What would you say if I told you the trick to hiring and retaining excellent employees IS as simple as adopting a short list of interviewing, hiring and communications practices that are grounded in common sense, sensitivity and practicality?

No way, you think. It would take infamous psychic Miss Cleo, a Ouija board and a couple of crystal ball readers to pull out this hat trick! Let me assure you naysayers, it's simpler than you think.

There are many things you can do to boost hiring and retention success. That's why we decided to tackle this topic, gathering six tips from experts in the personnel field,

Each is easy to implement. Adopt one. Target two. Or make the entire list your own.

William J. M. Wald, CPRP IPRA Executive Director

1. Handle interviews with smarts and compassion.

Use telephone interviews to weed out round pegs that will never fit into your square holes. But, if someone takes the time to come in for an interview, don't pretend they don't exist once they leave. If phone calls are too time-consuming and letters too complicated, mail a postcard with a generic rejection message immediately if an interviewee is a bad fit. You'll put them out of their misery and avoid those tenacious post-interview callers.

2. Ask probing questions.

Lou Adler, the author of the book Hire with Your Head: A Rational Way to Make a Gut Decision and father of the "Power Hiring" concept, uses one question to lead an interview. If he doesn't get an answer that satisfies him, he thinks twice about continuing the talk. The question is, "What's your most significant accomplishment in life?" Consider adding this to your repertoire.

3. Assign mentors.

Assign mentors to new employees the minute they walk in the door so fresh hires have someone to communicate with from the get-go. It's not a bad idea to consider having the entire agency contribute to a potluck lunch on the day a new staffer arrives. Nothing says welcome like a community greeting over tuna salad.

Assign mentors to new employees the minute they walk in the door so fresh hires have someone to communicate with from the get-go.

4. Air grievances.

Consider trying an anonymous grievance system to help employees who are fearful of confrontation vent. Whether it's a suggestion box, a notebook or an e-mail box, there should be a way to get feelings and concerns into the open without fear of reprisal. You'll have a continual read on morale, too.

5. Grab some time to read.

Yeah, we know 300 Ways to Preserve Turf on the Green is always at the top of your favorites stack. Find a small, manageable book to be your communications companion for the life of your career. A Web site devoted to the topic of personnel named the following list "the best hiring books on the planet." So, consider checking 'em out.

• Adams Streetwise Hiring Top Performers: 600 Ready-To-Ask Interview Questions and Everything Else You Need To Hire Right, by Bob Adams and Peter Veruki

• Don't Hire a Crook! How to Avoid Common Hiring (and Firing) Mistakes, by Dennis DeMey and James R. Flowers, Jr.

• Hire Right/Fire Right: A Manager's Guide to Employment Practices that Avoid Lawsuits, by Cliff Roberson

• Hire with Your Head: A Rational Way to Make a Gut Decision, by Lou Adler

• 45 Effective Ways for Hiring Smart! How To Predict Winners and Losers in the Incredibly Expensive People-reading Game, by Pierre Mornell and Regan Dunnick

• The Costs of Bad Hiring Decisions and How to Avoid Them, by Carol A. Hacker

• 96 Great Interview Questions to Ask Before You Hire, by Paul Falcone

• Competency-Based Recruitment and Selection, by Robert Wood, Tim Wood and Tim Payne

8     Illinois Parks and Recreation

• TheAMA Handbook for Employee Recruitment and Retention, edited by Mary F. Cook

6. Don't ignore your gut.

Most of us have a fine-tuned intuition for what feels right and what doesn't. During the interviewing process, pay attention to your hunches. Ignoring such feelings could come back to haunt you.

I'm a big believer that inspiring, supporting and communicating with employees is complicated enough without hamstringing oneself by failing to use proven methods of employee attraction and retention.

Ask anyone whose loyal staff has stuck around for decades how much comfort that reality provides. Put a viable hiring and retention communications plan into works and you'll reap the benefits of employees whose hearts and minds are in it for the long haul. •

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