Interview Tips for Employers – Getting the Right People on the Bus

Employers and managers are often the center of attention when asked to lead an interview process for their organization, with little training or guidance. Getting the right person to join your organization, in the right role, at the right time, is one of the most strategic business decisions today.

The cost to an employer of a job rotation can be equivalent to a year and a half of salary. This takes into account hiring costs, lost productivity, training, and other onboarding expenses. As a result, it’s important to get the right fit for the job the first time.

Keep the following tips in mind as you approach your next interview process—these ideas could literally save you thousands of dollars:

1. Think through the interview process and develop a consistent process for all candidates:

To ensure the best “fit” for your organization, make sure each candidate is measured in the same way. What this means in practice is that all candidates must be asked the same questions and must go through the exact same steps. This is important not only for selection, but also to ensure consistency, which could be challenged in the legal environment.

2. Be aware of the legislation:

Each country has different legislation that will affect the interview process. Here in Canada, employers need to be aware of the impact of the Canadian Human Rights Codes and the issues that may be prohibited by them. Not being aware of the legislative framework in which you operate can be a very costly mistake. Make sure all personnel involved in the selection process (from the hiring advertisement to the application, interview and selection process) are aware of any prohibited grounds.

3. What really are the KSAs (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities) you need to hire for?

KSA stands for Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. When putting together a job description and hiring process, focus on the KSAs needed for that position. Knowledge includes the technical knowledge and information a candidate needs to do the job (for example, knowledge of marketing principles) . Skills are the hard and soft skills needed to perform a job (for example, typing or multilingual). Skills are demonstrated observable competencies (for example, the ability to thrive in stressful environments or meet tight deadlines).

In human resources we talk a lot about KSAs and job specifications for good reason. How many times have you been in an interview when the interview questions and process didn’t really consider what was required for the position? Aside from the legal issues, it’s important to really focus on the KSAs required for any position. KSAs will play an important role in your recruitment, selection, compensation, performance management (evaluation), and training and development processes.

4. Group decisions are better than individual decisions:

Today it is increasingly common, and good practice, to conduct panel interviews. Panel interviews involve two or more interviewers speaking with each candidate. Research continues to show that group decisions are better than individual decisions for many reasons, including the fact that our own personal biases do not play a dominant role.

When conducting a panel interview process, make sure all panel members are educated about the process, the position you’re hiring for, as well as interview best practices. It is often helpful to create time at the beginning of the interview schedule for a 15-30 minute meeting between panel members at the beginning of the interview process to discuss what it will be like: who will ask the questions, when. and how. An interview kit can be developed for panel members a week before the interview, giving them some time to review it before the interviews. The interview kit may include shortlisted candidates’ resumes, interview questions, interview scoring information, and any other information.

5. Block out the time between candidates:

Block out time between candidates for interviewers to complete their notes and also to synthesize comments or recommendations from the group. If you have 6-8 hours of interviews in a row, it’s only natural that each candidate will start to resemble each other. By blocking out the time between interviews, you can summarize your findings and then move on, returning to your summaries for each candidate at the end of the day or at the end of the interview process.

When conducting a panel interview, make sure all panelists are comfortable with and knowledgeable about the process and measurement (for example, if you are using some kind of matrix to measure). Also make sure all panelists are on the same page (for example, a rating of 5 is consistent with a rating of 5 from others). It may be helpful to provide some specific examples of what behavior would be considered a 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 (if a 5-point scale is used).

6. Avoid closed questions:

Whenever possible, avoid the use of closed questions, as well as leading questions. Closed questions are those questions that, when used, would elicit a yes or no answer. For example, “Have you had supervisory experience before?” Look to rephrase this to “Please describe your previous supervisory experience” or better still “What are the lessons you have learned from your previous supervisory experience?”. Do you realize that the second question is even deeper than the first?

7. Be clear on the next steps:

A common mistake with interviews is a lack of clarity regarding the next steps in the process. Will there be a second interview? When can the candidate expect to hear from the panel? Be as specific as possible about when the candidate can expect to hear from the company. Remember, impressions are everything and interviews can be a PR opportunity. Even if the candidate is not elected, what message is he sending with the communication he is sending about next steps?

8. Interviews are a two-way process:

Remember that interviews are the opportunity for you to verify the candidate and for the candidate to verify your company. Strong candidates can often walk away from an interview realizing that they don’t want to work for the company they just interviewed with. What is the image of the company you are portraying through the interview process? Does this match your corporate values, culture and ways of working? If not, what changes do you need to make?

Interviewing is often referred to as an art. What can you do today to improve your interview process and skills?

Copyright 2007 – Jennifer Britton. All rights reserved.