Hire Hard/Manage Easy

Joellen Earl, Chief Executive Officer, GOVHR USA

Handouts and presentations are available online at www.iowaleague.org.

650 Dundee Road, Suite 270, Northbrook, IL 60062Local: 847.380.3240 info@govhrusa.com

GovHRUSA.com

Hire Hard – Manage EasyTips for Getting the Best Employees

Iowa League of Cities – Celebrating Cities Conference - 2015Joellen Cademartori Earl, Chief Executive Officer

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Outline Search Preparation Job Announcement Candidate Selection Interview Strategies Interview Questions Making the Decision Practical Advice

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Search Preparation

Job description Not overly specific to ensure flexibility in hiring

Degrees and certifications Work schedule

On line application Current employee assistance Organization’s reputation Be professional and timely – set schedules at

the beginning of the process

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Job Announcement

Focus on key requirements/core competencies Include salary range and an application

deadline or “apply at once” or “open until filled”

Post with Professional Associations – ICMA, APWA, IACP, APA, GFOA, etc.

Use the Internet – Govjobs.com, LinkedIn Consider posting in unconventional places Set a realistic budget for advertising

($1,500/2K) and candidate travel expenses5

Job Announcement Glen Ellyn, IL (27,650) Vibrant, historic community seeks experienced candidates to

apply for the position of Finance Director. The Village of Glen Ellyn is located 23 miles west of Chicago in DuPage County and is one of the area’s premier suburbs with excellent schools, beautiful neighborhoods, and an appealing commercial mix of specialty boutiques and national retail outlets. Candidates must be extremely knowledgeable in modern municipal financial management issues and trends, possess excellent interpersonal skills, and have demonstrated experience with team building techniques and consensus management. The Village is a full-service community with 103 full-time employees and an annual budget of approximately $50 million. The Finance Department has a budget of $850,000 with 4 full time employees and several part-time employees (9 FTE’s) offering the following services: accounting and financial reporting, budgeting and long-term financial planning, capital financing, cash management and investment of Village funds, payment of bills, payroll, billing, collection of revenue, and risk management. The Billing & Customer Service Division, a division of the Finance Department, assists residents with payments for Village services and programs, including water, sewer and garbage, parking permits, vehicle stickers and real estate transfer stamps. Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree preferred. Minimum of 5 years’ experience. Starting salary $118,269-$142,688 DOQ. Send résumé with five references by July 18, 2014 to Joellen Earl at http://www.govhrusa.com/current-positions/recruitment. Tel: 847-380-3240.

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Job Announcement GFOA - $250 - runs for 4 weeks ILCMA – Free IGFOA - $250 - runs for 4 weeks GFOA-MO - $90 MI GFOA – Free Govtjobs.com - $150 LinkedIn - $395 SGR - $50 ILCPA - Free

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Candidate Selection

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Pay close attention to skill sets and accomplishments when screening candidates – use a matrix

Look at combinations of experience – different skills at different jobs may add up to the advertised position

Consider candidates with unconventional work history – international experience, state government experience, or other local agencies

Be aware of the difference between job jumpers and those who leave for upward mobility or some other reason

Candidate Selection

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Consider the following applications: “Seasoned” applicants Applicants reentering the workforce or who are in

transition – don’t obsess about resume gaps Applicants with a strong volunteer background Applicants with strong customer service

backgrounds Applicants from the not-for-profit or educational

arenas

Interview Strategies

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Consider a pre-interview assignment Ask for specific examples when designing

questions – keep them open-ended Conduct an onsite, job-related, written

exercise Diversify your interview panel(s) to ensure

different perspectives are reflected – elected officials, department heads, staff members, other stakeholder groups

Interview Strategies

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Conduct other job related assessments, such as an oral presentation (completed pre-interview) or leadership assessment.

Conduct a tour with the final candidates. Conduct more than one interview with final

candidates. Probe attitudinal issues whenever possible –

employees are hired for technical skills and are most often fired for negative behavioral issues.

Interview Strategies

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs)

Behavior and Traits

Result in few personnel/ disciplinary problems

Easier to teach/train Mainly acquired post-hire By themselves lead to

moderate performance Over-emphasized in value in

selection process

Result in the majority of personnel/disciplinary problems

Difficult if not impossible to teach

Mainly acquired pre-hire Plus KSAs take a candidate

from moderate to excellent performance

Under-emphasized or ignored in value in selection process

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Interview Questions

Use open-ended questions: Tell us your experience with . . . Describe a situation where . . . How would you handle a project related to . . . Why . . . What . . . When . . .

Use succinct questions – not multi-part – if you do be prepared to restate the question

Ask about the resume if there are gaps or other areas that need to be probed

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Interview Questions

Why do you want this position? What have you done to prepare for this interview? What would you attempt to accomplish in your first 6

months, year on the job? What would your Supervisor/co-workers say about you? Do you have any areas where you need improvement? Tell us about your experience with …? Willingness to relocate/salary expectations? Describe your management style? Tell us about a project you’ve led – what went well and

what would you change?

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Interview Questions

Greatest accomplishment? Who helped you? Where do you see yourself in five years? Staff discipline issues? Tell us about a conflict you’ve had with a co-worker and

how did you go about resolving the matter? Email, in-person, telephone – communication style? Incidents in your past – may be embarrassing? Why are you the best person for the position? If successful candidate, when would you be able to

commence employment? Do you have anything that would preclude you from

taking the position should it be offered?15

Interview Questions

Use exercises to further drill down on skill level PowerPoint Exercise:

Please develop a five-year revenue forecast for the general fund operating budget for your jurisdiction/agency. Include an explanation of how you went about developing

the forecast. Include an explanation of what concerning trends the

Village Manager and Board should be aware of and why. Also, what should the organization be doing in response?

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Interview Questions On-site Written Exercise:

Question #1 - The costs related to medical insurance continue to increase. Please explain what you would recommend to ensure efficiency in plan design and how to contain costs associated with a medical insurance plan.

Question #2 – You have been asked to establish a reserve fund policy for the Village’s general fund budget. Please explain how you would go about conducting research to develop the policy and what would be the major components of the policy.

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Making the Decision Obtain feedback from everyone who

interacted with the candidates Complete due diligence – reference checks,

Internet, Lexis/Nexis, motor vehicle, credit reports (if applicable)

Negotiate contract or compose an offer letter with parameters – salary, benefits, relocation, probation, technology, automobile, education and training, contingencies

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Practical Advice to Avoid Missteps Settle for the right candidate Probe references to answer nagging

questions/ perceptions Watch out for the “sales pitch” Handle internal candidates professionally, not

personally Be timely in responses to candidates Be cognizant of the ramifications of a slow or

delayed process

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Questions?

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