Human Resource Management, 3rd Edition

Chapter 6

Selecting Employees Who Fit

A MANAGER'S PERSPECTIVE

JAVIER'S MESSAGE FROM THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT FILLS HIM WITH BOTH ANXIETY AND EXCITEMENT. HE JUST RECEIVED AUTHORIZATION TO HIRE AN ADDITIONAL MEMBER FOR HIS CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM. JAVIER IS EXCITED BECAUSE HIRING THE RIGHT PERSON COULD REALLY BOOST THE TEAM'S PERFORMANCE; HE IS ANXIOUS BECAUSE THIS WILL BE HIS FIRST HIRING DECISION.

Javier has total freedom to hire anybody he wants. What should he focus on when he makes his hiring decision? Should he hire someone who is likely to stay with the company for a long time? Should he look for someone who already has the skills to do the job? Is it more important to hire someone with the potential to be a high performer in several different jobs? Should he try to find someone who is similar to current team members, or should he bring in new ideas by hiring someone very different?

One reason for Javier's anxiety is a story he recently heard where a manager in a different department asked a number of illegal questions during an interview. He has also heard a number of stories about managers being evaluated negatively because they spent too much money searching for employees. Javier has a general idea of the questions that should be avoided when conducting interviews, but he makes himself a note to be sure to ask someone from the human resource department to remind him ...