The real edge is a well-selected, well-trained workforce

Growth-oriented employers are looking for an edge these days. And many are looking to technology to provide that edge.

But the real edge comes from people - people who are properly selected for the job and who are trained and developed along the way.

The key, however, is finding the right people in the first place. For many small business owners, that's a trick. Human resources and management consultants often shudder at the interview skills or, rather, the lack of them - of small business owners.

"If you're going to develop people, they must be the right ones coming in the door," says Thomas Weinstock, president of Assessments for Success, based in Brookfield.

"Your personnel problems begin in the employment office," concurs Norm Naughton, founder of HR Directions, Inc., of Hartland.

Business owners who recognize that, and who acknowledge their shortcomings in the hiring process, are hiring consultants such as Weinstock and Naughton to help bring those right people through their doors.

Weinstock terms his work the "hiring disaster avoidance business."

"Firms recognize that what they're doing now doesn't work," Weinstock says. His approach is to engage a three-step process which includes interviews, a rigorous assessment, and background screening."Employers are struggling for an edge, " Weinstock says. "The edge is to do an assessment and a background check."

In today's tight labor market, Weinstock and others see firms being less stringent in their hiring conditions. But the reverse should be the case, he cautions, noting that those in the workforce are getting wiser in the ways they market themselves to prospective employers.

"Employees are polishing their interview skills," Weinstock notes. But the glittering picture they present may be just that: only a picture, not reality. "If that's who you really are, that's wonderful," he says. "But if not, the interviewing employer needs to uncover that."

Weinstock has come to view assessments as so crucial to a successful hiring and employee development tool that he changed the name of his business from Weinstock & Associates to Assessments for Success.

A resume and an interview might tell you something about a person's background and qualifications. But it won't necessarily tell you whether the job candidate is a good fit for the company. A formal assessment will help determine whether a person is who he presents himself as, and whether the person's character would blend well with the company's culture, Weinstock says.