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How Behavioral Interviewing Impacts the Bottom Line
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The success of an organization depends upon the skills and dedication of its employees. Since the selection process for new employees relies primarily on the interview, it is imperative that managers/interviewers become proficient at interviewing. The industry of recruiting and interviewing must change drastically to address the issues businesses face when they do not properly match an individual to the position. These issues include turnover, poor morale, burnout and employee relations.
Traditional Methods Cost Employers
A little more than a decade ago, behavioral interviewing was in its infancy. For the most part, recruiters and managers were using the standard, unstructured interview, and many still do today. They use questions like, "Tell me about yourself." This traditional form of interviewing produces only a 10% chance that the person is the right candidate for the job. In addition, if that candidate quits within the first year of hire, it costs the organization an equivalent of six monthsAssociation of Staff Physician Recruiters (ASPR) worth of the person's pay and benefits. Even worse, if the person was in a management position, the cost to the organization is twelve months of pay and benefits! Behavioral interviewing allows the organization an opportunity to optimize methods and minimize costs.
Interviewing Danger Zones
Lack of preparation for the interview is the first error. The interviewer should analyze the duties and the competencies that will be needed to be successful on the job and be prepared to ask questions that will require the applicant to talk about his or her expertise in those areas.
The second mistake is when the interviewer does not carefully listen to the job candidate and analyze if the answer provided was the correct answer. Many times, interviewers do not know what type of answer they are looking for and what is the difference between a good answer and an average answer.
Missed opportunity is the third danger zone. The basic premise of the behavioral interview is to gather a tremendous amount of information about the job candidate. So, how is this done? When a job candidate answers a question, many times there are opportunities to "dig a little deeper" and ask clarifying questions with a simple "how," "when," "why" and "tell me more."
Of course, we cannot forget the fourth danger zone, which is asking illegal questions, or not asking certain questions, because of the fear of a discrimination lawsuit. Interviewers should know what questions they can ask and know which ones they need to avoid like the plague. Relating the question to the job is the key.
Sample Behavioral Questions
Test Reliability: Give an example of how you saw a project through, despite various obstacles.
Test Enthusiasm: Tell me about the most significant thing you have ever accomplished at work.
Test Decision-Making: Tell me about a time when a problem arose that you failed to anticipate.
Are You Evolving?
During the interview do you do the following?
- Obtain facts about a person's life and work history
- Predict whether or not the individual will demonstrate skills that are important for a specific job
- Fish out the truth about a candidate's strengths and weaknesses
- Control the interview so maximum information is obtained
- Identify candidates that support the organization's culture
Conclusion
Interviewing can be complex and difficult. A behavioral approach to interviewing can help eliminate the many problems that are prevalent in the selection process.
The hiring decision can have negative and positive consequences. A good decision can deliver an employee that will uphold the standards of the organization and become a motivated and productive team member. A poor hiring decision can be very costly to an organization by reducing productivity and forcing managers to spend more time training and counseling.
In order to ensure a higher percentage of successful hires, it is essential to identify keywords that are optimal for layering questions and conducting an interview that will identify candidates that accurately match the job.
Contact NAS today to learn more.
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