Blog 13d WAB
Pre-employment Screening, Interview Questions Part 4 of 4
I would like to finish up this series about pre-employment screening and employee background checks with questions on customer service, compensation and how to ask tough questions about things like theft from previous employers. Questioning an applicant about these areas may not involve a large volume of questions but never the less, they should be asked. Remember this, an applicant will not answer every question with answers that you like. Job interviews are stressful for the applicant and they should be. But if you are in search for the “perfect” person you will have a long, fruitless journey. Pre-employment screening and background investigations should give you a better understanding about the person overall.
During our pre-employment screening we may learn that an applicant does not understand what customer service is or in some cases they have never worked in an area involving customer service. Your employees are a reflection of your business. The way they treat your customers will, in large part, contribute to your success or failure. So you need to understand where they are on customer service.
CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS
• Why is customer service important?
• Give me an example of a situation where you received good customer service.
• Give me an example of a situation where you received poor customer service.
• What prior experience do you have where customer service was important?
• Strong selling skills are necessary for all Sales Associates. Show me how you would sell (select an item) to a prospective customer.
During your pre-employment screening you should also ask questions about compensation. The last thing you want to do is hire someone, train them and invest your company’s resources just to have them leave because they had one expectation of compensation and benefits that differ from yours. It is expensive to bring someone on. Squandering that over a misunderstanding is to nobody’s benefit.
Like the previous sections of questions you can add, modify or delete questions to fit your needs.
COMPENSATION
• What are your earning expectations?
• What type of benefits is important to you?
• How do you feel about productivity goals?
• Should sales associates be evaluated based on productivity?
• How should good performance be recognized?
Lastly, I would like to spend a little bit about how to ask tougher questions. Most of us have been in pre-employment interviews and walked away thinking, wow that was tough. What makes an interview tough? I believe that most interviewers ask glossed over questions as they are afraid of hurting someone’s feelings. They could also be afraid of driving off the candidate. I feel just the opposite. I want to know if they can handle a challenging environment. If they fold up their tent and run off at the first challenge, then do we really want them to begin with?
Candidates in a job interview are in a stressful situation. They want a job. You have a job to offer. Stress is a tool you need to understand and use to your advantage. Observe not just what they say but what the candidate does. Do they start to fidget? Do they play with their hair or moustache? Do they fiddle with a pen? Do they use their file folder or notebook as a shield? These are all things that tell you much more than their verbal answer gives you. I suggest that you mix in more stressful questions with routine questions.
We would love to know if or what a candidate has stolen from previous employers. Or even just their attitude towards theft. Do they seem ambivalent towards theft from an employer? Do they see it as no big deal? Would they look the other way if they saw another employee stealing?
So let’s find out! If you ask a question about theft during your pre-employment screening that goes something like this; “Have you ever stolen from any of your previous employers?” What answer do you expect to hear? “NO”.
First we asked a question that allowed the candidate to give a yes/no answer. I believe that you should always phrase questions so that they require a statement or an essay answer.
Second, that question addresses a behavior that everyone (well, most everyone, LOL) knows is wrong and criminal. Of course they will say no.
So let’s try a different way to get more accurate information. Create a set up before the question. It could go something like this. “Joe, we know that everyone has taken things home from their employer. Pens, paper, markers, small merchandise items, change, snacks…. So would you say the things you have taken from your previous employer would total less than $100 or more than $100?”
Remember they are under stress and you have just given them a choice of evils! Their answer may be “I have never take anything from them”. That is an acceptable answer if spontaneous and direct. But if they have to pause and think about it to mentally add everything up then that would probably warrant follow up on your part.
Their answer could also be “less than $100”. Or it was more than $100. Both of those answers require follow up. So the next question could be “let’s discuss what types of things. We are talking about small things such as pens….and merchandise but not on pallet quantities?”. “What types of merchandise?” You will be shocked at many of the things you hear. However, you must retain a calm demeanor. Simply document the answers and move on to the next questions.
I hope this series of four blogs have helped you. Even if you walked away with just a couple of new things to try or new ways to look at pre-employment screening and employee background checks then I have achieved what I set out to do.
As always, if you have questions or want more information about employee background checks, pre-employment screening or background investigations, please contact us or call toll free 1-770-426-0547.
I would like to finish up this series about pre-employment screening and employee background checks with questions on customer service, compensation and how to ask tough questions about things like theft from previous employers. Questioning an applicant about these areas may not involve a large volume of questions but never the less, they should be asked. Remember this, an applicant will not answer every question with answers that you like. Job interviews are stressful for the applicant and they should be. But if you are in search for the “perfect” person you will have a long, fruitless journey. Pre-employment screening and background investigations should give you a better understanding about the person overall.
During our pre-employment screening we may learn that an applicant does not understand what customer service is or in some cases they have never worked in an area involving customer service. Your employees are a reflection of your business. The way they treat your customers will, in large part, contribute to your success or failure. So you need to understand where they are on customer service.
CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS
• Why is customer service important?
• Give me an example of a situation where you received good customer service.• Give me an example of a situation where you received poor customer service.• What prior experience do you have where customer service was important?
• Strong selling skills are necessary for all Sales Associates. Show me how you would sell (select an item) to a prospective customer.
During your pre-employment screening you should also ask questions about compensation. The last thing you want to do is hire someone, train them and invest your company’s resources just to have them leave because they had one expectation of compensation and benefits that differ from yours. It is expensive to bring someone on. Squandering that over a misunderstanding is to nobody’s benefit.Like the previous sections of questions you can add, modify or delete questions to fit your needs.
COMPENSATION
• What are your earning expectations?
• What type of benefits is important to you?
• How do you feel about productivity goals?
• Should sales associates be evaluated based on productivity?
• How should good performance be recognized?
Lastly, I would like to spend a little bit about how to ask tougher questions. Most of us have been in pre-employment interviews and walked away thinking, wow that was tough. What makes an interview tough? I believe that most interviewers ask glossed over questions as they are afraid of hurting someone’s feelings. They could also be afraid of driving off the candidate. I feel just the opposite. I want to know if they can handle a challenging environment. If they fold up their tent and run off at the first challenge, then do we really want them to begin with?
Candidates in a job interview are in a stressful situation. They want a job. You have a job to offer. Stress is a tool you need to understand and use to your advantage. Observe not just what they say but what the candidate does. Do they start to fidget? Do they play with their hair or moustache? Do they fiddle with a pen? Do they use their file folder or notebook as a shield? These are all things that tell you much more than their verbal answer gives you. I suggest that you mix in more stressful questions with routine questions.
We would love to know if or what a candidate has stolen from previous employers. Or even just their attitude towards theft. Do they seem ambivalent towards theft from an employer? Do they see it as no big deal? Would they look the other way if they saw another employee stealing?
So let’s find out! If you ask a question about theft during your pre-employment screening that goes something like this; “Have you ever stolen from any of your previous employers?” What answer do you expect to hear? “NO”.
First we asked a question that allowed the candidate to give a yes/no answer. I believe that you should always phrase questions so that they require a statement or an essay answer.
Second, that question addresses a behavior that everyone (well, most everyone, LOL) knows is wrong and criminal. Of course they will say no.
So let’s try a different way to get more accurate information. Create a set up before the question. It could go something like this. “Joe, we know that everyone has taken things home from their employer. Pens, paper, markers, small merchandise items, change, snacks…. So would you say the things you have taken from your previous employer would total less than $100 or more than $100?”
Remember they are under stress and you have just given them a choice of evils! Their answer may be “I have never take anything from them”. That is an acceptable answer if spontaneous and direct. But if they have to pause and think about it to mentally add everything up then that would probably warrant follow up on your part.
Their answer could also be “less than $100”. Or it was more than $100. Both of those answers require follow up. So the next question could be “let’s discuss what types of things. We are talking about small things such as pens….and merchandise but not on pallet quantities?”. “What types of merchandise?” You will be shocked at many of the things you hear. However, you must retain a calm demeanor. Simply document the answers and move on to the next questions.
I hope this series of four blogs have helped you. Even if you walked away with just a couple of new things to try or new ways to look at pre-employment screening and employee background checks then I have achieved what I set out to do.
As always, if you have questions or want more information about employee background checks, pre-employment screening or background investigations, please contact us or call toll free 1-770-426-0547.
Liquor store theft is a problem and if a store owner fails to use Sensormatic hard tags on products they could end up with situations like these:
- “Foursome sought in theft of liquor at a Cape Coral Publix”, WFTX Digital Team, May 09,2019. This group was believed to have stolen, “…six bottles of Jonnie Walker Black Label, five bottles of Belvedere Vodka, and two bottles of Hennessey.” I did some research and it appears that a total value of $500 would be a middle of the road estimate for the stolen merchandise.
- “Man walks out of Costco with 24 bottles of Hennessey liquor, police say”, May, 06, 2019 wisn.com. According to this story the suspect took the alcohol and “Officers said he also took a Lorex brand home security system. The goods were worth about $1,500.” The Lorex system could be as much as $999. If this is the unit stolen that means the alcohol was valued at approximately $500.
Interestingly enough while reviewing news articles I also happened upon one titled, “23% drop in thefts show strategy to curb shoplifting working: Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries”, cbc.ca, May 30, 2019. I was curious as to what strategies this business has employed to make such an impact. According to the article several strategies are now being used which include adding new Loss Prevention Officers, “checking customers’ ID at the doors of Liquor Marts, using bottle locks (added emphasis mine) and lockable shelf cases, and requiring customers to ask sales staff for high-value bottles.” While I am not a fan of locking showcases or making merchandise inaccessible I AM in favor of using the Sensormatic systems Bottle Cap Tag to prevent theft.
In my opinion it only makes sense to use alternatives to locking showcases whenever possible. Showcases require too much attention on the part of store employees to assist patrons who want to get something out of lock-up. Employees could be ringing up other transactions, upselling or suggestive selling merchandise to new customers or even be completing tasks. To stop what you are doing simply to unlock merchandise you have locked up to stop shoplifting is poor use of resources. Sensormatic hard tags are an alternative to locking showcases. Shoppers can select what they want and continue to browse a store (which often leads to more sales) without waiting on an employee who may not be able to assist for several minutes. Not only does the patron begin to look at their watch as the minutes tick by they may feel pressured to hurry up and leave. The risk of losing the sales increases and the more time that goes by the less inclined they will be to look around and perhaps add to their shopping basket.
Locking up merchandise may stop shoplifting but it also hinders sales. Those stores that use a Sensormatic systems and Sensormatic hard tags have nearly the same level of security as stores that use the display cases but also have better opportunities to increase sales. But you may be wondering how a Bottle Cap Tag on a bottle of Hennessey can be better protection than that lock-up case. The Bottle Cap Tag has electronic article surveillance built in so if a crook attempts to walk out with a stolen bottle the alarm pedestals will alert store employees to the criminal activity. The vast majority of shoplifters are not anxious to set off alarms and be seen. They know that most stores have security cameras and will review them and then contact police. The other thing is the bottle tag covers the top of the bottle. The cap of the bottle cannot be removed without breaking the bottle defeating the purpose of stealing in the first place.
In my Loss Prevention experiences I have worked extensively with Sensormatic systems so I am keenly familiar with how much of a deterrent effect they have on shoplifters. I have recovered merchandise dropped by shoplifters when they have set off alarm pedestals. I have also observed potential thieves look at merchandise and then put it back on a shelf when they find it has an anti-shoplifting tag on it. Tagging merchandise is a tactic proven over time to stop shoplifting where it is implemented.
Alcohol theft continues to be a major concern for grocery and alcohol and beverage stores. Failing to protect merchandise only leads to more theft as criminals learn which businesses are easiest to target. That in turn can lead to more serious criminal activity such as robberies and assaults. Using Sensormatic hard tags is the optimum solution for addressing theft and improving sales in the long term.
For more information about Sensormatic hard tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Free Loss Prevention Calculator – 3 WC Blog 840
Loss Prevention ROI Calculator -3
The Loss Prevention Calculator Can’t Calculate Negative ROI Due To Poor Customer Service
A free Loss Prevention Calculator can show you the positive return on investment should you purchase a new Sensormatic security system. After an experience I recently went through helping both of my sons purchase cars I realized there can also be a negative return on investment if you do business the wrong way. This article is about how our interactions in a customer service environment can impact the ROI of a product we sell or equipment we use in retail.
Here is what I mean. If I purchase a Sensormatic security system for my store to prevent shoplifting I expect it is going to result in some kind of financial return. I know this because the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator available from Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) shows me. The result I get is a close estimate of how much that system would save me in merchandise shortage each year and how long it would take for those savings to pay for the new system. That is fantastic. But there can be a catch. If I purchase that system but do not train my employees on how to properly use it or respond to alarm activations I can alienate customers. If an alarm activates because my cashier did not remove a clothing security tag from a shirt a customer will be upset. THAT would be a negative return on my Sensormatic investment.
What does this have to do with my car shopping experience? After doing some research on vehicles and looking at reviews of cars I took my son to a used car dealer. We were greeted and told we could look at any of the cars and the salesman said if we wanted to take a test drive it would not be a problem. We got keys to several and my son test drove one he was interested in. Interestingly, as opposed to other dealers I have been to in the past no one was hovering over me like a vulture. We were able to take our time and could find the salesman if we had a question. It was a great experience and my son made a purchase.
The next day I took my younger son to a dealership. They had some used cars online we were interested in looking at. We were definitely not in the market for a new car. I know there was no free Loss Prevention Calculator to help us in the decision process but there was a free car check report to use on their website and these cars looked clean. We got to the dealership and immediately a salesman came to the car and greeted us. I told him exactly what we were there for and had my list. He asked if I knew where the cars were on the lot!? He was the salesman why was he asking me? We looked at the three or four cars on my list and he had an excuse for each why it would be a bad choice. He took us to a car outside the price range I told him we were interested in. I allowed him to take my son for a test drive (he rode along unlike the dealer the day before). He tried to convince my son to buy this car and I told him no, we were only looking. To cut a longer story short we left and I did not go back. He and the dealership lost a sale. The inventory was there and had any effort been made on his part we could have walked out with a car. Two different dealers with two different results.
The Loss Prevention ROI calculator can give good information on how a system can help your business but your people can make it a negative return without proper training. The good news is if you purchase a Sensormatic system with LPSI you get that training for free! That is an incredible deal. Think about it for a moment. The Free Loss Prevention Calculator is free to use. The system can pay for itself over a relatively short period of time making it virtually a free system and you get free training from experienced Loss Prevention trainers. I don’t know how an offer can get any better. I suppose it can if I tell you that when you use the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator no one knows you are using it and no car salesman is hovering over you pushing you into something you don’t need or want.
People can make or break your business or the effectiveness of equipment or products. Training them on proper customer service techniques will enhance your reputation with your shoppers. By the way, my younger son did end up getting his car the following day…at the place where my elder son bought his.
Need information on the Free Loss Prevention Calculator? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
A free Loss Prevention Calculator can show you the positive return on investment should you purchase a new Sensormatic security system. After an experience I recently went through helping both of my sons purchase cars I realized there can also be a negative return on investment if you do business the wrong way. This article is about how our interactions in a customer service environment can impact the ROI of a product we sell or equipment we use in retail.
Here is what I mean. If I purchase a Sensormatic security system for my store to prevent shoplifting I expect it is going to result in some kind of financial return. I know this because the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator available from Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) shows me. The result I get is a close estimate of how much that system would save me in merchandise shortage each year and how long it would take for those savings to pay for the new system. That is fantastic. But there can be a catch. If I purchase that system but do not train my employees on how to properly use it or respond to alarm activations I can alienate customers. If an alarm activates because my cashier did not remove a clothing security tag from a shirt a customer will be upset. THAT would be a negative return on my Sensormatic investment.
What does this have to do with my car shopping experience? After doing some research on vehicles and looking at reviews of cars I took my son to a used car dealer. We were greeted and told we could look at any of the cars and the salesman said if we wanted to take a test drive it would not be a problem. We got keys to several and my son test drove one he was interested in. Interestingly, as opposed to other dealers I have been to in the past no one was hovering over me like a vulture. We were able to take our time and could find the salesman if we had a question. It was a great experience and my son made a purchase.
The next day I took my younger son to a dealership. They had some used cars online we were interested in looking at. We were definitely not in the market for a new car. I know there was no free Loss Prevention Calculator to help us in the decision process but there was a free car check report to use on their website and these cars looked clean. We got to the dealership and immediately a salesman came to the car and greeted us. I told him exactly what we were there for and had my list. He asked if I knew where the cars were on the lot!? He was the salesman why was he asking me? We looked at the three or four cars on my list and he had an excuse for each why it would be a bad choice. He took us to a car outside the price range I told him we were interested in. I allowed him to take my son for a test drive (he rode along unlike the dealer the day before). He tried to convince my son to buy this car and I told him no, we were only looking. To cut a longer story short we left and I did not go back. He and the dealership lost a sale. The inventory was there and had any effort been made on his part we could have walked out with a car. Two different dealers with two different results.
The Loss Prevention ROI calculator can give good information on how a system can help your business but your people can make it a negative return without proper training. The good news is if you purchase a Sensormatic system with LPSI you get that training for free! That is an incredible deal. Think about it for a moment. The Free Loss Prevention Calculator is free to use. The system can pay for itself over a relatively short period of time making it virtually a free system and you get free training from experienced Loss Prevention trainers. I don’t know how an offer can get any better. I suppose it can if I tell you that when you use the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator no one knows you are using it and no car salesman is hovering over you pushing you into something you don’t need or want.
People can make or break your business or the effectiveness of equipment or products. Training them on proper customer service techniques will enhance your reputation with your shoppers. By the way, my younger son did end up getting his car the following day…at the place where my elder son bought his.
Need information on the Free Loss Prevention Calculator? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
