Tag Archives: Team building

Why Great Team Builders Chose the Best

13 Wednesday Jul 2016

Posted by in Business, Human Resource

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1. Why do great team builders chose the best people?

Great team builders know that more than quantity, it is quality that counts. The team is made up of individuals and will succeed or collapse dependent on its weakest link.

2. Why don’t hiring managers chose the best people?

There are many reasons and here are a few (feel free to share your points in the comments below):

  • They’re unable to recognize the best – the most talented.
  • They do not know what they’re looking for in people.
  • They confuse paper qualifications and “years of experience” for expertise.
  • They’re fearful of bringing in people who might outshine them.
  • And many more…

3. Is it not true the more the talented, the more an employer has to pay?

Most people speak in general terms and this is part of the problem. Instead of asking the right questions, they seek the “right” answers. Getting the right answer to a wrong question is not progress, not productive. However, even a wrong answer to a right question sets you on the path of progress.

Instead of seeking the “most talented” the question should be – How do I select the most talented (the best) from a given class of candidates?

This leads us to the next question.

4. How do I determine the class of people?

You do this by clearly defining the following:

  • The job’s scope – what exactly do you want that employee to accomplish. The more detailed, the better.
  • The job’s requirements – both objective or hard skills (paper credentials, years of experience, etc) and subjective elements such as soft skills.
  • An overview of the remuneration package on offer.

These three criteria will attract the right people, or people who consider themselves qualified.

Use the objective/hard skills as a funnel to shortlist candidates, people who meet ALL the requirements (excluding the soft skills) – and this will be your class of applicants.

During your selection process, zero in on the soft skills you desire and you will have your best-in-class. You’re not paying more but paying the same to chose the best from a given class of candidates.

5. Let us be candid here, as a salaried manager, if I chose someone better than me, I risk losing out on promotions and even my job. Do you expect me to chose what is good for my employer over what is good for me?

A pointed question and it’s a very valid question. Answer pending…

 

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Note: I shall upload more questions and answers in this post, and welcome you to “follow” my blog so that you’re kept updated.

Meanwhile, enjoy this short clip: Quality over Quantity is what makes a winner!

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Interview Questions for Interviewers and Job Applicants

01 Friday Apr 2016

Posted by in Business, Hiring: A Primer for Managers, Human Resource

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Sample Questions for Lectures 7, 8 and 9, for course participants enrolled in my on-line course:

Interview Questions: Interview Like a Professional HRM 

Interview Questions Blog Post Image

Lecture 7: Close-Ended Questions

  1. How many years have you been driving and have you ever been involved in a motor accident?
  1. In your current job, what is the value of the sales budget you are directly responsible for?
  1. In your current job, what percentage of your customers are multinationals, government agencies and small & medium enterprises?

Lecture 8: Open-Ended Questions

  1. How do you juggle family responsibilities and job demands?
  1. Talk about the most difficult account that you brought on board.
  1. How do you see yourself contributing to the business?

Lecture 9: Scenario Based Questions

  1. You want to introduce a new product to the market, how would you go about it? Give an overview of your approach.
  1. Who do you see as major competitors for our products?
  1. Going forward, what do you consider the biggest challenge to our industry? How would you respond to this?

Note:

The internet throws up dozens of sample questions, often with hyped up headlines – Top 10 Questions; Most Common Interview Questions; Questions and Suggested Answers; and so on.

Some of these questions are excellent but unfortunately many are clearly not thought through. Just because everyone uses them does not make these questions effective.

In due course, I shall upload more articles here. Check them out.

Thank you and all good wishes.

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Questions for Interviewers and Job Applicants

31 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by in Business, Hiring: A Primer for Managers, Human Resource

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Sample Questions, Lecture 5, for course participants enrolled in my on-line course:

Interview Questions: Interview Like a Professional HRM 

Interview Questions Blog Post Image

Close-Ended Questions

  1. Do you have a driver’s license?
  1. Are you taking further studies? Night school, perhaps.
  1. If the job requires it, can you work the occasional weekend – a Saturday or even one Sunday a month?

Open-Ended Questions

  1. Speak about your strengths and weaknesses.
  1. Talk about your hobbies.
  1. Talk about your career to date.

Scenario Based Questions

  1. You are part of a project team, and feel that one of your colleagues is not putting in his fair share of work. How would you resolve this?
  1. You are meeting a client the following morning but the night before, you had taken ill. How will you handle this situation?
  1. Your supervisor has assigned you a task, something beyond your job scope. How will you handle this situation?

Note:

The internet throws up dozens of sample questions, often with hyped up headlines – Top 10 Questions; Most Common Interview Questions; Questions and Suggested Answers; and so on.

Some of these questions are excellent but unfortunately many are clearly not thought through. Just because everyone uses them does not make these questions effective.

In due course, I shall upload more articles and videos here. Hope to see you back.

Thank you and all good wishes.

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