand the accomplishment. When you try it out, you'll be amazed at how much you've revealed about yourself and your abilities. You'll also discover the answers can't be faked, unless you take a shortcut.

From a practical strandpoint, without knowing what job is being filled, there's really no correct answer to this MIQ. To get part of the correct answer, you need to ask the hiring manager this first: What's the most important project or task this person needs to handle in order to be considered successful?

You need specific details to fully understand the scope of the job, but at least now you can compare the person's biggest accomplishment to this benchmark to determine if the person is too heavy, too light, or a possible fit. Now we're getting close to the correct answer. You can then dig deeper with those who are possible hires by asking the candidate the same MIQ question for 3-4 different accomplishments spaced out over the past 3-10 years. This reveals the person's long term trend line of growth and performance.

Repeating the MIQ is why it's the MIQ of all time.
A full assessment is made by comparing the scope and consistency of these accomplishments to the complete set of performance objectives for the job. As part of this consideration must be given to the hiring manager’s leadership style, the company culture, the local environment, and any unusual job circumstances, like lack of resources, a tight schedule, or some critical technical need.

The objective I had when I started this whole process was to find a practical way to counter hiring managers who made incorrect assessments based on a narrow set of technical requirements, overvaling first impressions, lack of insight regarding real job needs, or those who put too much trust in their gut. It turned out that the tangible evidence gained from the MIQ and the trend line was all that was needed. From this I discovered that "out-facting" a hiring manager was far more effective than bullheadedness.

As many readers commented, the form of the MIQ is a bit different for entry-level and less-experienced candidates. In this case I ask where they went the extra mile or have them describe smaller projects or tasks that they were excited about, received formal recognition for, or about work that made them proud. Talented youngsters have a bunch of things to brag about, so this is a good way to pull this out. As examples, we helped the YMCA hire a 100,000 15-16 year old camp counselors one summer using this question, and worked with a well-known hamburger chain using a similar process. The big benefit: the kids were hired because of their work-ethic and sense of responsibilty, not on their appearance or affability. The same technique works for non-kids, too.

Bottom line: there's more to determining if a candidate is a good fit for a job than the MIQ, but this is a critical part of it. The bigger part is first defining real job requirements in the form of 5-6 critical performance objectives. Collectively, this will help minimize the most common of all hiring mistakes – hiring a great person for the wrong job, or not hiring the right one.

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130121233555-15454-the-short-answer-to-the-most-important-interview-question-of-all-time

The Most Important Interview Question of All Time - Part 1

(NOTE - this is not the ONLY question, just the most important. Make sure you check out THE ANSWER (Part 2) post. Part 3 is for job-seekers on how to prepare for the interview.)

Over the past 30+ years as a recruiter, I can confirm that at least two-thirds of my hiring manager clients weren’t very good at interviewing. Yet, over 90% thought they were. To overcome this situation, it was critical that I became a better interviewer than them, to prove with evidence that the candidate was competent and motivated to do the work required. This led me on a quest for the single best interview question that would allow me to overcome any incorrect assessment with actual evidence.

It took about 10 years of trial and error. Then I finally hit upon one question that did it all.
Here’s it is:

What single project or task would you consider the most significant accomplishment in your career so far?

To see why this simple question is so powerful, imagine you’re the candidate and I’ve just asked you this question. What accomplishment would you select? Then imagine over the course of the next 15-20 minutes I dug deeper and asked you about the following. How would you respond?

• Can you give me a detailed overview of the accomplishment?
• Tell me about the company, your title, your position, your role, and the team involved.
• What were the actual results achieved?
• When did it take place and how long did the project take.
• Why you were chosen?
• What were the 3-4 biggest challenges you faced and how did you deal with them?
• Where did you go the extra mile or take the initiative?
• Walk me through the plan, how you managed to it, and if it was successful.
• Describe the environment and resources.
• Describe your manager’s style and whether you liked it or not.
• Describe the technical skills needed to accomplish the objective and how they were used.
• Some of the biggest mistakes you made.
• Aspects of the project you truly enjoyed.
• Aspects you didn’t especially care about and how you handled them.
• How you managed and influenced others, with lots of examples.
• How you were managed, coached, and influenced by others, with lots of examples.
• How you changed and grew as a person.
• What you would do differently if you could do it again.
• What type of formal recognition did you receive?

If the accomplishment was comparable to a real job requirement, and if the answer was detailed enough to take 15-20 minutes to complete, consider how much an interviewer would know about your ability to handle the job. The insight gained from this type of question would be remarkable. But the real issue is not the question, this is just a setup. The details underlying the accomplishment are what's most important. This is what real interviewing is about – getting into the details and comparing what the candidate has accomplished in comparison to what needs to be accomplished. Don’t waste time asking a lot of clever questions during the interview, or box checking their skills and experiences: spend time learning to get the answer to just this one question.

As you’ll discover you’ll then have all of the information to prove to other interviewers that their assessments were biased, superficial, emotional, too technical, intuitive or based on whether they liked the candidate or not. Getting the answer to this one question is all it takes.

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130117183637-15454-the-most-important-interview-question-of-all-time