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What Questions Shouldn't I Ask in an Interview?

http://www.allbusiness.com/employment/hiring/1075
My partners and I started a small company and we're ready to start
hiring employees. I know there are things we shouldn't ask during
interviews. Are there any guidelines?

There are many questions you should not ask during a
<http://www.allbusiness.com/employment/hiring/1075##> job interview,
even if your motives are pure. This is because they could make you
vulnerable to a charge of discrimination if the prospective employee
isn't hired. You also have to be careful about information volunteered
by potential employees for the same reasons. You can take comfort,
however, in the fact that most "illegal" questions are unrelated to any
legitimate hiring criteria. Here are the general types of questions you
should avoid:
"How old are you?" and other age-related questions. State and federal
laws prevent discrimination against people over 40. For this reason, you
shouldn't ask any question designed to discover directly or indirectly a
person's age.
"What is your religious background?" Even if a prospective employee
volunteers this information, don't engage in conversation about
religion. Just move on. Do you have a disability?" Never ask this
question. While physical capabilities may be directly relevant to job
performance in certain types of jobs, you must never use the word
"disabled" or "handicapped" in a job interview. Ask whether the
individual is capable of performing particular job duties. You should
also steer clear of questions about medical history or whether an
applicant has previously received workers' compensation. These questions
are regarded as potential surrogates for inquiries about disability
status. Are you planning to have children?" You are not entitled to
discriminate against someone on the basis of whether the person has or
will have children. You can ask about a potential employee's capacity
and willingness to travel or work overtime, however, if those issues are
legitimately job related.
"Are you married?" While this is a friendly question and may naturally
come up in conversation, marital status is a protected category under
federal and state employment laws.
"What's your maiden name?" Because surnames often reveal ethnicity, this
question could be perceived as potentially discriminatory. The same is
true of the question "Are you an American citizen?" even though the
employee would have to furnish proof of citizenship upon being hired.
You could ask whether the person could provide proof of the right to
work in the U.S. instead.
Rather than focusing on what you shouldn't say, focus on things that are
relevant, such as education, job skills and job history. If you stay
away from forbidden areas and remain professional, your interviews
should be fine.
The information here does not constitute legal advice and should not be
relied upon as legal advice. If you have a legal problem, consult an
attorney in your area concerning your particular situation and facts.
Nothing presented on this site establishes or should be construed as
establishing an attorney-client relationship between you and Gregory A.
Bonfiglio or the law firm of Morrison and Foerster LLP.
::::::::::::::::::..
Why Your Employees Are Losing Motivation
April 10, 2006
by David Sirota, Louis A. Mischkind, and Michael Irwin Meltzer
Most companies have it all wrong. They don't have to motivate their
employees. They have to stop demotivating them.
The great majority of employees are quite enthusiastic when they start a
new job. But in about 85 percent of companies, our research finds,
employees' morale sharply declines after their first six months-and
continues to deteriorate for years afterward. That finding is based on
surveys of about 1.2 million employees at 52 primarily Fortune 1000
companies from 2001 through 2004, conducted by Sirota Survey
Intelligence (Purchase, New York).
The fault lies squarely at the feet of management-both the policies and
procedures companies employ in managing their workforces and in the
relationships that individual managers establish with their direct
reports.
Our research shows how individual managers' behaviors and styles are
contributing to the problem (see sidebar "
<http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item_sidebar.jhtml?id=5289> How Management
Demotivates")-and what they can do to turn this around.
Three key goals of people at work
To maintain the enthusiasm employees bring to their jobs initially,
management must understand the three sets of goals that the great
majority of workers seek from their work-and then satisfy those goals:
* Equity: To be respected and to be treated fairly in areas such
as pay, benefits, and job security. Achievement: To be proud of one's
job, accomplishments, and employer.
* Camaraderie: To have good, productive relationships with fellow
employees.
To maintain an enthusiastic workforce, management must meet all three
goals. Indeed, employees who work for companies where just one of these
factors is missing are three times less enthusiastic than workers at
companies where all elements are present.
One goal cannot be substituted for another. Improved recognition cannot
replace better pay, money cannot substitute for taking pride in a job
well done, and pride alone will not pay the mortgage.
What individual managers can do
Satisfying the three goals depends both on organizational policies and
on the everyday practices of individual managers. If the company has a
solid approach to talent management, a bad manager can undermine it in
his unit. On the flip side, smart and empathetic managers can overcome a
great deal of corporate mismanagement while creating enthusiasm and
commitment within their units. While individual managers can't control
all leadership decisions, they can still have a profound influence on
employee motivation.
The most important thing is to provide employees with a sense of
security, one in which they do not fear that their jobs will be in
jeopardy if their performance is not perfect and one in which layoffs
are considered an extreme last resort, not just another option for
dealing with hard times.
But security is just the beginning. When handled properly, each of the
following eight practices will play a key role in supporting your
employees' goals for achievement, equity, and camaraderie, and will
enable them to retain the enthusiasm they brought to their roles in the
first place.
Achievement related
1. Instill an inspiring purpose. A critical condition for employee
enthusiasm is a clear, credible, and inspiring organizational purpose:
in effect, a "reason for being" that translates for workers into a
"reason for being there" that goes above and beyond money.
Every manager should be able to expressly state a strong purpose for his
unit. What follows is one purpose statement we especially admire. It was
developed by a three-person benefits group in a midsize firm.
Benefits are about people. It's not whether you have the forms filled in
or whether the checks are written. It's whether the people are cared for
when they're sick, helped when they're in trouble.
This statement is particularly impressive because it was composed in a
small company devoid of high-powered executive attention and
professional wordsmiths. It was created in the type of department
normally known for its fixation on bureaucratic rules and procedures. It
is a statement truly from the heart, with the focus in the right place:
on the ends-people-rather than the means-completing forms.

To maintain an enthusiastic workforce, management must meet all three
goals.
Stating a mission is a powerful tool. But equally important is the
manager's ability to explain and communicate to subordinates the reason
behind the mission. Can the manager of stockroom workers do better than
telling her staff that their mission is to keep the room stocked? Can
she communicate the importance of the job, the people who are relying on
the stockroom being properly maintained, both inside and outside the
company? The importance for even goods that might be considered prosaic
to be where they need to be when they need to be there? That manager
will go a long way toward providing a sense of purpose.
2. Provide recognition. Managers should be certain that all employee
contributions, both large and small, are recognized. The motto of many
managers seems to be, "Why would I need to thank someone for doing
something he's paid to do?" Workers repeatedly tell us, and with great
feeling, how much they appreciate a compliment. They also report how
distressed they are when managers don't take the time to thank them for
a job well done yet are quick to criticize them for making mistakes.
Receiving recognition for achievements is one of the most fundamental
human needs. Rather than making employees complacent, recognition
reinforces their accomplishments, helping ensure there will be more of
them.
A pat on the back, simply saying "good going," a dinner for two, a note
about their good work to senior executives, some schedule flexibility, a
paid day off, or even a flower on a desk with a thank-you note are a few
of the hundreds of ways managers can show their appreciation for good
work. It works wonders if this is sincere, sensitively done, and
undergirded by fair and competitive pay-and not considered a substitute
for it.
3. Be an expediter for your employees. Incorporating a
command-and-control style is a sure-fire path to demotivation. Instead,
redefine your primary role as serving as your employees' expediter: It
is your job to facilitate getting their jobs done. Your reports are, in
this sense, your "customers." Your role as an expediter involves a range
of activities, including serving as a linchpin to other business units
and managerial levels to represent their best interests and ensure your
people get what they need to succeed.
How do you know, beyond what's obvious, what is most important to your
employees for getting their jobs done? Ask them! "Lunch and schmooze"
sessions with employees are particularly helpful for doing this. And if,
for whatever reason, you can't immediately address a particular need or
request, be open about it and then let your workers know how you're
progressing at resolving their problems. This is a great way to build
trust.
4. Coach your employees for improvement. A major reason so many managers
do not assist subordinates in improving their performance is, simply,
that they don't know how to do this without irritating or discouraging
them. A few basic principles will improve this substantially.
First and foremost, employees whose overall performance is satisfactory
should be made aware of that. It is easier for employees to accept, and
welcome, feedback for improvement if they know management is basically
pleased with what they do and is helping them do it even better.
Space limitations prevent a full treatment of the subject of giving
meaningful feedback, of which recognition is a central part, but these
key points should be the basis of any feedback plan:
* Performance feedback is not the same as an annual appraisal.
Give actual performance feedback as close in time to the occurrence as
possible. Use the formal annual appraisal to summarize the year, not
surprise the worker with past wrongs.
* Recognize that workers want to know when they have done poorly.
Don't succumb to the fear of giving appropriate criticism; your workers
need to know when they are not performing well. At the same time, don't
forget to give positive feedback. It is, after all, your goal to create
a team that warrants praise.
* Comments concerning desired improvements should be specific,
factual, unemotional, and directed at performance rather than at
employees personally. Avoid making overall evaluative remarks (such as,
"That work was shoddy") or comments about employees' personalities or
motives (such as, "You've been careless"). Instead, provide specific,
concrete details about what you feel needs to be improved and how.
* Keep the feedback relevant to the employee's role. Don't let
your comments wander to anything not directly tied to the tasks at hand.

* Listen to employees for their views of problems. Employees'
experience and observations often are helpful in determining how
performance issues can be best dealt with, including how you can be most
helpful.
* Remember the reason you're giving feedback-you want to improve
performance, not prove your superiority. So keep it real, and focus on
what is actually doable without demanding the impossible.
* Follow up and reinforce. Praise improvement or engage in course
correction-while praising the effort-as quickly as possible.
* Don't offer feedback about something you know nothing about. Get
someone who knows the situation to look at it.
Equity related
5. Communicate fully. One of the most counterproductive rules in
business is to distribute information on the basis of "need to know." It
is usually a way of severely, unnecessarily, and destructively
restricting the flow of information in an organization.

A command-and-control style is a sure-fire path to demotivation.
Workers' frustration with an absence of adequate communication is one of
the most negative findings we see expressed on employee attitude
surveys. What employees need to do their jobs and what makes them feel
respected and included dictate that very few restrictions be placed by
managers on the flow of information. Hold nothing back of interest to
employees except those very few items that are absolutely confidential.
Good communication requires managers to be attuned to what employees
want and need to know; the best way to do this is to ask them! Most
managers must discipline themselves to communicate regularly. Often it's
not a natural instinct. Schedule regular employee meetings that have no
purpose other than two-way communication. Meetings among management
should conclude with a specific plan for communicating the results of
the meetings to employees. And tell it like it is. Many employees are
quite skeptical about management's motives and can quickly see through
"spin." Get continual feedback on how well you and the company are
communicating. One of the biggest communication problems is the
assumption that a message has been understood. Follow-up often finds
that messages are unclear or misunderstood.
Companies and managers that communicate in the ways we describe reap
large gains in employee morale. Full and open communication not only
helps employees do their jobs but also is a powerful sign of respect.
6. Face up to poor performance. Identify and deal decisively with the 5
percent of your employees who don't want to work. Most people want to
work and be proud of what they do (the achievement need). But there are
employees who are, in effect, "allergic" to work-they'll do just about
anything to avoid it. They are unmotivated, and a disciplinary
approach-including dismissal-is about the only way they can be managed.
It will raise the morale and performance of other team members to see an
obstacle to their performance removed.
Camaraderie related
7. Promote teamwork. Most work requires a team effort in order to be
done effectively. Research shows repeatedly that the quality of a
group's efforts in areas such as problem solving is usually superior to
that of individuals working on their own. In addition, most workers get
a motivation boost from working in teams.
Whenever possible, managers should organize employees into self-managed
teams, with the teams having authority over matters such as quality
control, scheduling, and many work methods. Such teams require less
management and normally result in a healthy reduction in management
layers and costs.
Creating teams has as much to do with camaraderie as core competences. A
manager needs to carefully assess who works best with whom. At the same
time, it is important to create the opportunity for cross-learning and
diversity of ideas, methods, and approaches. Be clear with the new team
about its role, how it will operate, and your expectations for its
output.
Related to all three factors
8. Listen and involve. Employees are a rich source of information about
how to do a job and how to do it better. This principle has been
demonstrated time and again with all kinds of employees-from hourly
workers doing the most routine tasks to high-ranking professionals.
Managers who operate with a participative style reap enormous rewards in
efficiency and work quality.
Participative managers continually announce their interest in employees'
ideas. They do not wait for these suggestions to materialize through
formal upward communication or suggestion programs. They find
opportunities to have direct conversations with individuals and groups
about what can be done to improve effectiveness. They create an
atmosphere where "the past is not good enough" and recognize employees
for their innovativeness.
Participative managers, once they have defined task boundaries, give
employees freedom to operate and make changes on their own commensurate
with their knowledge and experience. Indeed, there may be no single
motivational tactic more powerful than freeing competent people to do
their jobs as they see fit.

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