Best Practices in Hiring and Retaining Talent

1. Best Practices in Hiring and Retaining Talent 2012 Florida Tax Collector’s Association Fall Conference Presenter: Cory Godwin, Chief Deputy Tax Collector Walton County

2. A Surprising Finding… The typical interview increases the likelihood of choosing the best candidate by less than 2%. In other words, if you just "flipped" a coin you would be correct 50% of the time. If you added an interview you would only be right 52% of the time.

3. Begin with a commitment… We will always: Hire the Best and Brightest Hire based on our Core Values

4. Step One:Recruiting and Planning Meeting A Team Approach

5. The Team will… • Use the job specification, and experience of other employees who have worked successfully in a similar position, rank the most important qualities, experiences, education, and characteristics that your successful candidate will possess.

6. Develop and Prioritize Key Requirements • Special Qualifications • Traits • Characteristics • Experience • Skills

7. Create a wish list for the perfect team member • Start with Job Description ( Be as specific as possible) • Don’t write job descriptions that just anyone would apply for. • Incorporate your values into the description

8. Reaffirm or Revise the Position Description • Develop a plan focused on whether to “buy, build or borrow,” review position description and identify KSA’s, experience and competencies necessary. • Workforce planning and individual recruitment promotions by inventorying employee skills, competencies, experiences and career interest, and deliver talent inventory reports regularly .

9. Revisit your application

10. Ask personality questions

11. Develop the Job Ad • Be creative • Gain attention • Stand out • Resist traditional “government” job posting models.

12. Zappos Job Ad The Zappos Family currently has career opportunities in 2 fabulous locations. One location is in the “City of Sin. ” Yep, Las Vegas, Nevada. Our other location is home to the Jim Beam Distillery and the Zappos Fulfillment Centers. You got it, Shepherdsville, Kentucky. We do not currently have any work from home opportunities. (Sorry!) Please check out the Zappos Family’s 10 Core Values before applying! They are the heart and soul of our culture and central to how we do business. If you are “fun and a little weird” - and think the other 9 Core Values fit you too - please take a look at our openings, find the one or two that best fit your skills, experience and interest! Why consider opportunities with us? In January 2011, Zappos.com, Inc. and its affiliates were named #6 on the 2011 Fortune: 100 Best Companies to Work For List. And… we’re hiring like crazy right now, and looking for smart, forward-thinking problem solvers to join our world-class, and fairly wacky team. PS: At the Zappos Family of Companies, over-sized egos are not welcome. Over-sized Eggos, however, are most welcome and appreciated! Oh, and one more thing! Cover letters are sooooo old-fashioned, don't you think? Show us who you are with a cover letter VIDEO! You will be able to upload one when applying for a position.

13. Example Clerk Job Ad The Walton County Tax Collector’s Office is seeking applicants that are highly motivated team players for two vacant Clerk I positions. Successful candidates may be assigned to any Walton County Tax Collector’s office. The positions are responsible for attending to the needs of the public and assisting with various transactions, including but not limited to Hunting & Fishing Licenses, Vessel and Motor Vehicle Titles & Registrations and Property Taxes. These positions require a high school diploma or equivalent, six months cash handling experience capable of processing cash, check, debit/credit transactions in a cashier service function and working with the public, ability to type 35 correct words per minute, must have knowledge of basic procedures and principles of mathematics, business English and general office duties. Proficiency tests will be administered. Applications can be obtained from the Tax Collector’s website at www.waltontaxcollector.com. Completed applications should be submitted to: Debra Wooten, Human Resources Manager, Walton County Tax Collector’s Office, PO Box 510, DeFuniak Springs, FL 32435, Fax: (850) 892-8107. EOE & Drug Free Workplace. Annual salary is $__________ plus membership into the Florida Retirement System and access to various life and health benefits. Deadline to submit an application is Thursday, May 26, 2011.

14. Determining Salary Range • Comparative Compensation Study • Industry • Local market • Private sector • Public sector

15. Posting/Advertising • Traditional newspaper classified/ JobsPlus postings • Online website posting • Network and post jobs on online social media sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn. Ask your employees to publicize the position through their online social media networks.

16. Power of Social Media • Over 800 million Facebook Users • Over 70% of the Fortune 100 use LinkedIn to save time and hire the best candidates. • LinkedIn has over 100 million users. • http://www.linkedin.com/jobs/post?trk=tab_hire

17. Other Strategies • University Career Centers • Professional Association Websites/Social Media Groups • Certified Public Managers • SHRM • NACO • FGOA • Etc.

18. As Applications/Resumes Arrive • Acknowledge immediately • Send postcards or emails to each applicant to acknowledge receipt of the resume. (State that if the candidate appears to be a good match for the position, relative to your other applicants, you will contact them to schedule an interview. If not, you will keep their application/resume on file for a year in case other opportunities arise.)

19. Screening(Creating a Qualified Pool of Candidates) • Letters and resumes matter • Conduct scheduled initial phone interviews • Compare against prioritized qualifications and criteria previously established by the team. • Determine salary requirements, if not provided

20. Advance Screening • Jobs Skills Testing • Predictive Index • Meyers-Briggs Personality Testing • Career Scope Testing

21. Meyers-Briggs Personality Testing • Personality Styles Matter • Cultural Fit

22. Predictive Index • The Predictive Index (PI) is a scientifically validated management tool that offers fresh understanding of the individual needs and drives that make people work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDE0DYy91a4&feature=player_embedded#at=50

23. How it Works • One of the key issues all businesses wrestle with is employee turnover. The PI helps managers identify what behavioral traits a job requires. • You compare an individual's PI results (behaviors) against the job needs to make better selection and hiring decisions.

24. Pre-Interview • Provide copy of the job description at arrival • Solicit feedback from employees who greet and observe candidates as they arrive. “The secret interview team member” • Focus on reviewing the interview questionnaire for fit to position or formulating an interview questionnaire for fit to position

25. The Interview Environment/Location • Determine a location that will put the candidate at ease as much as possible. This will help the candidate to be his/her self and allow the interview team to receive a better read on his/her personality. • Remember the goal is to assess a candidates best fit for an organization.

26. The Interview Process/Questions • Conducting in-person interviews to assess the applicant’s business and behavioral attributes critical to the organizational culture and business strategy • Body language cannot be read over the phone • We communicate only 20% with our words.

27. Post Interview • Arrange for post interview office tour. This phase will also expose the candidates to other employees and potential career paths • Reach consensus on whether the organization wants to select any candidate (via informal discussion, a formal discussion meeting, HR staff touching base with interviewers, candidate rating forms, and so on). If dissension exists, the supervising manager should make the final decision.

28. Reference and Background Checks • Anyone who has stated qualifications dishonestly or who fails to pass the checks is eliminated as a candidate.

29. Follow Through • Inform all candidates of decisions in a timely manner, including and especially….elimination. • Through the entire interviewing process, HR, and managers, where desired, stay in touch with the most qualified candidates via phone and email.

30. Don’t Cut Corners or Settle • If no candidate is superior, start again to review your candidate pool and redevelop a pool if necessary.

31. Your Hired! • Talk informally with the candidate about whether he or she is interested in the job at the offered salary and stated conditions. • Make certain the candidate agrees that they will participate in a background check, a drug screen or a Confidentiality Agreement, depending on the position. (This should be signed off on the application.) If so, proceed with an offer letter.

32. The Onboarding Process

33. Onboarding is…. • Organizational – makes new employees familiar with the organizations mission, vision and culture and familiarizes them with policies and procedures, health and safety and key personnel. • Departmental – helps new employees learn the practical knowledge about day-to-day functioning, under the guidance of a “Buddy”.

34. Make it a Manager’s Special • Give ownership of the process to your managers • “Road Map” the process; this gives your managers the information and tools necessary for a successful onboarding experience. • Incorporate the “Buddy” program into the process • Make it FUN!! And reaffirm the employee’s decision of this is a “Great Place to Work!”

35. Onboarding Focuses on: • A stronger employee welcome • Affirmation that the employee made the right job choice • Affirmation that the employee fits into the organization; and • Enhancing long-term relationship building

36. 19 Effective Strategies Great companies have great employees, so commit to hiring only the best! Make sure you have written job descriptions. Verify with those performing and supervising the job that these job descriptions are accurate. Think “outside the box.” Don’t limit your sources for good employees. Avoid hiring someone who averages more than one employer every two years. Use a rating system so that early candidates are not forgotten in the interview process.

37. 19 Effective Strategies 6. Where possible, promote from within to maintain employee morale. 7. A person with an extensive self-employment background is very likely to go back to self-employment as soon as possible. Hire this person as a consultant. 8. Workers with a disability often do a better job with greater loyalty and fewer absences. 9. Use a temporary employment agency instead of hiring an employee in haste. 10. Conduct a pre-hire character assessment. Resource: www.zeroriskhr.com.

38. 19 Effective Strategies 11. Try to have the person leaving the position and future co-workers interview their applicants. 12. Test the technical skills and industry knowledge of every job applicant. 13. Evaluate a potential employee’s energy levels. Checking them at different times of the day. 14. Carefully investigate any significant gaps in employment. 15. Get outside agencies to help if you don’t follow a powerful hiring process.

39. 19 Effective Strategies 16. Use pre-employment questionnaires and interview extensively. 17. Test every new employee for drug use. 18. Check an applicant’s background and all references thoroughly. Resource: www.infolinkscreening.com. 19. Memorialize the terms of employment using offer letters and consider employment contracts.

40. Employee RetentionHow to keep them… • Clearly state expectations for day to day work • Quality of Supervision – People leave managers/supervisors more than workplaces • Ability to freely speak one’s mind • Talent and skill utilization

41. Employee RetentionHow to keep them… • Perception of fairness and equal treatment • Tools, time and training • Learning and development opportunities • Welcomed, acknowledged and appreciated

42. SHRM and CareerJournal.com Survey • The survey results include responses from 451 HR professionals and 300 managerial or executive employees. • Employees cited the following three top reasons they would begin searching for a new job: • 53 percent seek better compensation and benefits. • 35 percent cited dissatisfaction with potential career development. • 32 percent said they were ready for a new experience.

43. SHRM and CareerJournal.com Survey • The following three are the most common programs employers are using to retain employees: • 62 percent provide tuition reimbursement. • 60 percent offer competitive vacation and holiday benefits. • 59 percent offer competitive salaries.

44. Contact Us… Cory A. Godwin Chief Deputy Tax Collector Walton County 850.892.8121 Work 850.855-0769 Cell cory@waltontaxcollector.comwww.waltontaxcollector.com Facebook.com/waltoncountytaxcollector waltoncountytax Waltoncountytaxcollector.blogspot.com