Posted by
Ira Wolfe on Thu, May 03, 2012 @ 06:00 AM
I've written several posts about how ineffective the interview is in hiring the right employees the first time. To be fair, the interview can be effective when hiring managers have the training and the skills needed. But even a good behavioral interviewer can only uncover so much information assuming the candidate is a good interviewee and not over-spinning the truth.
But even I was shocked earlier this month when I attended a human resource association meeting. The presenter asked for a show of hands to "how many people use behavioral interviewing as part of their hiring system?" Nearly everyone in the audience of nearly 100 professionals raised their hands. She followed with this question: "Can anyone give an example of how behavioral interviewing improved their hiring process?"
Not a hand went up. Zero. None. Nada.
Based on studies assessing the predictability of common hiring tools, the interview is only 52 percent effective. What this means is that for every hire a company makes using the interview alone, it will take nearly two new hires to find one right employee who can do the job.
The cost of this ineffectiveness is huge. For every $10,000 a company spends on hiring using the interview, it costs them over $19,000 before they find the right employee.
Where does this leave a hiring manager? First, it is imperative that managers become better interviewers. Below I have included five steps to help improve interviewing success. But even under the best of circumstances, the interview lacks predictability. Businesses demand better in today's competitive job and economic markets.
The solution is job matching. Job matching, a combination of a behavioral interview combined with appropriate behavioral, personality and ability testing increases the odds of hiring success to a whopping 87 percent. In terms of dollars invested in hiring the right employee, job matching saves more than 40 percent compared to the interview. For every $10,000 the cost to hire using job matching is under $12,000. (Remember the cost to hire using the interview alone was over $19,000.)
Now first things first. Let's start by improving the interview.
By using the following five interview steps, you will start putting the odds in your favor at getting what you need to know about a candidate at the interview.
1. Ask only interview questions that are job related. Identify a maximum of three to five non-negotiable competencies or skills the candidate must have to perform the job.
2. For each competency or skill, write three or four behavioral interview questions for each skill or competency. Additional competencies may be added and asked only if the candidate satisfactorily responds to these "non-negotiable skill" questions.
3. Use open-ended questions whenever possible. Examples
a. Describe for me.....
b. How would you....
c. Why did.......
d. Offer another example.....
e. If you had to .....
4. During the interview, limit your talking to no more than 20 percent of the interview time. Eighty percent of the time should be spent observing and listening. The purpose of the interview is to explore the fit of the candidate to the job, team and company culture. Selling the candidate on your company (assuming you want him/her) comes at follow-up interviews or just before the job offer.
5. Allow time for candidates to ask questions. Listen to the questions that are asked. Do they indicate the candidate has researched the company and understands the job or is the candidate focused on salary and benefits and vacation days?
Observe if the candidate appears confident or reluctant in asking the question. Having no questions to ask can also be a red-flag indicating lack of interest, low curiosity, or lack of preparedness.
Posted by
Ira Wolfe on Wed, May 02, 2012 @ 06:00 AM
We left off last week with Michael, our motor-mouth manager, doing all the talking during an interview for a key position. To re-read Part 1, click here.
In response to last week's column, I did receive several emails in response to my challenge of "can you top that?" Below are a few of my favorite responses: they ranged from illegal questions to "incredulous."
First, the illegal question of the day:
"Will your husband be upset if you aren't home to put dinner on the table at 6:00?"
From another reader I received:
"I was interviewing for a receptionist/inside sales/customer service position with a small company that had a great product and a good reputation. I was excited about all the different things I would be earning and the various career paths the job could lead to. The interview went very well. I received a call back, not to offer me the job, not to tell me I had been denied, but to go out on a date!"
So....back to more talk about why the interview just isn't cracked up to be all it is thought to be. Even if you can get beyond the hiring manager asking illegal questions and using the interview process as an alternative for speed dating, the reliability of the interview just does not cut it as a predictor of job success, regardless of how many years you've been interviewing or how many people you've hired. The job market has changed, the jobs are more complex and the candidates are more savvy and sophisticated.
As you just read, reliability is closely aligned to the competence of the interviewer. By most people's standard, Michael's meeting with the candidate could hardly be called an interview. That however doesn't stop managers from using Michael's interview format as the tool of choice: the manager talks and the candidate listens. The questions they ask are superficial at best and the accuracy of these hiring decisions are no better than if the manager flipped coins and circumvented the interview entirely.
Even more challenging these days is the reliability of the candidate.
Fibs, fables and outright lies are sprinkled throughout resumes today like never before. Candidates are coached in high schools and colleges by career counselors. Terminated employees are mentored by high profile outplacement services on how to put their best foot forward.
Candidates are well versed in role playing the most-asked interview questions. Ask a question and the candidate likely has been practicing the answer. (Don't believe me? Just Google "interview questions" and see how many sites offer answers to the most popular interview questions.)
Skilled interviewers understand it is not asking the "best" question that is important, but observing and listening for the responses. Too often hiring managers and human resource professionals get hung up on finding the best questions to get the right answer and avoid any training in interviewing techniques because they feel it's beneath them or not their job. Egos get in the way of objectivity.
Interviewers should focus on a few questions, then sit back to observe and listen. Unlike Michael and many others like him, the interviewer should do less than 20 percent of the talking. Armed with as few as a handful of open-ended questions, a good interviewer can elicit everything they need to know and more by just adding, "Interesting, tell me more" or "Can you give me a time when you repeated that success" or "What would you do differently the next time?" It really doesn't matter what question you ask or what response is given, open-ended questions serve as a catalyst for more questions if you just observe and listen. Although I prepare for interviews by having ten questions, I rarely need more than two or three before the candidate begins telling me their story. By listening to what they say and how they say it, candidates cover all the bases without much prompting.
What other factors besides the competence of the interviewer and the reliability of the candidate might influence the job success predictability of the interview? The setting although subtle, has an effect on both the interviewer and interviewee. Is the setting professional, clean and quiet or is the interview taking place in a cluttered office, with peeling paint, stained ceiling tiles, and constant interruptions? The environment will affect how the interviewer interviews and candidates respond.
Rapport also has a lot to do with the quality of the interview. Just the body language of the manager or the tone and pace of the candidate (or vice versa) can make or break a candidate's chances to get the job or a company's chance to recruit the candidate.
Where does this leave us? By following 5 interview tips, you will be able to ensure that your new hires have the best chance of success on the job. So stay tuned for Part 3.
In the meantime..........
Michael is not the only manager who lacks interview style and skills.
Post your interview "war stories" below: comments made by managers that forced your jaw to drop, questions asked that made you cringe.
Posted by
Ira Wolfe on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 @ 06:00 AM
Last week a client asked me to be an observer in a series of job interviews. These interviews were for new positions on a new service line. The margin of error for hiring mistakes was zero to none. In other words, one wrong hire and the whole project could go up in smoke. The "drop-dead" deadline for opening had already passed and any additional delays would only add costs, reduce sales, and turn the company from front-runner to has-been.
The first interview was scheduled for 9 AM. Additional interviews were scheduled on the hour throughout the day. Prior to the interview, I spoke with Michael, the manager and interviewer, and asked him how much, if any, he wanted me to participate in asking questions. Michael had been the CFO of a two-billion dollar business before being recruited to run and turn-around this new venture. "I've been interviewing for over thirty years and have hired nearly 1,000 employees," he responded. "Just watch and tell me if you see anything I miss."
I wanted to ask him about the 1,000 he hired. How many successful hires had he made, how many failed? I wanted to ask him but I decided in the interest of time to go with his game plan. It didn't take me long to figure out the answer.
At 9:25 AM, 25 minutes into the interview, Michael was still talking. With the exception of a brief "good morning and I really appreciate the opportunity to interview with you," the candidate hadn't spoken another word. It's not that she didn't want to; she wasn't given the chance. From the very start, Michael took over the interview. I was amazed how long he could talk without taking a breath.
Both the candidate and I heard about the whole history of the company, Michael's role in the company, Michael's role in the project, how he'd hired and managed over 1,000 employees in his career, and what Michael was looking for in the candidate he was about to hire.
Throughout Michael's monologue, I couldn't help but see the dazed look in the candidate's eyes. Finally she made eye contact with me and her glare shouted out: "Don't just sit there, rescue me."
Ten minutes later, I couldn't take it anymore. I interrupted Michael and asked the candidate, why she was pursuing this position? Before she had a chance to utter a word, Michael jumped in and answered my question! He told her how thrilled he was to be working for this company and what a fantastic opportunity this was for the right person. Unfortunately I had no clue at this point if the candidate was qualified or interested.....and neither did Michael.
Finally, the clock approached 9:50 AM. Only ten minutes to go and Michael finally got around to asking his first question: Does this job seem like something you'd be interested in? Hopefully he didn't see my dumbfounded look. How could he ask the question: what could he possibly know about the candidate? He didn't ask her a single job skill-relevant question. Hope still loomed as he asked his second question: are there any questions you have about the job? The candidate smiled and said no. "You did a great job explaining the job," she said, "and I'm really interested."
We all stood up, shook hands, and I escorted her to the front door. End of interview for candidate #1.
When I returned to the room, Michael had a big smile and asked what I thought. Before I had a chance to answer, Michael told me "she's the one." I asked him what he liked about her. "I learn a lot by just observing how they listen to me," he shared. "When you've been around as long as I have, you get a sixth sense about people."
Unfortunately this interview process was repeated another seven times during the day.
Interviewing remains the most popular assessment for employee screening, and the reliability remains low, often in the 50 percent range. Michael is not the only manager who lacks interview style and skills, especially when managers are left to their own devices.
In an upcoming post, I'll address five tips for improving the job interview and recommend a process that is proven to be 70 percent more effective than the interview.
In the meantime..........
Post your interview "war stories" below: comments made by managers that forced your jaw to drop, questions asked that made you cringe.
Posted by
Ira Wolfe on Thu, Apr 19, 2012 @ 07:00 AM
Your ability to hire the right employees is only as strong as your interviewing skills. That's why your interview question skills need to be up to snuff if you're going to compete effectively in the war for talent.
Job candidates get all kinds of advice about how to conduct themselves in interviews. Interviewers often don't any behavioral interview training. When they do get training, it is often a crash course or an HR legal workshop on questions managers can and cannot ask.
But, as an interviewer, you're the one who should control of the interview. If your skills aren't as strong as they should be, the entire hiring process suffers because you're not getting the information you need to make an informed decision.
Recruiters, hiring managers, and HR professionals can avoid this scenario by following these steps to mastering interviewing skills.
Brush up on the basics.
Even the most seasoned hiring managers were once thrown into the interview den and started interviewing candidates without ever learning the basics of interviewing. This is a big mistake especially when the cost of a bad hire runs in the thousands of dollars, even for an entry level worker.
The first and most essential step to learning basic interviewing skills is to read blogs, download ebooks, and visit websites. There are plenty of websites that offer interview question checklists and training videos. A quick Google search of “interview training for managers” produces over 35 million results. Local SHRM groups sponsor many seminars for first time managers as well as refresher courses for experienced recruiters.
Practice, practice, practice interviewing
Practice makes perfect, so put your skills to work by role playing an interview with people you know. Conduct a mock interview and ask for feedback on how you explained the job or the organization, how you evaluated the candidate, and whether you missed anything. Watch and listen to interviews on TV and radio. Listen to how they set the rapport and follow up on questions. Observe how they handle the nervous guest as well as the evasive one. Take notes, prepare questions you plan to ask, and practice again.
A good interviewer knows how to get the candidate to relax and when to challenge. Develop checklists handy for every type of phone screen and face-to-face interviews. Master the art of the interview and start adding real star power to your workforce.
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