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last update: April 2007

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Interview and Audition


COPS: Caring, Optimistic, Persistent-Passionate, Systems-discipline-and-Spirit-filled

Transcript for this Segment

TOM: We also did a referral process, because we felt that when we had a group of people with us that we felt were COPS. Well COPS know COPS. So we gave them a $500 referral fee for anybody they brought in, that they recommended to come to our company whom we hired. And after 90 days, if they're still there and everything worked great, we paid them. So rather than go pay a recruiting, employment agency, I'd rather see our own people get that. Now, as far as the interview, it was critical to be able to find out, are they really COPS? And we did it in two ways. We asked them out of the box questions that were very different.

HATTIE: For example?

TOM: We will ask, what makes you happy? What makes you sad? What makes you mad? Also, got into role playing situations with them. Where we actually said, 'Don't tell me how you sell, sell me this pencil. Sell me the product.'

HATTIE: So you really almost do an audition then more than an interview.

TOM: It's a combination.

TOM: An out-of-the-box interview plus audition.

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WATCH TELEVISION THAT TEACHES

Key Idea #9 of this episode

1.		Hire Attitude Not Skill
2.		Hire People Who Can Read People
3.		Hire People Others May Overlook
4.		Hire Nice People With Energy
5.		Offer A Career Track With Good Pay and Benefits
6.		Create An Intern Program
7.		Promote From Within
8.		Put What You Want In Writing
9.		Interview and Audition
10.		Teach, Preach, Coach and Counsel
11.		Provide real Training
12.		Train Everyone, Not Just Sales
13.		Listen To All Ideas
14.		Offer A Job For Life

The Case Study Guide

Key Idea #9: Interview and Audition Prospective Employees

Tom is not the only business owner we have heard describe the hiring process in terms of an audition. The Disney Company institutionalized this concept. It calls employees actors and people don't have jobs at Disney, they have parts, or roles to play.

Topic for discussion: Why doesn't everybody use Tom's techniques?

Answer: Because it is hard and time consuming! Some companies are looking for warm bodies, but not Tom. Tom's genius is systems and his hiring system is wholistic, not robotic. A person's resume should have basic information spelled out in black and white so Tom wants to use the in-person interview process to dig down deep and find the soul of the person. He said we need to ask "out-of-the-box" questions. His favorites include: What makes you sad? What makes you happy? Was there ever a time when you failed at a goal you were trying hard to achieve?

Next, he creates an audition by setting up a role-playing exercise. As he said, don't ask someone to tell you how they would sell tires, ask the person to sell you the tire and do it now!

You think about it: Is it time for you to put your interview process in writing? Is it time fo you to try some new interview techniques?

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