Synopses & Reviews
There are huge costs to any business for making the wrong hire— in the selection process itself, training, higher rates of turnover, reduced innovation and productivity, and the negative impact on customers and other employees. Whenever you hire talent that does not fit your organization, you set yourself back.
The Talent Edge shines a bright light on the failings of the traditional interview and selection process, and offers a clear, management system based on behavioral job profiling and interviewing. This competency-based approach improves your chances of picking the right candidate two to five times over traditional processes, has a tremendous impact on retention levels, and results in clarity within the organization around goals, values, and the nature of top performance.
The Talent Edge shows anyone involved in the selection process how to use behavioral interviewing to improve the hiring and selection process. It also shows hiring managers and human resource professionals how to translate the principles and techniques of behavioral interviewing into effective processes for managing human capital throughout the organization, far beyond interviewing— in career development, performance management, training, coaching, and succession planning.
The Talent Edge clearly articulates the business case for a behavioral interviewing system and provides a road map for implementing it effectively:
- Explains how to write behavioral job profiles and translate them into interview questions.
- Shows how to prepare for the interview, ask questions, and probe for the right information.
- Features case studies throughout the book from seven companies that have used a behavioral approach to dramatically improve their hiring and performance management processes— AbbottLabs, Calgary Police Service, HMV, Michelin, Sprint Canada, Starbucks, Thomas Cook.
- Includes sample dialogues, interviews, behavioral profiles.
Review
"Talent management— hiring, developing, and retaining top performers— is essential for any company competing for rare knowledge workers. Cohen's
The Talent Edge explains in very clear language how to begin establishing a truly world-class performance management system by identifying which candidates are the most capable of top performance and are the best fit for your organization."
— Stephen McIntosh, Program Manager, Cicso Systems, Inc.
"I cannot afford to hire an employee that does not fit in or is less than fully productive. David Cohen has provided us in The Talent Edge a 'how to' which will ensure a successful hiring process. A must-read in today's competitive talent hunt."
— Robin Wohnsigl, President, Air Canada Technical Services
"Both impressive and comprehensive, The Talent Edge shows why David Cohen is a leading authority on behavioral interviewing. This is a book no one involved in the hiring process should be without. Outstanding in both its scope and practical application."
— Wendy Parkes, Senior Manager, Career Development, Emfisys Division, Bank of Montreal
"I shudder to think how much time, energy, and money is wasted by managers who still go by a 'gut instinct' when hiring people! I'm recommending The Talent Edge to all my clients. It's a solid, meat-and-potatoes book— straightforward, thorough, practical, and useful."
— BJ Gallagher Hateley, coauthor of A Peacock in the Land of Penguins and What Would Buddha Do at Work?
"In The Talent Edge, David Cohen demystifies behavioral interviewing, which is arguably the most popular selection screening tol used in North America. It is an engaging primer for the manager confused by his or her poor choices in hiring."
— Richard E. Boyatzis, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Organizational Behavior, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
"The Talent Edge is a sharp, thorough, and practical guide for line managers and human resources professionals eager to ensure they're getting the best and the right talent for their organizations. Cohen's approach is well grounded in research but is rich with real-world examples and immediately applicable tools for those engaged in the war for talent."
— Lori Byran, Consultant, and Former Leadership Development Manager for Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Synopsis
A PRACTICAL STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH TO HIRING THE RIGHT PERSONEvery hiring manager knows that the traditional hiring and interviewing process is a poor tool for predicting organizational fit and future on-the-job success. Behavioral interviewing can improve your chances of picking the right candidate two to five times over traditional processes. It focuses on how the candidate works rather than on skills, qualifications, and impressions.
The Talent Edge shows how you can develop a concrete understanding of what your own top performers do differently than the majority of their peers, and how to translate that knowledge into a better hiring system. While using case studies from organizations that have successfully transformed their hiring practices, the book articulates the business case for a Behavioral Interviewing system, and provides a roadmap for implementing it.
Comprehensive coverage includes: how to write job profiles and translate them into questions and answers that can be used in the interview; how to prepare for the interview, ask questions, and probe for the right information. The book also offers advice on how behaviors that are defined and proven to be useful in the hiring process can be incorporated into performance management, career development, and succession planning.
Synopsis
A practical step-by-step approach to hiring the right person.Every hiring manager knows that the traditional hiring and interviewing process is a poor tool for predicting organizational fit and future on-the-job success. Behavioral interviewing can improve your chances of picking the right candidate two to five times over traditional processes. It focuses on how the candidate works rather than on skills, qualifications, and impressions.
The Talent Edge shows how you can develop a concrete understanding of what your own top performers do differently than the majority of their peers, and how to translate that knowledge into a better hiring system. While using case studies from organizations that have successfully transformed their hiring practices, the book articulates the business case for a Behavioral Interviewing system, and provides a roadmap for implementing it.
Comprehensive coverage includes: how to write job profiles and translate them into questions and answers that can be used in the interview; how to prepare for the interview, ask questions, and probe for the right information. The book also offers advice on how behaviors that are defined and proven to be useful in the hiring process can be incorporated into performance management, career development, and succession planning.
About the Author
Dr. David S. Cohen is a Principal in the Strategic Action Group, a consulting firm specializing in human resources development. His work with corporations is in several primary areas: management and leadership development; behavioral-based recruitment, selection, and performance management; helping corporations to articulate their values and develop a strategic vision; creating high-performance, results-focused teams.
Dr. Cohen's background spans both corporate consulting and education. He has consulted with a diverse group of industries in Canada., the United Kingdom, and the United States, specializing in the design and delivery of management development programs and human resources processes that are integrated with the business plan, vision, and values of individual clients.
Dr. Cohen is a sought-after speaker on human resource issues that has presented frequently for groups such as Linkage, the Institute for International Research, Insight, IQPC, the Canadian Management Centre (of American Management Association International), and the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario Annual Conference. He is also called upon as a keynote speaker at a variety of corporate programs.
Dr. Cohen holds a doctorate in Education from Boston University and is a member of the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario (HRPAO).
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements xii
Introduction: Leaders Needed ix
Chapter 1 Value Beyond the Balance Sheet: The Right People 1
Are Your People Really Your Competitive Advantage? 1
The Traditional Interview: Rolling the Dice 2
The Hiring Manager 4
The Human Resources Professional 5
Behavioral Interviewing: Examining the Past to Predict the Future 6
Not a Cookie-Cutter Approach 7
Case Study Profiles That Lead the Way 8
A Vision of Organizational Clarity 16
Chapter 2 Making the Business Case for Behavioral Interviewing 19
Competing for the Best 19
Why Hiring Decisions Fail 20
The Job Description 21
The Résumé 23
Technical Credentials 24
Experience 24
Hypothetical Situations and Opinions 25
Behavioral Information 26
Comparing Types of Information 27
The Interviewing Skills of the Candidate 28
The Time It Takes for a Decision 29
Reference Checks 30
Structured and Unstructured Interviews 31
The Odds and the Options 32
Determining the Economic Value-Added 33
Getting Buy-In From the Organization 38
Case Studies: Two Approaches to Behavioral Interviewing 39
Summary 46
Chapter 3 The Organization, the Job, and the Candidate: The Right Fit 47
Understanding What to Look For 47
Employees Success and Failure 48
The Importance of Defining Fit 49
Organizational Values 50
Organizational Culture 55
Organizational Vision 55
Corporate Mission, Strategy, and Objectives 56
Linking Values to Behaviors 56
The What and How of a Job 58
Technical Knock-Out Factors 60
Can-Do and Will-Do Factors 60
Behavioral Competencies 61
Transferability: The Hierarchy of Behaviors 63
Developing Behavioral Competencies in Your Unique Organization 65
A Road Map for Success 66
Working With Values: Case Study Examples 67
Summary 73
Chapter 4 Developing Behavioral Profiles that Benchmark Top Performance 75
Identifying, Examining, and Describing Top Performance 75
Critical Incidents 77
A Critical Incident: An Example 78
Breaking Down the Incident 78
The Right Critical Incident and Behaviors 79
Critical Incidents and Behavioral Interviewing 80
Focus Groups 81
Identifying Must-Have and Preferred Behavioral Competencies 86
Writing the Behavioral Profile 88
Sample Behavioral Profile 91
Case Study Profiles 96
Summary 105
Chapter 5 Writing Behavioral Questions that Elicit High-Yield Information 107
Behavioral Questions 107
Key Words 111
Sample Behavioral Questions 112
The Interview Guide 115
Summary 117
Chapter 6 Interviewing to Select and Sell the Best 119
Laying the Groundwork 119
How Much Structure? 120
Time Allocation 122
How Many Interviews? 123
Note Taking: Recording Behavioral Information 124
Preparing for the Interview 126
Opening the Interview 127
The Agenda-Setting Statement 128
Open-Ended and Closed-Ended Questions 131
Listening 132
Probing 134
Getting Behavioral Answers 136
Selling Your Organization 139
Closing the Interview 141
Behavioral Reference Checks 142
Post-Interview Debriefings 144
Ensuring the Fit of Your Selection 145
Training Hiring Managers to do
Behavioral Interviewing 146
Case Study Profiles 149
Summary 159
Chapter 7 Doing the Numbers: The Right Decision 161
Suspending Judgement and Developing a Common Language of Assessment 161
The Process 163
Determining Evidence of Behaviors 163
Scoring Responses: Using the Anchored Rating Scale 165
Anchored Rating System 166
Case Study Profiles 168
Sample Response Rating 169
Common Rating and Profile Assessment Errors 173
The Decision 174
Making the Offer 175
Chapter 8 Aligning Organizational Values, Strategy and People: A Common Language of Success 179
The Hub of the Wheel 179
Michelin North America 181
HMV North America 183
Calgary Police Service 187
Abbott Labs 188
Thomas Cook 190
Starbucks 191
Sprint Canada 192
A Final Thought: Championing a Behavioral Approach 193
Afterword Hiring in a Dot-Com Start-Up: The Tug of War Between Growth and Time 195
Does Hiring Right Work When You're Hiring Fast? 195
An All-Out Hiring Blitz 196
First Steps: Easing in a Behavioral Approach 198
Seizing the Opportunity to Spread the Word 198
Adaptions to the Behavioral Interviewing Workshop 200
Benefits to the Organization: Adapting to Change, Choosing the Right Competencies and Building a Global Culture 201
How Hiring Managers and Senior Executives Have Embraced the Process 204
Conclusion: A Step-by-Step Approach 206
Index 209