The Contented Cow Blog

Building Workplaces That Work

A piece in the May 11 WSJ entitled Resume Overload, by Raymund Flandez describes various automated job applicant screening devices in use by companies that are finding themselves inundated with applicants. One of them, Voice Screener lets employers voice record interview questions and have applicants respond to those questions over the phone, following an emailed invitation. As a screening device it sounds pretty neat, but as with anything else, it seems that some folks want a little too much of a good thing. According to one of the customers referenced in the article, “she will interview in person for positions with a highly technical role or that require special expertise. But, she seems to be doing more than pre-interview screening with the VoiceScreener, “If it’s an administrative assistant you’re looking for, you’re going to use it hands down.” I see.

In our first book, Contented Cows Give Better Milk, we suggested rather strongly that organizations (and by definition their leaders) need to come down off the fence once and for all and decide whether or not they believe that having a focused, fired up, capably led workforce is vital to their business interests.  And it’s perfectly okay if you decide that the answer is “no”, just don’t kid yourself or anyone else about that decision. A senior manager at an office products firm I once did some work for was very plain spoken in admitting that, “we really don’t even bother learning the names of our sales reps, because they aren’t going to be here very long.” His hiring process was equally simple – Just do a casting call and hire the first bozo who shows up evidencing the ability to walk and chew gum simultaneously.

But if you take the converse stance, that people really do matter, and are critical to your business outcomes, there are certain fundamentals that absolutely, positively bear attention. Foremost among them is the quality of people brought on board to work at Acme Services Company (We don’t make widgets or much of anything else any more, do we?) In short, great cakes start with great ingredients. Though I tend to be a fairly early adopter of new technology, I can’t think of any good reasons to dump the real-time employment interview. Whether in person or via web chat, there is nothing, repeat nothing that takes the place of conversing with someone and having the opportunity to watch their facial expressions and other body language, observe their listening skills (or lack thereof), and have the opportunity to ask probing follow-up questions, none of which can occur via recorded response.

Having hundreds or even thousands of folks take an interest in joining your organization presents something of a burden in that sifting through the pile of resumes in search of one or two real keepers takes time and effort. But its time worth taking, and worth doing right. By all means use whatever technology will allow you to make the process more efficient and more responsive to your applicants. Just don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.

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A thought leader in the arena of leadership and employee engagement, Bill Catlette is a seminar leader, keynote speaker, and executive coach. He helps individuals and organizations improve business outcomes by having a focused, engaged, capably led workforce. For more information about Bill, his partner Richard Hadden, and their work, please visit their website at www.contentedcows.com, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ContentedCows

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