How did this happen?
- Her resume was impressive,
- She nailed the interview, and
- Her manager thinks the world of her …
But …
- Her co-workers despise her and
- Her customers avoid her.
In our work with organizations we see this problem over and over. The job candidate had an impressive resume, absolutely nails the interview, and then three months later their “evil twin” shows up for work. In some cases, like the individual above, their manager only sees what the person wants them to see; but, for the rest of the team and their customers, there is a whole different image. So, how does this happen? We don’t have a well-designed hiring process.
One of the biggest responsibilities managers have is hiring;because if they don’t do it well, then all other functions within their department suffer because of poor performing or disruptive employees. Let’s be honest about it, interviewing job candidates is a difficult, time consuming job and it’s a lot more than simply asking a few questions. Unfortunately,most organizations not only don’t train managers on the skills they need to interview effectively, they don’t train them on the very basics of the entire recruiting and interviewing process.
Despite the best efforts of HR professionals, far too many of the hiring managers in their organizations view hiring as a one-time event. In fact, since many of them only do it a few times a year, it’s easy to understand why it is a one-time event for them.
Given today’s low unemployment numbers and the lack of job candidates,unfortunately too many hiring managers have adopted the belief, “if they can fog a mirror, hire them!” Some treat the entire process with disdain, a waste of their time that could be better spent doing almost anything else. Others treat their time with candidates as simply a chance to chat and casually discuss work history or common acquaintances. While others walk into the interview room with no game plan whatsoever, figuring they’ll just wing it.
We call the following the “Life Cycle of Employment” and in previous newsletters we’ve covered some of the other key elements of the cycle;however, our focus here is on conducting the interview.
Over the years we’ve listened to our clients’ feedback on how to conduct interviews and have included some of their comments in the following list of best interview practices which, of course, begins with identifying and documenting each stage of the interview process – from the types of assessments you’ll use (skill based, integrity, core competency, emotional intelligence,background checks, references, etc.) to the number and types of interviews(pre-screens, phone screens, face-to-face interviews, team interviews, final interviews, etc.) to the individuals who need to be involved at each stage of the process. This documentation needs to be done for each of the various levels within the organization (entry level,hourly, administrative, professional, managerial, and executive).
Best Interview Practices
Define who you are trying to hire
The first step of setting up a structured interview process is really understanding and defining the role of the job in question. Going through this process helps ensure that everyone involved in the process is aligned and that reduces chances of confusion and miscommunication further on in the process.
One of the most important things in conducting an interview is knowing the skills you actually want in that role. I was working with a client who realized they needed someone “without ambition” in a particular role. Now that’s not something you’re putting in a job description; but the truth was, there was no room for advancement in this small organization. They needed somebody solid, steady, who didn’t like change, and who was going to be fine without progression in their career. Understanding that need is important even though you can’t put that description in the job description.
Include key stakeholders in the process
Key stakeholders are those affected by what we do in the hiring process and that includes almost everyone. Inc. Magazine reports that “organizations with more effective hiring systems rank higher in financial performance,productivity, quality, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and retention”. So, in addition to the hiring manager, consider including:
- Team members. Involving team members on interview panels has a double benefit: they evaluate candidates for culture fit, while candidates get the chance to decide whether they would enjoy working with them. Also, including your team shows candidates that your company values collaboration.
- Senior executives. Arrange for a final interview where the best candidates meet a senior executive. This executive may reinforce a hiring manager’s decision to hire someone, help sell the company to a stellar candidate, or spot a red flag at the last minute.
Train the stakeholders how to interview
No surprise here, but most managers need training on how to conduct interviews. While some know howto build rapport with candidates and discern candidate potential, most are lacking in the more complex interviewing techniques like combating biases,using structured interviews, and avoiding cliché questions. By the way, we can help you with that training.
The cost of a hiring mistake
In addition to interview skills training, hiring managers also need to be trained on and understand the cost and impact of bad hiring decisions. A bad hire can cost an organization a lot of money and managers need to understand those costs. When they do, they’ll take the interview process more seriously and, as a consequence, be more effective interviewers. Contact us for our “Cost of a Hiring Mistake Worksheet” which will allow you to quickly and easily do that calculation.
Use a checklist
Create an interview checklist to prepare thoroughly for interviews with your job candidates. We have such a list and would be happy to share it with you.
Take your time and do it right
One of the reasons people do such a poor job in interviewing is that they just want to get it over with and they don’t take the time to find out if the applicant can truly do the job and fit into their company’s work culture. Victor Hicks of Lumin Financial wrote, “We’ve found, if you put a person through a lengthy meeting, in a casual environment and we’re modeling casual behavior, they either get tired or they get tired of wearing their ‘church clothes’. When the fatigue sets in, we learn more about their true behavior.”
Use behavioral-based interview questions
It all begins with having prepared behavioral-based interview questions which are designed to get candidates to draw on their past experiences in order to provide insight as to how they’ll perform in the future. In addition to developing a list of questions to ask all candidates, you should use our suite of assessments with their open-ended behavioral-based interview questions which will help you probe in those areas identified by the assessments where the candidate may struggle or have blind spots.
Make the interview a conversation, not an interrogation
The best interviews are actually conversations; but, it’s difficult to have a conversation with someone you hardly know. So, the more you know about the candidate ahead of time, the more you can ask questions that give the candidate room for self-analysis or introspection. (Hint –our assessments will give you that insight.) When you ask a question, the key is to listen slowly. Give the conversation room to breathe. Often candidates will fill a silent hole with additional examples, more detail, or a completely different perspective on the question you asked.
Take notes
Take verbatim notes. We’ve found that jotting down the word-for-word responses that people provide during interviews is helpful. When you go back and look at your notes, those verbatim quotes will help you to recall the person’s strengths and weaknesses.
Score each candidate
Create a scorecard for yourself and your team. For each characteristic, give a candidate a score of 1-5 where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. When you and your team debrief after the interview, this process will be most helpful in determining your best candidate. Our Emotional Intelligence Selection assessment actually provides this type of scorecard.
Always ask follow up questions
Follow up questions such as “tell me more about how you handled that …” or “What part did you play when …” can be extremely useful in determining how qualified the candidate is for your open position.
Listen to tonality
Listen to tonality. Listen to not only the content of the response, but also to the tone and manner behind it. Listen to their voice,are they lethargic or purposeful?
Watch body language
Watch body language. First, let’s acknowledge the fact there isn’t any single gesture or expression that yells “I’m going to be difficult to work with” or “I’m lying right now”. That having been said, you should be aware of the following: posture,staring, fidgeting, hands in pockets, avoiding eye contact, crossed arms,excessive blinking, chopping hand motions, or finger pointing.
Describe the next steps
Always, always describe the next steps. At the end of the interview always describe the rest of the process. Explain what you will do and when you plan to do it. Few things are worse than having no idea what, when, or if something happens next. Don’t force the interviewee to ask. Tell them.
Follow Through
When it comes to follow through, Katie Naylor of the Michigan Schools and Government Credit Union wrote, “As far as best practices go, timely communication is at the top of my list. I think it’s important to remember being in the candidate’s shoes and how nerve racking it can be to have radio silence for weeks on end after an interview.” Remember,if you don’t provide closure, people won’t complain to you … but they will complain about you and your organization.
Conduct one more interview
Even if you think you’re sure, give yourself one more chance to be absolutely positive you’re making the right decision. Hold another interview. If you have any doubt at all, however small, take that one extra step to be sure.
Be cognizant of biases
Sad to say, but we can be biased, emotional, and inconsistent when interviewing and that’s one of the reasons for using structured interviews and scorecards. Our selective memory makes it hard for us to accurately recall our impressions of candidates at the time we interviewed them, which in turn makes it hard for us to learn about our biases and to have an accurate assessment of how skilled we are as interviewers.
Don’t compromise
Refuse to compromise on your demand for hiring top talent. Just like the best coaches, the best managers didn’t need to read Jim Collins’ book Good to Great in order to know that getting the best people on the team was the key to building a winning team.
Value potential over experience
While the person hired needs to have the basic skills, for a number of positions it’s the candidate’s upside potential which is far more important. Managers who hire the best people always look past the laundry list of skills and experiences listed on the candidate’s resume.
Take full responsibility
Take full responsibility for the results of every hiring decision. While sometimes HR isn’t involved in the final hiring decision, you must take responsibility for those portions over which you have control. Conversely, managers who delegate much of the work to HR must also take responsibility for the results of their hiring decisions. Good managers always give credit for their successes to others, but take personal blame for the failures.
In conclusion, at the end of the day, there are really only three questions any interviewer is trying to answer: Can they do the job, will they do the job, and how well will they play with the other kids in the sand box at work. We can help you answer those questions.