3 Topics Every Job Candidate Should Bring Up During an Interview

Inevitably at your interview, you will be asked if you have any questions.  If you have done your homework, i.e., done a little background research on the hiring company, you should have a set of questions prepared.  I would also recommend adding the following 3 topics to your list to help you make a well-informed decision later if the job is offered to you.

1. Short-term and long-term on-boarding activities for new hires.  In 2007, the Wynhurst Group published the following statistics about new employees:

• On their first day, 4% of new employees will leave the job. 
• In the first 3 weeks, new employees will decide whether they feel at home or not. 
• In the first 45 days, 22% of staff turnover will occur. 
• In the first 18 month, almost half (46%) of new employees will wash out.

The good news is that “new employees who went through a structured on-boarding program were 58% more likely to be with the organization after three years.”  The more time and effort placed on welcoming and preparing new employees, the greater the chance that new employees will feel welcomed, prepared and supported.  As a consequence of successful on-boarding, new employees will try much harder, i.e., perform better, when they understand and believe in their jobs’ importance to the organization.

                          

2. Attrition rates.  Every organization should know how many employees it has and how many employees have left over a given period.  A simple calculation for attrition rate could be the total number of employees who left the organization per month (whether voluntary or forced) divided by (the total number of employees at the beginning of the month plus the number of new hires minus total number of resignations) multiplied by 100.  

In their paper, Harris et al (2002) investigated the quantitative effects of employee turnover on firms' productivity and identified that the optimal turnover rate - the rate that maximizes productivity, controlling for other factors - is about 30% for small to mid-sized firms.  Firms with higher attrition rates are in danger of undermining their productivity and over-working their remaining employees, which may lead to cost-cutting initiatives and work-related stress, respectively.

What they also uncovered was that the average attrition rate among the companies included in the study was 18%.  A firm with a low attrition rate could signal management's reluctance to dismiss poor performers.  This can have a negative affect on the morale of those employees who shoulder the workload of the under-performers within the group.  Alternatively, the firm can have an entitlement mentality in which employees expect raises, promotions, benefits and perks, regardless of performance standards or company financials.  Employees who feel entitled will perform at the minimal requirement because management treats good performance, poor performance, or no performance at all, the same.

3. Corporate culture and values.  Do not under-estimate the importance of the organization’s culture on your decision.  John Sheridan (1992), the L. R. Jordan Professor of Health Services Administration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, reported new employees stayed longer in a culture that emphasized interpersonal relationship values than in a culture that emphasized work task values.  Benjamin Schneider (1987), Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland, argued that the fit between personal and organizational values is very important to employees, suggesting that those who do not fit an organization will soon leave.

One final recommendation is to speak to a recruiter in your field of work.  There is a good chance that the company looking to hire you is known to other recruiters who may be willing to share their experiences, both positive and negative, with you. 

Citation List

Harris MN, Tang K-K, Tseng Y-P. Optimal Employee Turnover Rate: Theory and Evidence. Research Collections (UMER). Economics and Commerce: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research. Accessed on 23 April 2011 at http://dtl.unimelb.edu.au:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?application=DIGITOOL-3&owner=resourcediscovery&custom_att_2=simple_viewer&forebear_coll=&user=GUEST&pds_handle=&pid=65853&con_lng=ENG&search_terms=SYS%20=%20000028983&adjacency=N&rd_session=http://dtl.unimelb.edu.au:80/R/JYNBGFIFHJQFKEHRSPD7H22Y6XS34XIKSL61QG65RVX7QBKQF5-01378.

Schneider B. The people make the place. Personnel Psychology, 1987;40:437-453.

Sheridan JE. Organizational culture and employee retention. The Academy of Management Journal, 1992;35(5):1036-1056.

“SHRM Presentation” by The Wynhurst Group, April 2007.