Dr. Patricia Kapper

Lilly, Welcome to the class. If there anything that you do within the recruiting, screening, or interview process that ensures that you are getting/selecting the very best candidate? Certainly, it is important that you have a well written job description identifying specific job responsibilities and qualifications against which you can compare candidates. That assists in the initial screening. The phone interview that you do serves as a second screening device and allows you to narrow down the number of candidates with whom you will do a face-to-face interview. The preparation that is done for the actual interview is important as… >>>

Charles, I, too, used to struggle with delegation because I felt the responsibility for the task. It was important that I change my perspective and look at what the employee might gain as a result of completing that task. By not delegating, the employee is deprived of the opportunity to learn new skills and to gain a higher level of visibility. It means, too, that the supervisor has to be selective in determining which tasks to delegate to which employee so that the employee does indeed benefit. The supervisor stills retains ultimate responsibility for the successful completion of the task… >>>

Hi Israel, Welcome to the class. Preparation is key to conducting an effective interview and ultimately to hiring the best qualified person for the position. Preparing appropriate questions which allows you to make that decision can sometimes be a challenge as can conducting the interview to help you make that determination. The behavioral interview seems to work best for this purpose. Making certain that the questions you prepare allow the candidate to respond in a thorough fashion which helps you determine that person's fit for the job is your ultimate goal. Questions for which a simple yes or no response… >>>

Hi Richard, You are right on target with your response regarding the impact of the current economy on employee retention. If there are a number of employees who fall into the category of "unhappy," it might be worthwhile to do an employee satisfaction survey to see what is causing that unhappiness. So often we fail to ask our employees and that can lead to further unhappiness. Once we know, it is imperative that we make attempts to fix it. Employee dissatisfaction can be tied directly to student dissatisfaction and dropout problems. Your experience with the high enrollments is typical in… >>>

Hi James. Welcome to the class. You are right on target with your response. It sounds like your institution does a great job of recruiting top quality candidates. Part of the success of doing so is starting with a well written job description so that it is crystal clear to the candidate exactly what your expectations are and what qualifications the applicant must have. I particularly like your referral process. Getting referrals from your employees also sends a positive signal to you regarding the morale of your staff. If they are happy, they will encourage others to seek employment there… >>>