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New Year, New Resolution for Hiring Managers: Improve Interview Techniques to Reduce Cost

Job interviews can be stressful on new hire candidates, but they also put pressure on the hiring manager. The cost of making a “bad hire” decision incurs the obvious expenses of salary and benefits, but there are also hidden costs. Time invested in training and lost time in finding the right candidate (which can takes months) cannot be recouped.

HR Knowledge, Inc. a leading human resources Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the East Coast with offices in Mansfield and Waltham, share their “Top 5 Tips for Successful Interview” techniques.

Many Human Resource Managers begin with the resumé and ask questions to determine what the skill set may have been for jobs listed on the resumé. Carefully listening to the answers may indicate a situation where the candidate has inflated the resumé or listed positions in the background that have been glamorized. Asking closed ended questions that have yes or no responses may not ferret these errors out, and it may not be assumed that these omissions will be picked up in a background check.

There are some simple, logical tips that can be used during a job interview to discern the credibility of the candidate. Here are the Top 5:

1. Ask open ended questions. Follow up with questions that will shed light on areas where there may be inconsistencies.

2. Look for eye contact. When applicants stretch the truth, they typically break eye contact or look away.

3. Nervous twitches or tics may give away the false answers. Switching crossed legs, leg shaking, toe tapping, finger drumming… are all indications that the candidate is uncomfortable. Looking into this discomfort may reveal areas of potential deception.

4. Evaluate the candidate’s handshake. It may seem trivial, but a firm and direct handshake are important. A limp or moist handshake are giveaways that the candidate may be insecure with their presentation to you.

5. Obvious factors such as chewing gum or inappropriate attire during an interview are tip-offs that the candidate does not take the position seriously. Unless you want to have ongoing problems with lateness or unprofessional representation, you may want to skip these candidates.

According to Jeff Garr, CEO of HR Knowledge, “Searching for great employees is more than evaluating the resumé. Hiring the right person is important for the morale of the existing employees as well. The old adage “you are known for the company you keep” extends to the workplace. As each new hire represents your company, it’s important to assess them on the basis of their skills, but also how they will fit into your corporate culture and ultimately, how they will represent your company and your brand.”
For more information about compensation, HR and or benefits contact Jeff Garr, CEO at HR Knowledge or 508-339-1300.
About HR Knowledge, Inc.
HR Knowledge, Inc. is a leading Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the East Coast. HR Knowledge has the experience and technology to efficiently provide best-in-class integrated HR services at an affordable cost to clients.

HR Knowledge’s leaders have more than 100 years of combined experience and provide expert guidance in Human Resource management, Group Benefits Brokerage, Payroll Processing & Managed Services, Financial Services and Recruiting and Hiring Process Management (HPM).
Through their comprehensive Human Resource Services, HR Knowledge helps organizations minimize operational risks, reduce administrative costs and better serve their people.

HR Knowledge has been recognized as a Gold Level Broker by Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare. The company is headquartered at 905B South Main Street, Suite 203 in Mansfield and their second office is located at 890 Winter Street, Suite 208 in Waltham, MA. For more information, contact (508) 339-1300 or visit their website at www.hrknowledge.com

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HR Knowledge Inc. Shares 7 Key Points for Building A Strong Sales Team

Jeff Garr, CEO
Compensating your sales people correctly can be a great challenge to the average business manager or owner. If you don’t compensate correctly or adequately, sales production may suffer, which will directly affect business growth and profit. If you do incentivize sales staff correctly but pay them too much, it could create future problems related to growth and or profitability of your business.

HR Knowledge, Inc., a leading human resources Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the East Coast with offices in Mansfield and Waltham, shares their “7 Key Points for Building a Strong Sales Team”:

1. Consider a Compensation Model prior to targeting and hiring sales people. It helps to have a good understanding of what makes some people “tick”, yet not others. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs states that there are a number of aspects that generate needs for any person, some of which may be of more interest to one person and less interest to another. Once you understand which aspect(s) motivate people, you can create a better environment to help create greater success.
2. Hire the right team of sales people. Before hiring, understand the type of sales person you need and then target them. Are you looking for an “order taker”? This is a person who can call on existing accounts and build great relationship with the client. Are you looking for a sales person who can “make it rain”? This person has the ability to create and generate business. If they are able to “find” business then they are the “hunter”. Understand what type of sales person you need and then target them in recruiting.
3. Adhere to the “Three A’s” when hiring. Once you understand the type of sales person you are looking for, remember the “Three A’s” when hiring for a sales position in your company. The first and most important “A” is Attitude. The right attitude is everything when hiring people. If they have the right attitude they will go through the wall for you to close business and follow the direction of the company. The second “A” is Aptitude. Ask yourself if s/he has the aptitude for the position of the company. Webster Dictionary defines aptitude as “capability; ability; innate or acquired capacity for something; talent”. The final “A” is Altitude, meaning, how high can they go? How high do you need them to go? Will they plateau at a certain point and coast?
4. Beware of complacency. The next concern when hiring sales people and thus managing them is complacency. Most sales people will reach a point of complacency and then coast in the job. Less work and more play becomes their mantra. The key challenge for management is to do all you can do to prevent complacency by your sales people. Most people become satisfied (and have obtained fulfillment of Maslow’s higher level emotional needs) once they attain job satisfaction or reach a particular level of income or status. With sales people, the challenge is to prevent this from happening.
5. Utilize your Compensation Model. It is vital to keep sales people motivated and “in the game”. From a managerial standpoint, it is far easier to compensate sales people and steer them in the direction the company wants them to go than it is to create compensation models to drive operations people, where you have to rely on coaching and management techniques. Sales people are experts in understanding compensation models and how they can maximize their income in the quickest time frame. They are usually very highly motivated and understand how the game works. This being the case, it is imperative to find a compensation model to drive the sales team to do what you want them to do.
6. Understand what your company’s objectives are and then create the compensation model to attain those objectives. For example, if your interest is to expand and grow your client base, then the compensation model needs to reward your sales team for new business and retention. You can create additional incentives to ensure that a large portion of their pay will be derived from new business acquisition. If it is imperative that your sales team be involved in the retention of clients, then you need to find a compensation model which will reward them for retaining and maintaining great relationships with clients. If they lose clientele, you must ensure that this will affect their compensation. This is a delicate area because if your operations team is not equally committed to retaining clients and the service or product you are delivering is not up to standard, then the sales team has no chance to retain the business no matter how great their relationship is with that client.
7. Do all that you can to ensure that the product or service you deliver is “remarkable!” Make sure that your company is setting the tone and the barometer in the marketplace for what you do. This will allow your sales people to confidently and comfortably sell your product or service. Without this, no sales person of any quality can survive and thrive in today’s business environment. Make sure that your operations team are as committed and passionate about clients as your sales team.
For more information about compensation, HR and or benefits contact Jeff Garr, CEO at HR Knowledge or 508-339-1300.
About HR Knowledge, Inc.
HR Knowledge, Inc. is a leading Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the East Coast. HR Knowledge has the experience and technology to efficiently provide best-in-class integrated HR services at an affordable cost to clients.

HR Knowledge’s leaders have more than 100 years of combined experience and provide expert guidance in Human Resource management, Group Benefits Brokerage, Payroll Processing & Managed Services, Financial Services and Recruiting and Hiring Process Management (HPM).
Through their comprehensive Human Resource Services, HR Knowledge helps organizations minimize operational risks, reduce administrative costs and better serve their people.

HR Knowledge has been recognized as a Gold Level Broker by Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare. The company is headquartered at 905B South Main Street, Suite 203 in Mansfield and their second office is located at 890 Winter Street, Suite 208 in Waltham, MA. For more information, contact (508) 339-1300 or visit their website at www.hrknowledge.com

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HR Knowledge Inc. Recognized by Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare

HR Knowledge, Inc., a leading Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the Northeast with offices in Mansfield and Waltham, was recently recognized as a Gold Level Broker by Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare for the combination of new clients and high retention.

This honor is bestowed upon the top two percent of benefit brokers in the New England market. Dan Hughes, President of Operations and HR Services at HR Knowledge was on site to accept the prestigious award. This is the fifth consecutive year that HR Knowledge has been recognized by Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare. 2010 was the first year HR Knowledge reached the Gold level.

HR Knowledge, Inc. provides a unique blend of services to businesses by providing outsourced, integrated HR, Payroll and Benefits services to their clients. This allows for great economies of scale in handling these time consuming and tedious tasks.

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is the highest-ranked health insurance plan for overall member satisfaction in the New England region for the third year in a row according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Member Health Insurance Plan Study. Harvard Pilgrim has also been named the number one private health plan in America for the seventh consecutive year, according to an annual ranking of the nation’s best health plans by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

About HR Knowledge, Inc.
HR Knowledge, Inc. is a leading Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the Northeast. HR Knowledge has the experience and technology to efficiently provide best-in-class integrated HR services at an affordable cost to clients.

HR Knowledge’s leaders have more than 100 years of combined experience and provide expert guidance in Human Resource management, Group Benefits Brokerage, Payroll Processing & Managed Services, Financial Services and Recruiting and Hiring Process Management (HPM).
Through their comprehensive Human Resource Services, HR Knowledge helps organizations minimize operational risks, reduce administrative costs and better serve their people.

HR Knowledge is headquartered at 905B South Main Street, Suite 203 in Mansfield and their second office is located at 890 Winter Street, Suite 208 in Waltham, MA. For more information, contact (508) 339-1300 or visit their website at www.hrknowledge.com

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HR Knowledge CEO to appear on MYOB Radio Show Sunday

Jeff Garr, CEO of HR Knowledge will be appearing on the “Mind your Own Business” Radio Show this week. The show provides advice, information and connections for entrepreneurs, service providers and established companies. Tune into MYOB this Sunday between 9-11 AM to hear his segment.

Local Stations:

WBNW 1120 AM – Needham, MA
WPLM 1390 AM – Plymouth, MA
WESO 970 AM – Southbridge, MA

or stream online @ MYOBTheRadioShow.com

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HR Knowledge Opens Second Location in Waltham

HR Knowledge, Inc. of Mansfield, providers of best-in-class integrated human resource services to clients throughout the Northeast, has recently opened a second office in Waltham Woods Corporate Center, located at 890 Winter Street in Waltham, MA. The telephone number is 508-339-1300.

HR Knowledge has been providing comprehensive HR management, Payroll Processing, Managed Services, Group Benefits, Financial Services, Recruiting and Hiring services to businesses for more than a decade. The firm has experienced significant growth the past two years which has led to the need for additional space. HR Knowledge’s staff has grown to a total of 25 and the company is in the process of recruiting additional staff.

“The new space enables us to better cater to our clients on the 128 corridor and positions us for continued future growth,” noted Jeff Garr, CEO of HR Knowledge.

About HR Knowledge, Inc.

HR Knowledge, Inc. is a leading Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) serving emerging to mid-sized companies throughout the Northeast. HR Knowledge has the experience and technology to efficiently provide best-in-class integrated HR services at an affordable cost to clients.

HR Knowledge’s leaders have more than 100 years of combined experience and provide expert guidance in Human Resource management, Group Benefits Brokerage, Payroll Processing & Managed Services, Financial Services and Recruiting and Hiring Process Management (HPM).

Through their comprehensive Human Resource Services, HR Knowledge helps organizations minimize operational risks, reduce administrative costs and better serve their people.

HR Knowledge is headquartered at 905B South Main Street, Suite 203 in Mansfield and their second office is located at 890 Winter Street in Waltham, MA. For more information, contact (508) 339-1300 or visit their website at hrknowledge.com.

HR Knowledge Opens Second Location in WalthamRead More