Human Resources
The right hire
A state program is helping Jenne Distributors identify the right salesperson for the job.
By Todd Shryock
Smart Business Cleveland | July 2005
With a growing company, every hiring decision is crucial.
A lot of time, money and training are invested into the process that you hope will result in a productive employee who will fit in with your company culture and help you move your organization forward.
But the hiring process involves a lot of unknowns, especially in areas such as sales, where some intangible characteristics can spell the difference between success and mediocrity.
Rose Jenne, president and CEO of Jenne Distributors, is hoping to eliminate some of the unknowns with a new human resources initiative funded by the state called "Hire Smart, Train Smart."
The program will help Jenne profile particular jobs, define what skills are needed to perform the duties and develop a test to give to potential candidates. The test will compare the applicants' results to criteria established by people already doing the job successfully.
"We're always hiring in sales, so the program was of interest to us," says Jenne. "When I heard about it, I thought it was a wonderful idea. You want a good fit with any new employee. Time and money is wasted if the person doesn't work out."
Jenne Distributors, which distributes telecommunication equipment, requires of employees some technical knowledge. New salespeople are trained in-house, adding to the investment of time and money in the hiring process.
"What the program does is identify the core competencies or characteristics you want the person to have," says Chris Anderle, vice president of finance for Jenne who's helping implement the program. "Based on those competencies, they'll create an interview questionnaire for them.
"We'll give the test to existing employees to make a baseline of how accurate the test is. We can use the test for a candidate to see how well their core competencies match up to the standard core competencies for the position and whether they might be a good fit."
A personality profile will help Jenne decide which candidate might be the best fit for the position.
"You might have the most willing and greatest person in the world, but maybe they don't like talking on the phone, even though they want to be in sales," says Jenne. "They might present themselves well one-on-one, but on the phone, they may not have the skills or the drive to make cold calls. It's all part of their personality."
Jenne says that when the creation of the test is complete, she expects to use it to narrow applicants down to a few finalists before conducting further interviews with company executives.
"If we have 10 candidates, they'll all be given the test," says Jenne. "We'll find out which candidates to take to the next step."
In the past, the company used a traditional interviewing process involving several people. If there was disagreement, a candidate would be called back multiple times for further interviews to help the executive team decide. This could be very time-consuming for everyone involved, and Jenne says the test will help the company speed up the process by identifying solid candidates.
If the program proves successful, Jenne says it may be expanded to cover other employment areas besides sales.
"We'll see how it works out," she says. "The reason we're doing it in sales is it's one position we are constantly hiring in. Your accounting and marketing people, you really know the skills you need and you don't add them as often."
Anderle agrees.
"Salespeople are the most dynamic hires," says Anderle. "It's really a different type of hire."
The Hire, Smart Train Smart program is being implemented by the SkillsMAX Resource Center at Lorain County Community College and is one of several initiatives launched by the Governor's Jobs Cabinet to support business success and growth in Ohio. It seeks to help companies make better hiring, training and promotion decisions.
How to reach: Jenne Distributors, www.jenne.com; SkillsMAX, www.skillsmax.org
