46% of new hires fail –- and not because they lack skills
July 16, 2009 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Assessing the right candidate, Interviewing, Special Report
With so many candidates for every open job, choosing the right one gets even more difficult. But do your managers know the best interview techniques to avoid hiring missteps?
The most common reason new hires don’t work out? It’s not because they don’t have the technical skills they need, says hiring consultant Jennifer Shirkani, speaking at the 2009 Society for Human Resources Management Annual Conference.
Most new employees have enough skills to do the job, because that’s what interviewers focus on. But it’s the soft skills that more often doom new hires.
Nearly half (46%) of hires fail within the first 18 months on the job, according to a survey of managers by Leadership IQ. The reasons, according to the managers surveyed:
- 26% fail because they can’t accept feedback
- 23% can’t control emotions
- 17% aren’t motivated to succeed
- 15% have the wrong temperament or work style for the company’s environment, and
- only 11% fail because they lack the necessary technical skills.
Hiring often comes down to a manager trying to decide who’s the most qualified based on skills and experience. But the real key for separating stars from the duds, Shirkani says, is to focus interviews equally on interpersonal skills, work styles and culture, as well as skills and experience.
Here are some interview questions she recommends:
- “Think of a time when you were unfairly criticized. How did you handle it?”
- “When was the last time you had to act without the guidance of a formal policy or procedure? Tell me what you did.”
- “Give an example of a situation where you had to deliver bad news. How did you go about it?”
- “Tell me about two times when you had good ideas but co-workers resisted using them. How exactly did you handle that?”
Questions like those, combined with information from references, will give you a pretty good picture of whether the candidate will be a good fit.
Tags: duds, interview questions, Jennifer Shirkani, new hires
July 17th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Interesting results. These are the reasons MANAGERS say employees fail. Ironically, the failed employee may feel a bit differently if surveyed. I think managers need to look at themselves as a potential cause first before they point to the employee.
July 17th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I agree with Denise. Some managers don’t take the time to make an employee successful. They want a 100% made-for-the-job individual. Gets worst when an employee starts showing “more brains” than the supervisor. Most Managers like submission, not questioning. Managers have a way to “set up” an employee to fail. In my 30 years of experience in HR, I have had very few managers that are reallly interested in MAKING their employees succeed. Either they keep them as an “average” or let them fail.
July 17th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Having asked similar interview questions, I agree with the survey results. H/R personnel work with managers daily and are aware of management styles, the company’s culture, and the temperament of employees who have been employed with the company for any length of time. The company’s environment must be considered. No matter how good a candidate’s skills are, each company has different work styles and cultures. Interpersonal skills are very important when attempting to make a happy merger of new candidates into any company.
July 17th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
for an employee to be successful really depends on the managers “motivation” and the employees drive and motivation. However, sadly “kiss assing” is and always will be prevalent. If the employee can “suck up” along with being motivated and driven they’ll stick around.
July 18th, 2009 at 10:25 am
I had every skill necessary to fulfill and excel at my new job EXCEPT I couldn’t help that the Office Manager was dreadfully insecure and grossly overweight. I was not. She made me fearful for my job every day and I lost 20 pounds in 3 months from stress. She was angry that everyone else in the office liked me and told whoever would listen that I was a big fake — “no one could be that happy.” Fortunately someone convinced her she was too good for the position she held, and she left for a better job with another company. They were able to “read between the lines” on that princess and she was terminated herself.
July 24th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Funny…there is a link at the bottom of this page (http://www.hrrecruitingalert.com/3-reasons-new-hires-quit/) that tells a different story…similar to the one being discussed. I would bet the truth lies somewhere in between. I know employees who though being expected to work 40 hours a week was an unrealistic expectation. I have also had managers who felt threatened by high performers.
September 9th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
[...] time consuming process. As much as we strive to make the best matches not every new-hire works out. This piece has some great advice for those doing the hiring and includes questions to ask potential employees [...]