ANDY MARSHALL
FOR THE CALGARY HERALD
"Picking the fourth best candidate in an executive search, rather than the best, can mean a difference of millions of dollars to some companies," says Tom Janz, a professor of human resources and chairman of the board of Human Performance Systems Inc., a Calgary-based company specializing in performance development and employment interviewing.
"The impact of the performance by a senior executive is multiplied through the whole organization," said Janz. "When companies realize this, the importance of finding the right person becomes even more critical."
Even discounting this so-called "leveraged impact," the consequences of hiring someone who fits into the middle third, rather than the top third, can cost up to 40 percent of the individual's salary in terms of lost performance, according to U.S. studies, he said.
Yet Janz is surprised at the unstructured manner in which many companies hire even their most senior executives. Despite the expensive job searches and detailed psychological testing that may be carried out, the final selection from a short list often comes down to an informal exchange of opinions between candidate in company officers.
Currently on sabbatical, the 37-year-old Winnipeg native is busy refining the "Janz system," a scientifically based recruitment theory which he describes as a "very marketable concept." Janz is working on proposals which could bring international exposure to his company.
His system first came to public attention more than two years ago with the publishing of the book Behavior Description Interviewing.
Authored by Janz, Lowell Hellervik and David C. Gilmore, the book has sold 5,000 copies and is now in a second printing. The book grew out of Janz's work with Hellervik at the University of Minnesota, where Janz received his Ph.D. in industrial psychology in 1977.
The crux of the theory is that "patterned behavior description interviews" focus entirely on what applicants have actually accomplished and how they performed in situations similar to those they would encounter in their new job. Candidates are asked: What did you do when, as opposed to the more traditional approach of what would you do if, Janz explained.
The book sets out a series of specific "behavior description" interview formats for 16 jobs from bank teller to systems analyst.
Subsequent work by Janz and his company has brought about a selection system which Janz believes could be of great benefit to the senior executive search process.
Traditional one-on-one interviewing selects the right candidate in only 19 percent of cases, Janz said, adding that using his "BD" interviewing techniques, the percentage can be raised as high as 75 percent.
"We have the research," said Janz. "We can prove it."
He estimates that the percentage of interviews in North America based on these techniques is less than five percent.
"Our technique is not easy to pick up ... but people can use it if they apply themselves."
The theory of behavior description has also been extended beyond the interview itself. Janz and his company have produced a four-stage package which shapes the complete hiring process to his theories.
It outlines formats from the initial advertisement in the newspaper to a coaching guide for new employees, explaining clearly what performance is expected from them and even what obstacles they might expect on the job.
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