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Hiring for the Team
I've been with my org. almost a yr and I have an opening on my team due to a resignation. When I started w/ the co. I was told on my fist day that the account clerk wasn't happy in the position and was looking for a new job. I met w/ her to better understand why she wasn't happy and to see what I could do to make things better. I soon discovered that my co. was very dysfunctional and the culture here is hostile.
I've spoken w my boss about ways to improve the functionality of the dept and some of the hostility I've experienced, and how we can improve things, but he's not interested in changing anything (and that's me putting it nicely because his response was filled w profanity and yelling). I've also spoken w/ HR about the position because it is low paying and has limited responsibilities so I wanted to restructure the position to give it more duties and to increase the pay. I also spoke w/ HR about the hostile culture. The response from HR was to increase the duties, but the pay would remain the same. They acknowledge the hostile environment and have gotten complaints from others, but no further resolution.
So I have a bit of a dilemma because I need to fill the vacancy, but I don't want someone to be blind sided coming into this org. because it is very hostile here. I have a decent rapport w my team, but may of them are burned out because they've been w/ the org for yrs and when it comes to dealing w/ other depts., ppl are down right rude and belittling. I've also learned that there's been high turn over in my position (which wasn't the answer I was given in the interview when I asked about the vacancy), high turn over in the accountant position, and high turn over in the account clerk position. In the past 5 yrs., the org. has had 4 ppl in the account clerk position. So my concern is, how do I hire a good candidate for a low paying position, and how can I be honest in the interview about the corp culture because it is a factor that someone should know upfront.
Jackie Ruka
ProfessionalHappyologist Thrive in your purpose.
2.07k
09/25/19 at 5:03PM UTC
I understand and being placed as Director with no ability to lead a healthy team or form one is toxic in and of itself. it would be nice if you could ask your boss for more support?
Barb HansenStartup Product, Growth & Strategy
6.67k
09/25/19 at 4:31PM UTC
I don't have any specific information for you on how to handle this situation but I can share what happened to me being the newly hired person in a similar situation.
TL:DR -- It was an awful experience, I was lied to by the people who interviewed me. I left after 3 months.
I was interviewed for a Director role at a small healthcare technology company. The job was not a perfect fit for me but it checked many boxes and the people that I interviewed with were "great" and I was happy to get back into healthcare side of technology.
My main interview was with the person who was leaving the position, "Why are you moving on?" I asked. She responded that she had been hired by one of their clients for a position that was just too good to turn down, and the tech company was supporting her moving on.
I did research on Glassdoor and the reviews were mixed but most of the bad reviews were from 2000/2010 (read: in the midst of the recession) so I chalked the bad reviews up to a bad economy. I did ask everyone I interviewed with about the bad reviews on Glassdoor and they all had logical (it was the economy-related) answers.
I was hired into a company and quickly learned that it survived on misogyny, using bible verses to justify screwing their customers, name-calling and executive snickering about work quality in all-hands meetings, and lying to staff about working-hours, etc, etc, etc.
It was a living example of how to cheat and then lose customers and how to abuse your staff.
People were hired weekly and others left after loud and angry confrontations with senior staff. FYI - The company has since closed and reformed under a new company name.
I left after 3 months.
I ran into two of the people I had interviewed with (both had already left the company before i had) about a year later on separate occasions, and both of them said "I am so sorry that I had to lie to you during that interview" - "that company is awful" etc etc. And the person who had my position before me, told me that she was told that the company wouldn't support her move (there were non-competes so she couldn't technically work for a client without the companies support) to one of their clients until she found a replacement.
I responded with "yes, I wish you had told me even a partial truth so I could have made an intelligent decision not a decision based on lies. "
What I wanted to yell is "No, you didn't need to lie to me, you choose to lie to me and my life was crap for 3 months. Never ever do that again!!!"
I completely understand that they couldn't tell me to run from the interview (or hire through a temp agency as mentioned above), but they could have been just a little bit transparent about some of the problems so I could have been armed with the information I needed to make a decision.
Yes, it was my decision to stay at that company for 3 months but it was also the decision of those three interviewers to lie to me so I would take the job in the first place.
Don't lie -- it's not nice -- and you'll never keep employees that you lie too.
Anonymous
09/25/19 at 4:44PM UTC
@ barb hansen, thank you for sharing your story. You hit the nail on the head, I don't want to lie and have no intention on lying to someone. If they ask me how would you describe the corp culture here, I feel that I won't be able to control myself and that I'm going to scream out "It's AWFUL, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" I don't believe in managing by fear or lies and I don't want to stay here so I don't want to bring a good person in here and ruin them and burn them out, that's just not right. I won't sell my soul!
But the situation here is also more than needing someone w/ thick skin. I'm more of a puppet director than anything. I have the title, but no power and no support from my boss. So while the person will report to me, I'm limited in what I can do. In order to even get the position posted, I had to talk to a colleague in another department who then mentioned the fact that the vacancy wasn't posted to her "friend" in HR and then HR called me and my boss. After that phone conference, my boss agreed to post the position, but had ignored my request to post the position that I had made 6 wks prior.
Barb HansenStartup Product, Growth & Strategy
6.67k
09/25/19 at 5:21PM UTC
I could tell by your initial question that you would not lie :).
I like your phrase, "I need someone with thick skin" and perhaps you start there. Some people have thick skin and are completely un-phased by working in the situation you mention - I have worked with some of them in the past.
I'm not an HR professional, just an employee and manager who tries hard to understand the people who report to me. And I'll share some thing that i learned about a few years ago.
There is a concept called "time span of discretion" (which I paraphrase as "how long a person is responsible for their work before checking in with a superior. A line worker in a factory knows their day-to-day job (level 1) and a CEO is planning for where the company is going 5 years (level 4) .
I'll let you investigate this theory and perhaps you need to find a person who can do the job and works well as a level 1 (levels are not about education or intelligence, it's about how far-out a person functions in their thinking)
I have started to add "time span of discretion" interview questions to my interviews, as I don't want to hire a Level 2 (thinking out weeks to months) for a position that really needs a Level 3 (thinking out months to a year).
Again, I'm not an expert in HR or interviewing or in Time Spans of Discretion, I have just found that learning more about that concept has helped me find employees that fit for not just the job title and description but also fit on "how they think"
I'm happy to learn more (and to be corrected) if anyone else on FGB has experience with Time Span of Discretion :)
Jackie RukaProfessionalHappyologist Thrive in your purpose.
2.07k
09/25/19 at 4:30PM UTC
You definitely require a a mature minded person who has thick skin, is a go getter and very confident who is not effected by what others think or say. However, an abusive work environment will contribute to a solid employee to leave. My suggestion is to put a code of ethics in place for all employees and if the abuse continues those people can be placed on suspension and their pay is docked or just not have them on the schedule with no pay for 3 days. This needs to be spelled out in the code of ethics so those employees know that this behavior will no longer be tolerated. Their actions lead to consequences and employees will not learn their abusive and rogue behavior unless it is met with a consequence. It may not be pleasant but it works!
Anonymous
09/25/19 at 4:48PM UTC
@ jackie ruka thank you for the comments. You're right, an abusive environment will send a great employee packing. The problem is twofold because there's hostility within the team and within the company overall. Unfortunately, I cannot enact a code of ethics. I don't have the support of my boss though I'm supposed to be a director. He doesn't like to have to deal w/ conflict and not paying people and suspending ppl will def cause conflict. My team is short handed right now, so suspending ppl will make matters worst because the team members I do have are burned out and upset.
Johana TatlowResearcher | Consultant
351
09/25/19 at 1:27PM UTC
If the company has turnover that high, perhaps you could suggest they go through a hiring agency and do a temp-to-hire placement? That would give the person a chance to see what they are getting into. Or talk to HR and see if they would structure the contract as temp-to-hire. In terms of presenting company culture: interviewees will know that you are presenting the "best side", so roll with it. Talk about the virtues of your specific unit, and let the employee know that things can be a bit chaotic but you would have their back. They'll read between the lines on that. You might use lines like: this position will require someone with thick skin, because we've had quite a bit of turnover and need a steady sort of person.
Anonymous
09/25/19 at 4:54PM UTC
@ Johanna Tatlow, thank you for the comments. We don't use hiring agencies here and I tried to get the position listed as part-time, but my boss vetoed that. So part of the problem is, I need to hire someone for 40 hrs. a week when the job tasks won't really fulfill 40 hrs. I can increase the responsibilities, but not the pay. And I'm supposed to find a great employee to deal w the hostility here. Recipe for failure! The culture is beyond needing thick skin. If you're nice, you're punished. It's normal for ppl to walk around stomping, yelling, and cussing like they have no good sense! If you confront them about talking to you in that matter, you're considered the problem.
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