Wow, I actually impressed myself with that last tidbit, creating a culture of mentoring.  That sounds like something a consultant would say.  So exactly what steps do you need to take to create this culture?  Here are some guidelines and suggestions for you to follow.

Formal vs. informal
The first step is to decide if you want to create a formal mentoring program or simply encourage and cultivate an informal one.  Neither model is inherently better than the other.  It’s simply a matter of determining which one fits your company or department in the best fashion.  Perhaps you utilize a highly technical and complex series of systems, checks and balances, and safeguards, all of which require a certain degree of accuracy and attention.  Then a formal mentoring program might be preferable.  On the other hand, maybe devoting time to a formal program doesn’t make sense given your resource constraints.

Whatever the case, the onus for cultivating a mentoring atmosphere starts at the top.  If management encourages mentoring formally or informally, it will happen, and not just because you want it to.  People have an intrinsic need to seek out the advice and knowledge of others, and many people are more than happy to impart wisdom to those who seek it.  As a result, mentoring is a win-win situation for everybody—employers and employees.

Whichever form of mentoring you choose to implement, its success rests largely on one thing—your knowledge of the people who work for you.  This is because the success of any mentoring program hinges upon the people involved, those who are mentoring and those who are being mentored.  Some people work better and more easily together than others.  Your knowledge of your current employees, in addition to what you’ve learned about your new hires during the interview process, will prove crucial to pairing people together who will provide the most benefit for one another.  (Remember, there are benefits for those who are doing the mentoring, as well, including a feeling that they have been chosen because of their knowledge and achievements.  This goes a long way toward breeding loyalty in that employee.)

The major difference between formal and informal mentoring is documentation.  There are pros and cons to this.  On the one hand, documented processes and procedures take time and money to first construct and then implement.  On the other, these processes have a built-in efficiency and productivity component that acts as an accountability device.  You’ll know when people meet in their mentoring relationships and be able to document and track what kind of progress they’re making.

Another hazard with formal mentoring programs involves their structure.  Many times, relationships flourish more when the people involved don’t feel as though they’re being put under a microscope.  Remember, it’s your knowledge of your people and company’s culture that will help you to decide which type of program will work the best.

But it happens all the time, and it’s probably going to happen to you.  One way to reduce the odds of having a mis-hire is to incorporate behavioral-based interviewing into your process.

Step #1— Evaluate the position

The first step is to evaluate the position as the previous person left it.  Determine what the position entailed and what it was intended to accomplish. Also—and this is vitally important—what should it accomplish in the future?  How will the position grow and change with the company’s vision and objectives?  You need to set these criteria first before selecting an individual to fill that position.  Keep in mind that this gives you a fresh start to re-engineer this position or refocus it on the right priorities.  It is quite possible that the person who left the position focused on things that he/she saw as important, but they may have strayed from your goals.  (Often these conflicting views of what is important is the reason the job is now open.)

So now you have a profile in mind for the person you want.  You have both short-term and long-term expectations for the position, in addition to the skills and behaviors you believe the person will need in order to carry them out.  Reaching this point is half the battle.  Many times, the wrong person is hired because not enough attention has been paid to the parameters of the position in its current state, to say nothing of where the position may go in the future.

Step #2—Evaluate the candidates

The next step is the interviewing of the candidate, and their answers to your questions will help you to determine if they possess the necessary behaviors to excel in the position.  The key, however, is to ask questions that will elicit detailed responses that focus not only on the candidate’s skills, but also on how they utilize those skills and in what manner they facilitate their problem-solving strategies and their character.

That means that many of your questions might be “situational” in nature.  The situation may be a real one from the candidate’s past or a fictitious one that you’re posing to them to see how they react.  And it’s not enough to ask the initial question and leave it at that.  Follow-up questions are essential to discovering how the candidate will think and act in a given situation—in short, how they’ll behave as a member of your team.

Instead of asking “Tell me about yourself,” you might say, “Tell me about a situation where you had to overcome a conflict, either between you and another co-worker or between two other co-workers, in order to accomplish a common goal.”  And while the candidate tells their story, you can ask additional questions, such as “What were you thinking at that point” or “What led you to make that particular decision?”  These questions will help you to uncover the candidate’s behaviors, characteristics, and interpersonal skills.

Some call this approach STAR interviewing.  This acronym stands for Situation, Task, Action & Result. You present the background and the objective and ask what action(s) they would take to achieve certain results.  Another way to do this is to ask them to provide an example of a situation from their career and walk through how they dealt with it.

Long-term perspective

Behavioral-based interviewing has been in use for quite some time, but has recently become more and more prevalent.  And when it comes to constructing behavioral-based interviewing questions, you’re only limited by your imagination and the extent to which you’d like to tie the question to your current company culture or other aspect of the company. While it’s true that behavioral-based interviewing is more time-consuming from beginning to end, it can be much more effective at finding a candidate who’s a fit all the way around.

One of the trainers in the recruiting industry, “People are hired for what they do, and they’re fired for who they are.” If you hire people for both who they are and what they do, you’ll find they might (productively) stick around for a long, long time.

Wow, I actually impressed myself with that last tidbit, creating a culture of mentoring.  That sounds like something a consultant would say.  So exactly what steps do you need to take to create this culture?  Here are some guidelines and suggestions for you to follow.

Formal vs. informal
The first step is to decide if you want to create a formal mentoring program or simply encourage and cultivate an informal one.  Neither model is inherently better than the other.  It’s simply a matter of determining which one fits your company or department in the best fashion.  Perhaps you utilize a highly technical and complex series of systems, checks and balances, and safeguards, all of which require a certain degree of accuracy and attention.  Then a formal mentoring program might be preferable.  On the other hand, maybe devoting time to a formal program doesn’t make sense given your resource constraints.

Whatever the case, the onus for cultivating a mentoring atmosphere starts at the top.  If management encourages mentoring formally or informally, it will happen, and not just because you want it to.  People have an intrinsic need to seek out the advice and knowledge of others, and many people are more than happy to impart wisdom to those who seek it.  As a result, mentoring is a win-win situation for everybody—employers and employees.

Whichever form of mentoring you choose to implement, its success rests largely on one thing—your knowledge of the people who work for you.  This is because the success of any mentoring program hinges upon the people involved, those who are mentoring and those who are being mentored.  Some people work better and more easily together than others.  Your knowledge of your current employees, in addition to what you’ve learned about your new hires during the interview process, will prove crucial to pairing people together who will provide the most benefit for one another.  (Remember, there are benefits for those who are doing the mentoring, as well, including a feeling that they have been chosen because of their knowledge and achievements.  This goes a long way toward breeding loyalty in that employee.)

The major difference between formal and informal mentoring is documentation.  There are pros and cons to this.  On the one hand, documented processes and procedures take time and money to first construct and then implement.  On the other, these processes have a built-in efficiency and productivity component that acts as an accountability device.  You’ll know when people meet in their mentoring relationships and be able to document and track what kind of progress they’re making.

Another hazard with formal mentoring programs involves their structure.  Many times, relationships flourish more when the people involved don’t feel as though they’re being put under a microscope.  Remember, it’s your knowledge of your people and company’s culture that will help you to decide which type of program will work the best.  (If you’d like specific action steps for creating either type of program, please contact me at dan@consearch.com.)

The most important ingredient—you
Ultimately, your employees will take their cue from you.  If you believe in the benefits of mentoring and if you express that belief and show enthusiasm, they will follow suit.  Cultivating a mentoring atmosphere and culture boils down to concrete actions, not just lip service.  Here are three questions you can pose to your employees in an effort to instill in them an eagerness to create their own legacy within the company through participation in a mentoring program.

• Who has made a significant impression on you in your career?
• How far would you have gone without this person’s help?
• How do you want to be remembered by this firm?

Regardless of whether it’s a formal or informal program, take an active role, participate as much as possible, and ask those involved what they think and how things are progressing.  They will appreciate your interest, as well as the company’s desire to invest in them as employees and as people.  And once that’s happened, you’ve not only created a mentoring atmosphere, you’ve progressed to a culture of mentoring, one that will perpetuate itself and reap long-term benefits.

One of the great things about being a recruiter is that you get to learn about the culture and values of many different clients.  One of my favorite clients has done a great job of identifying their core values and practicing them.  Today’s title comes from one of their core values.  It is a simple truth—recognition motivates.

Recently, I was a guest speaker for a community college Human Resource Management 101 class.  A segment of my talk was about recognizing and rewarding top performers.  An example I gave addressed how recognition not only motivates people to be even better, but also how it’s a killer retention tool.  I asked the audience members to imagine my recruiting call to two top-producing sales reps at two different companies.  Play along with me.

The first call goes to Alvin at Company A, whose boss takes him for granted, who doesn’t hear from the CEO, and who needs a vacation.  This guy wants to talk to me.  He is hoping that a recruiter is going to call to discuss a great opportunity.  He is ready to interview.  He is driven to succeed by his internal engine, but his company isn’t fueling that engine and he’s burning out.

Now imagine my call to Barney, a top-producing sales rep at Company B.  This guy was recently mentioned in the company newsletter for adding a new customer and was listed in a press release as being the #1 salesperson in his region.  In addition, he just hung the President’s Award on his office wall and came back from a rubber chicken banquet, where the CEO thanked him for his contributions while presenting the award.  Barney and his spouse are going on the company trip for award winners: five days and nights in the Bahamas, and he’s also been asked to mentor the new hire, who starts next week.

Barney is motivated, not only internally, but also because his company appreciates him.  Barney doesn’t want to interview; Barney doesn’t have time to interview.  His company is keeping him interested with new challenges and with pats on the back.

Which of these two guys is going to have the most success in the coming months?  Which company will reap the biggest rewards?  Which is happier in his job?  If you guessed Barney and Company B, you’re right.  Which makes more money?  Who knows?  I don’t.  My guess would be Alvin.  You normally have to pay people more to keep them working if they aren’t having fun, and Barney is having more fun than Alvin.

If you’re looking at recognition costs, let’s add them up.  The cost of an award to hang on the wall: $29; the cost of a rubber chicken dinner for two: $30; the five days and nights in the Bahamas for two with airfare and spending cash: $1,500.  The value of a motivated top performer who is loyal and happy: priceless.

Recognition motivates people to accomplish more, and it also helps retain talent.  Turnover is extremely costly.  It can cost tens of thousands of dollars for most positions.  Recognition is the most cost-effective motivation and retention tool that I know.  The more ways you find to use it and the more people you use it with, the more powerful it becomes and the more prosperous your team will become.  Until next month . . .

First and foremost, make it standard procedure for candidates to sign a form authorizing you to check their employment history and references.  (If they refuse, chances are good that they’re not a viable candidate in the first place.)  Following the interview, if you believe the person is a viable candidate, start that person’s reference work, even if other candidates have yet to be considered.

Time-saving techniques

Let start with when you should do reference checks. This depends upon how many people you’re interviewing for the position. If you’re only interviewing one candidate, conduct the reference checks within 48 hours of the face-to-face interview.  If you’re considering more than one person, you should be conducting checks while the interview process is taking place. This approach is recommended in the interest of saving time.

Of course, you can’t control when people are available to answer the telephone.  If you get a voice mail recording when inquiring about a candidate, leave a message explaining why you’re calling and then say, “If you would recommend this person, please get back to me within 48 hours.  If I don’t hear from you, I’ll assume I should pursue other candidates.”

This kind of voice message serves two purposes: 1. If the candidate is a good one, the reference will feel a sense of urgency and call you back in a timely manner, and 2. If the candidate is not a good one, you’ve given the reference an escape door.

Professional vs. personal

There are, of course, two types of references—professional and personal. They differ in their approach, the questions you ask, and the information you mine from them.

For a professional reference, call the person’s previous supervisor and discuss the responsibilities and challenges that the candidate will face if they’re hired.  Ask the supervisor to provide examples of similar work that the candidate has completed, and also verify the accomplishments that the candidate mentioned during the interview.  (It’s best to find out if they’re dishonest right now.)  If you can, also inquire about the following:

• Dates of employment, title, and compensation
• Reason for leaving
• Eligibility for re-hire (“Would you hire this person again?”)
• Work ethic
• Interpersonal skills
• Time management skills
• Integrity
• Other strengths/weaknesses

Conclude the reference check with this vague and open-ended question: “Is there anything else that I should know about ‘X’ while I consider them for this position?”  As they answer, don’t interrupt them; simply write down everything they say. Close the conversation by thanking them for their time and offering to send your business card for future reference.  (This type of networking might prove useful down the road.)

You can conduct the second and third professional reference checks in the same fashion.  However, keep in mind that those checks also serve as a way in which to confirm the information you gained during the first one.  In addition, if you find out about a weakness or something else that concerns you during the initial reference check, ask about it during subsequent calls.  These calls don’t have to be carbon copies of the first. In fact, I suggest that your initial call be to a peer or a much previous supervisor and the later calls be to people who were direct supervisors in the recent past.  Make the calls a learning experience about the person.  Play detective; dig a little deeper with each call and utilize recent knowledge to formulate better and more focused questions for later calls. It does little good to have three people give you the exact same answers to the same questions.

The second type of reference is the personal reference.  Through these checks, you can learn more about the person’s integrity, motivation, and ability to balance work and life.

When you talk to the reference, explain the job, its responsibilities, and the company’s culture, and then ask if this person believes that “X” will be successful in the role and why.  In addition, ask why “X” might be making a career move at this time and if the reference feels that it’s a good time for the change.  Then ask if the prospective hire tends to follow up on things that they promise to do.  You may learn a great deal about this person and their current career—and life—situation, information that will be integral to the decision-making process.

Final thoughts

There are some other aspects of reference checks to keep in mind, as well.  Unless you have specific permission from the potential candidate, never call their current supervisor or anyone else at their current employer.  This could put a candidate’s employment at risk.  Make an offer contingent upon an acceptable reference from their current supervisor, and then contact this individual after the offer has been accepted.

And just how much should a person’s references ultimately weigh in your final decision?  Look at it this way: a candidate who interviews with average success and has exceptional references may be a much better hire than one who interviews exceptionally well and has average references.  Remember, you’re hiring the person to be successful in the role, not to be a great interviewer.

Not only is every person you interview a potential fit for your company, they also represent a potential lawsuit.  Everything hinges upon what happens between the time they sit down across from you and the time they leave.  Creating and maintaining a streamlined, efficient, and effective model for candidate interviews includes not being sued.  And since the interview process is so crucial to the hiring process, I’d like to discuss how you can avoid the subjects and topics you should avoid during an interview.

Before we begin, here’s a quick disclaimer—this is not a comprehensive list, and if you’re not well versed in this area, consult your Human Resources Department, your Legal Department, or your company’s legal counsel for more information.  This article is meant to bring an important topic to the front of your mind and also to provide some general guidelines.

Address the job requirements

The best way to stay on track during an interview is to gear your questions toward the requirements of the position.  In fact, all questions should be presented within the context of those requirements.  For example—and this is a big one—you shouldn’t ask how old the candidate is or what their date of birth is.  Another area similar to age is height and weight.  But if you ask about that, you’ll have to present information that ties the question to the requirements of the position for which they’re applying.  (For example, there are specific requirements and limitations for flight attendants.)

Other than that, there are questions you should flat-out avoid.  I’ve made a list of some of those below:

• Sex or marital status—This includes subjects like divorce, if the person has any children, how many children they have, when they plan to start a family, whether or not they’re pregnant, and if they plan to take time off work if they are pregnant.

• Religious affiliation—Asking them which holidays they observe is out of the question, too.  You can get sued for asking the question “without asking the question.”

• Race or national origin—This includes asking them if they were born in the United States, what country their parents are from, if they’re a U.S. citizen, or if English is their primary language.  You do have the right, however, to inquire about their citizenship status in order to make certain they are eligible to work in the U.S.

• Physical and/or mental disabilities—Don’t ask if they’ve ever been treated for a drug addiction or alcoholism, if they take any prescription medicine, if they’ve ever been treated by a psychiatrist or psychologist, or if they’re providing care for a family member with a disability.  You can ask the applicant if they’re able to perform the tasks detailed in the job description with reasonable accommodation.

• Credit score or history—This has been challenged as discriminatory in the past, so it’s best not to broach the subject.  Simply run a background and credit check, complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act in the process.  In other words, conduct the appropriate checks allowed by law and avoid the topic during the interview.

• Possible criminal history—In some states, you’re permitted to ask about criminal convictions.  Find out what your state mandates.

• Private organizations to which they belong—Since it’s difficult to define the word “private,” it’s a safe bet not to ask about this at all, even if the candidate bring up the subject and offers information willingly.

• Names and addresses of relatives—Sounds obscure, but it’s true.

The dangers of ‘casual conversation’

Of course, there might be times during certain interviews where you and the candidate feel comfortable and begin to edge toward more casual conversation.  These are dangerous waters because you’ll unconsciously let your guard down, which is a natural tendency in such a situation.

While engaging in casual conversation toward the end of an interview is not harmful in and of itself, you should be extremely careful about how you act, react, and respond.  For example, the conversation might start to gravitate toward family life and other personal issues.  In fact, the candidate may offer a tidbit or two about themselves.  If that happens, squelch your inclination to probe deeper with additional questions, which is what you would do if it was a casual conversation and nothing else.

But of course, that’s not all it is.  It’s an interview, first and foremost, and you can ensure that each and every one you conduct is a successful one by asking the right questions and staying away from inappropriate ones.  That doesn’t mean that all of your interviews will produce viable candidates.  It means they’ll do what they’re intended to do—help you find the best employees and take your company to the next level of productivity and success.

In case you’re not accustomed to working with personality assessments or aptitude tests, I’ll give an example of what one can provide.  One of my favorite assessments measures the following on a scale of one to 10 (with 10 being the highest): assertiveness, communication abilities, pace/sense of urgency, and attention to detail.  In addition, it measures creativity, emotional control, and situational adaptability.  By having this information on multiple candidates, you can see which ones possess the traits you most desire.

Take these assessments, and with your current team, use the results of your top performers in each role as a benchmark. Through the use of this strategy, you can improve upon your ability to hire more of the personality types that are successful.

Below are some things to keep in mind when choosing and using an assessment:

• Make certain the assessment is fair.  Only use assessments that can provide a validation study that shows the assessment does not discriminate.  Otherwise, you’re vulnerable to legal action.
• Make certain you learn how to read the results.  Data without knowledge is useless.
• Take the time to benchmark your team, or at least the top 50% of your team, so that you can leverage these results.
• Determine if you want the applicant to be able to take the assessment online, since many assessments can be done over the Internet.
• Think about the time and cost factors.  Some assessments take hours, while others take less than 10 minutes.  The results are not always proportionate.  The assessment described above takes less than 10 minutes and a seven-page report is provided.  I can attest that the results are accurate.  The cost of assessments range from $15 to well over $100 each, so consider your budget.
• Use the assessments consistently; otherwise you are discriminating.
• Don’t make the assessment a stand-alone pass/fail to being hired.  An assessment should be a vital tool in hiring.  However, it should not perform the decision-making function.  These are not fool proof.
• Do your homework.  Compare various assessments and then choose.  There are many good tools available, and by researching these on the Web and taking samples of three to four, you should be able to make an informed decision.  Keyword search the following in an Internet search engine (such as Google) to get started: (1) Profiles International – PreVue, (2) Caliper Assessment, and (3) Organizational Analysis and Design AND OAD assessment.

Assessments can help you to identify a person’s strengths, weaknesses, and aptitudes.  If you reviewed the results of some of the assessments I’ve taken over the years, you would quickly learn that I can analyze data fairly well, can communicate with people well, and should not work with any equipment more complicated than a toaster.  These things are true.  Don’t hire me to be your plumber, or we’ll both be in a mess!

Create a structured and consistent system

An effective review process starts with a structured and consistent system, one which includes the active participation of your employees and emphasizes communication.  The first step is to give your employees ownership, or input, into the review process.  This starts with some form of self-evaluation prior to the actual review meeting, usually in written format.  There is more than one advantage to engaging in this type of practice:

Advantage #1—The employees will feel as though they are part of the process.  True, it’s still up to you to decide how best to evaluate them, but they’re less likely to feel as though they’re being arbitrarily judged or evaluated in an unfair fashion.

Advantage #2—More information is always better.  Perhaps one of your employees accomplished something since the last review that they consider to be rather significant.  It might have slipped your mind, or you may not hold it in the same esteem that they do.  In any case, a self-evaluation form will provide you with valuable information heading into the review.

Once you’ve collected, read, and analyzed the self-evaluation forms, it’s time to prepare for the actual review meetings.

Create the proper atmosphere
Set a positive tone for the review meetings by initiating some small talk prior to getting down to business.  Chances are good that your employees will initially be a tad bit uncomfortable (which is perfectly normal human behavior, considering the circumstances).  Try to make them feel more at ease before progressing to the next step.

Start first with those things that you believe the employee has done well since their last review.  Be sure to offer sincere compliments if they are merited.  This will help to further create a positive atmosphere and better prepare the employee mentally for the next portion of the review—a discussion of their weaknesses and how they can be improved.

When discussing weaknesses, be sure to cite specific examples.  Don’t rely on vague generalizations.  Then make certain that you offer specific suggestions about how the employee can improve their weaknesses and also ask for feedback, as well.  Ask them what they might need to accomplish more and to do their job more effectively.  Set goals with your top employees for excelling during the next 12 months, and outline specific remedial steps for improvement with under-achievers. Come to a consensus about what should be done.

Most of all, end the review on a high note.  This can be accomplished rather easily, if you’ve followed the steps outlined above and the review itself isn’t a particularly poor one.  Let the person know that they are valued as an employee and that you’re looking forward to working with them in the future.

Be willing to experiment
You just can’t implement an annual performance review system and then not touch it for 15 or 20 years.  As with any system that’s vital to the health and well-being of your company, it must be updated, modified, and tweaked from time to time.  What’s important is that you find the system and the approach that works the best, and that might entail some trial-and-error.

There are a number of different methods you can use for your performance reviews.  These include peer reviews and upward assessments (which allow employees to review their managers).  Keep in mind that you can utilize a combination of different methods or just choose one as your main method of evaluation.  Your business model and the type of employees you hire are two of the determining factors when devising an optimum review system.

Set yourself apart
There are many reasons why companies aren’t able to first attract and then retain the top talent in their industry.  Conducted properly, your annual review process could be an excellent way for you to communicate professionalism and appreciation to your employees, while at the same time establishing, reinforcing and rewarding standards of performance.  People want to work for a company that has set itself apart through every aspect of its operation.

Retirement is a function of wealth/revenue streams and priorities/family concerns, not age, although age usually impacts the other factors.  Nathan has 30 years with your company and is 62.  He could retire on the company plan.  Nathan seems to manage his life well and probably manages his finances well.  He and his wife have been married since before he joined the company, and his children (and grandchildren) all live out of town.  Nathan could be sitting on quite a nest egg.  Nathan appears healthy and seems to enjoy his work as much as ever.  But do you know what he’s thinking?

You’re the big boss in this case study.  You’re responsible for Nathan’s group and four similar groups.  You pride yourself on being prepared.  What should you be considering at this point?  Below is my list.  Feel free to email yours to me; I’d like to compare notes.

• Nathan has 30 years of corporate intelligence.  How can I begin a knowledge transfer so that if/when he decides to leave, he leaves the bulk of his information with us?
• I should take Nathan to lunch and see if he has begun to think about his retirement. I should talk with him about any ideas he might have to help us transition when that day comes.
• Who should Nathan be mentoring and which supervisors should he be working with (outside of direct reporting) to help them learn from his experience and to groom them to be better performers?

Extra credit

So you invite Nathan to lunch a few days after his birthday, and you’re about to begin this discussion when he says, “I’m glad you invited me, we need to talk.  My wife and I reached an important decision last weekend, and I think I want to retire at the end of the month.  I wanted to tell you before I went to Human Resources.  I have an appointment with them in the morning.”

Suddenly the sense of urgency on this matter reaches a critical level.  This is unexpected, and as your organization is lean, you don’t have a spare manager to put in this role without creating a vacancy somewhere.  What do you do?  Below is what comes to my mind.  Send me an email, and we’ll compare notes.

• Determine why Nathan has decided to make this decision.  Is it a health issue for himself or a family member?  Is he unhappy with something at work?  Knowing the motivating factors will help to determine the possible outcomes.
• See if you can persuade Nathan to stick around until a replacement is recruited and trained.  Consider a retention bonus of a month’s salary if he stays on 120 additional days and trains his replacement.
• Ask if he would like to retire and come back as a part-time consultant for the next year or two to help transition, mentor, and mange through the busiest seasons.  Knowing his motivation will be important here.  If flexibility is one of his concerns, this could really be mutually beneficial.
• Immediately put him into a mentoring role.  Meet with Nathan and his direct supervisor to create a plan.  There’s no sense having Nathan leave at the end of the month without draining his brain.