The truth about
hiring the wrong receptionist
(or any other position in your
business)
Hiring great people
- the sustainable competitive edge
Armchair
Eagle House, Joule Road, West Portway
Andover, Hampshire SP10 3UX
Tel: 0800 02300 333
www.armchairgroup.com
WE RECRUIT OUR OWN MISTAKES
No one knows when the market will take a turn for the better, but one thing is
for sure. Businesses that have the right people in place will have a massive
advantage when it does.
Employing the right people, of course, comes down to good interview
technique – and that’s the problem. Few people have formal training in
carrying out interviews and most of us do it only rarely. It’s an interruption to
an already busy week, something that has to be done rather than an
opportunity to find a great new member of staff to drive up profits and make
life better.
So an interview – in theory a great opportunity for both the company and the
potential employee – becomes instead a bit of a chore in which one person
who feels nervous and uncomfortable is asked questions by another person
who feels just as uncomfortable.
It’s all because most interviewers have little or no idea what they are doing.
Employees are promoted to a management role and are expected to hire
people without any training, guidance, or support. It’s not surprising that they
run into problems. Here are a few of them:
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They can’t find great people
They waste time with the wrong people
They don’t know what to ask in the interview
Candidates lie to them
They make hiring mistakes
They spend too much money without getting results
Sound familiar? It’s because the interviewer has not done his or her
homework and does not have a detailed profile of what a successful
candidate would look like. It is this ‘success profile’ that plays such a vital part
of the hiring process.
At Armchair we know what success looks like and we know how to hire the
best receptionists. We have built our business on providing an overspill
reception service for busy organisations, so we have to have the best.
Here’s how we go about recruiting the right candidates – and how you can do
the same.
1
Don’t be a victim of fake enthusiasm
Interviewers all too often make a quick judgment based on their
‘perception’ and then jump to an instant conclusion.
Since hiring the wrong receptionist for your business can make the
difference between success and failure, you can’t afford to make a snap
decision.
The enthusiasm a candidate brings to an interview can be real or
manufactured; your job is to distinguish between the two. Every book
that tells people how to get a job teaches candidates to be enthusiastic.
Be specific. If you want to find out whether or not the candidate really
can build a rapport with a customer, ask for an example of how they
established a successful relationship with a prospect in the past.
2
Control the interview
Controlling the interview simply means getting the information you need
– not what the candidate wants to tell you - in the time available.
The only way to control the interview is to ask effective questions. Never
just invite the interviewee to: “Tell me about yourself”. The candidate will
tell you what they want to hear – and you will lose control.
All the books advise applicants to answer questions with a story and to
use words like “enthusiasm”, “excited” and “energy”. Always be better
prepared than the applicant and make sure you find out what you want to
know, not what they want to tell you.
3
Don’t jump to conclusions
It’s no secret that many interviewers prepare by scanning the CV two or
three minutes before the interviewee arrives. They believe they will
immediately know if this person is the right one for the job.
This is the one real way to lower the probability of making a good hiring
decision. Prepare properly.
4
Check out those feelings
You certainly shouldn’t ignore your ‘gut feeling’. When you don’t feel right
about a person you should reject them. The longer you are in the
interviewing business the better your instincts and feelings become.
The important thing is to back up your instincts by asking yourself what
the interviewee did or said to trigger the particular response – particularly
when it is positive.
If you feel good about someone’s ability to establish a rapport, find out
what’s making you feel that way. Ask for examples of how they
established a good relationship with prospects in the past. This will give
you the information you need to confirm or reject your feelings. Always
try to have objective data to support your decisions.
5
It’s your standards that count
If you like a candidate, you will often wonder if there is someone else ‘out
there’ who might be better. There probably is; the real question, though,
is how long it will take you to find them.
Conversely, interviewers often meet three candidates and choose the
best of the three. But what if the best of the three doesn’t meet your
requirements? Simple; you end up hiring the best of the worst.
The answer? Make sure you compare candidates against your own
standards, not against each other or against people who may or may not
exist ‘out there’.
6
Test and investigate
Can the candidate laugh at himself or herself? Do they have what every
receptionist needs – the ability to stay cool in a crisis? Find out by
staying in control and asking direct questions.
When it comes to checking candidates out, the essential ‘must do’ is
always to take a minimum of three references in writing and by phone.
And on that subject:
7
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They must be honest and tell the truth ALWAYS - find out why they
really left that last job. Most of the time, it’s people problems not the
desire for more money or responsibility.
*
Never drop your standards, especially if you only have one
applicant; this is the area where the biggest selection errors are
made.
Always Insist
Insist that any applicant who gets through to a second interview writes or
emails five reasons why they should be considered for the position.
Even if you only have one applicant, tell them there’s been an
overwhelming response. This self-selection process will have a massive
benefit in suitability and length of service, as well as helping you find the
perfect match.
8
Make sure your applicants spend a morning, or even a day, ‘buddying’
with an existing receptionist. Would you buy a house without viewing it?
The same should apply to appointing a new receptionist, and they should
be equally keen on the idea. Finding out later that the chemistry doesn’t
work could be very costly.
9
The final questions
The last three questions to ask when hiring a receptionist or any new
member of your team should be:
1)
Would I feel good as a customer if they were the first person I met
when I walked through the door?
2)
Would I buy from them? If not, then you really shouldn’t be
employing them in this position.
3)
Do they pass the Sunday lunch test? In other words, would you be
happy inviting them home to a family Sunday lunch? (This is only a
theoretical question, though; you don’t actually have to invite them!)
10 Should I ask every candidate the same questions?
Absolutely not. If you put the same 10 or 15 questions to every
candidate, they would, by definition, have to be general questions.
The answers you get to general questions are general answers, and
general answers lead to hiring mistakes.
Ask every candidate questions that are specific to their background. To
be effective, they need to reflect the following four special characteristics.
They must:
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Be easy to answer
Be a single, focused question
Have a planned, specific purpose
Be related to the job.
It’s not easy but it is vital to get it right. Follow these
guidelines and you will improve your hiring decisions
and the quality of your staff. In the meantime, if you
need temporary or overspill cover for your reception
desk, remember that at Armchair we already have all the
best receptionists working for us.
To see and hear how hundreds of motor dealerships –
including many of your rivals - are profiting from using
the Armchair receptionist service, visit
www.armchairgroup.com and ask us about our one
week, 100% risk-free trial.
Armchair
Eagle House, Joule Road, West Portway
Andover, Hampshire SP10 3UX
Tel: 0800 02300 333
www.armchairgroup.com