Try this question. Does your company put the same energy and focus into recruitment and selection as it does in trying to win new customers, develop new products or purchase new equipment? It will be a pleasant surprise if the answer is positive.
Over the last few months we have been running a series of articles aimed at helping you adopt a structured approach to the recruitment process. Hopefully this has illustrated that, as with most things in life, preparing comprehensively from the outset is by far the best way of improving your chances of attracting and retaining high calibre individuals to your organisation.
To conclude our series on the recruitment process, here is the final piece:
THE RECRUITMENT INTERVIEW
Let’s assume that we have done everything right so far. We have:
• Done all our homework on the needs of the organisation and the specification for the vacancy so we know exactly what we are looking for.
• Advertised and received a good batch of applicants.
• Carried out a fair and effective screening process to reduce the number of applicants to a manageable level.
• Even decided what elements of the selection process best serve this particular vacancy.
Now somewhere along the way, and probably the key part of the whole recruitment process, there is going to be an interview. How do we maximise the value of this?
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE INTERVIEW?
The primary purpose of an interview is to establish, in a controlled way, useful information that enables the employer to make a fair and balanced judgement as to how suitable the applicant is likely to be for the vacancy in question.
However, some employers forget that there is a vital second purpose. This is to provide the applicant with sufficient additional information in order that they are able to understand the requirements of the job and their own suitability for it.
In these days of ever increasing employment legislation, there is now a necessity that the process should be seen to be demonstrably fair so that all candidates are given an equal opportunity to demonstrate their suitability and potential. The interview should also provide adequate evidence to justify the subsequent rejection of any candidate. Increasingly, unsuccessful candidates are requesting feedback on why they did not get the job - some of these being aware of their statutory rights in terms of discrimination.
Finally, whether the candidate is successful or not, in fact particularly in the case of the latter, there is an opportunity to provide positive public relations on behalf of the organisation.
DESIGN OF THE INTERVIEW
The first stage is to ensure that the process is suitable for the vacancy. To state the obvious, the range of questions that one might ask someone applying for a job on a production line or in a packhouse will, of course, vary considerably from those appropriate for a supervisory or management position. Similarly, the style of interview for a sales vacancy will differ from that of an accounts clerk.
Although the actual questions and possibly the style will change from job to job, there are some elements that should remain constant.
For the majority of interviews, the process will take the following format:
Stage A: Arrival of the candidates. This includes the basics of parking and reception, through the various stages of the interview and any other aspects of the selection process and on to closure. Remember that the reception of the candidates is important as first impressions of factors such as friendliness, professionalism and organisation can have an impact on how much the candidate wants the job. For example, delays and hold ups happen and people accept this, but no one likes to be kept sitting in reception unaware of what’s going on. Also none of our candidates has ever commented on the quality of the coffee they have been offered, but without fail they tell us if they have not been offered any sort of drink at all. Remember little things like this can leave a lasting impression.
Stage B: If the selection process is complex, for example assessment days, there will be a need for an introduction, setting out what will be happening, where and when.
Stage C: Opening of the interview. This involves putting the candidate at ease, general introductions and outlining how the interview is to be conducted. This may seem rather obvious, but a surprising number of interviewers neglect to do this.
Stage D: A structured question-and-answer session. This is the main focus for gathering the information required to make an informed decision. There are various schools of thought as to how structured and controlled the interview should be. One argument is that the greater the level of structure, the more reliable will be any subsequent comparison between candidates. This can increase the level of perceived objectivity about the subsequent decisions made on the appointment or rejection of candidates. The contrary argument is that the interview should be allowed to flow into key areas relevant to each candidate. Ideally, there needs to be some structure and consistency but with sufficient flexibility so that necessary discussion is not prohibited. As a general rule the more task based the role, for example, lower level manual or clerical jobs, the greater the proportion of structured questions.
Stage E: Closure, including summing up, checking that the candidate has nothing further to add or ask, indicating what will happen next and when. It is always a good idea to summarise clearly at the end of the interview and get clear feedback from the interviewee as to whether any points need clarification. This again may sound obvious but I am sure that all recruiters can give many examples of cases where they have received such contradictory feedback from a client and a candidate that it has led them to wonder whether they were actually together in the same room!
PANEL INTERVIEWS
Some experienced interviewers are able to conduct a successful interview on a one-to-one basis but there are many arguments in favour of having a minimum of two people present, for example someone from HR plus the line manager concerned. This allows time for one person to concentrate on the candidate’s answers rather than worry about the next question, to take notes without causing delays and to ensure a more balanced view. Larger panel interviews are often the norm in the public sector but unless there is some special requirement, our experience is that panels of three or more have limited value as they tend to restrict the flow of the interview. Should there need to be input from more than two people it is often best to have an extra session with those concerned rather than try and cram everything into one meeting.
ENVIRONMENT
As with any meeting, it is essential that an appropriate room is used. This should have comfortable seating, be at the right temperature and, as far as possible, provide a guarantee of no interruptions or distractions. The aim should be to create the right balance between putting people at their ease, whilst at the same time retaining that slight air of formality that any interview process will have - and indeed perhaps needs to have for both the candidate and interviewer to perform at the required level.
SPECIAL NEEDS
It is important that the candidates are offered the opportunity to request any special requirements in terms of access to the interview room or perhaps during the interview. These will usually be minor but could necessitate special arrangements being made to assist specific requests.
QUESTIONS
Preparing your standard questions in advance offers a number of benefits including:
(i) The selection of questions that seek to find out information which is key to the likelihood of success in the job.
(ii) Gives time to think through and possibly discuss with others how best to phrase the key questions.
(iii) Less need during the interview to divert your attention to thinking of the next question - so more time to listen to the answers.
(iv) Ensures that all candidates are asked similar (basic) questions.
(v) Less chance of inadvertently asking a question that infringes discrimination legislation.
Ask open questions i.e. how, where, why, what. There is little to be learned from asking a question to which the answer is a simple yes or no, or, worse still where the answer is obvious.
Follow up on answers that are incomplete or imprecise. Better to be clear on the answers than leave any grey areas.
Listen to the answers. Do not make assumptions.
Seek real examples of their experience, rather than simply ask whether the candidate has experience of a particular activity. Once someone is describing a real event it is more difficult for them to be creative with the truth.
WHAT TO AVOID
Do not make up your mind too early. First impressions are important but a common fault is to form an opinion too quickly at the beginning of the interview that you like or that you do not like a candidate and then spend the rest of the interview seeking justification and confirmation that you were right all along. Instead, if an opinion is starting to form, consider whether you can find evidence that will contradict your initial thoughts.
Many interviewers spend a large part of the process looking for reasons to reject the candidate. Keep an open mind, it is quite common to warm to a candidate who made a poor start and vice versa.
Do not give off the wrong signals. A comment that is often made to us after an interview is that the interviewer sent out strong negative signals. This can be either via their body language or perhaps off-hand remarks that the candidate has picked up on that have subsequently influenced their belief that further efforts were a waste of time. Similarly, strong positive signals can lead to bitter disappointment when someone is not successful. By all means be positive but in a fair, objective and professional manner rather than overly enthusiastic.
You should also avoid spending too much of the time giving information about the job or organisation. Keep the introduction factual and to the point.
Keeping notes
Always make brief notes during the interview and then summary notes afterwards. However good your memory, it is essential that you can refer back to reasons why one particular candidate was selected and another one was not.
AFTER THE INTERVIEW: FEEDBACK
Our recommendation is that summary feedback is prepared for all candidates so that any subsequent questions can be answered quickly and honestly.
AND THEN....
Now we have to make the offer and decide on how to approach matters such as medical clearance and references. More on these topics at a later date.
MAKING USE OF EXPERTISE
The ability to interview is often regarded as something that comes naturally - the type of thing a manager picks up along the way. A bit like driving, most managers are not going to admit that interviewing is something that they are not very good at. However, most will probably have had no formal interview training and in reality there are probably very few of us that could not do with some coaching in this area. There are numerous organisations that offer excellent training in interviewing skills. How these are actually delivered can vary, from traditional formal courses or in-house mentoring to more modern technology based methods such as videos or computer-based applications. These can be specific bespoke courses designed with a particular target group in mind for example supervisors, line managers or perhaps taken as modules that form part of a longer term training programme for specific individuals for example as per The MorePerformance Young Manager Development Programme.
Whatever the particular needs of your organisation, it is worth remembering that even the most experienced managers will more than likely benefit from a regular training update - if not for any other reason than to ensure that they are up to speed with the dos and don’ts of employment law.
No comments yet