A Ten Point Checklist for a Best Practice Interview

1. Get senior management buy-in and involvement

This sounds obvious, yet sadly it is not. All too often Executive level

staff and line managers fail to see interviews as a priority and leave

this to HR. Given the critical importance of recruiting talented and

competent staff, it is vital that the person whom the position reports

to be involved, as well as senior leaders of the organisation given that

a recruitment mistake is a costly and damaging exercise and as

humans we are all fallible. A panel interview is the way to go.

2. Draft a thorough job specification and work from this to

draft the interview guide

Without a thorough job specification detailing the qualifications,

experience and skills required in the role, no interview will be effective. As

a result of the screening process the paper based match of selected

candidates will have been checked. The purpose of the interview is to

objectively ascertain the all-round competence and fit of shortlist

candidates to decide which one will be the best for the job. To enable this

to happen, the person drafting the interview questions needs to glean

information from the job spec and cover all required aspects with relevant

in depth questions

3. Understand that a thorough interview has five parts

The structure of an interview needs to be consistent and balanced

containing introductions and general questions, technical questions,

and behavioural questions. Also important are questions relating to fit

and a concluding section in which the candidate is given the

opportunity to ask questions, then thanked and informed of next steps

in the process. This should take at least an hour. Instead of spending

thousands on psychometrics, spend a quality hour face to face

checking out competence and suitability to select the best shortlist

candidate.

4. Realise that proper pre-planning is non-negotiable

In any rigorous recruitment process, a panel interview will only occur

after many other screening steps, including an initial interview, checks

and references. Thereafter logistics need to be organised to ensure a

smooth and transparent process in which company credibility is

maintained. Finally a panel briefing is required with the relevant

documents at hand to ensure proper process from all participants. Hopefully

the interview will leave candidates feeling stretched by the

questions and with feeling that the organisation is a place where they

would like to work.

5. Utilise a technical subject expert to draft challenging

technical questions

In my experience this is the most neglected part of most interviews

and one which requires collaboration with subject matter experts and

time to prepare. The fact that someone has a qualification or

experience does not mean that they can apply this or have the ability

or aptitude to deal with some of the hands on technical challenges

unique to an industry or company.

Technical questions should be rigorous and should include a variety of

questions from knowledge related ones to practical case studies in

which a scenario is presented and candidates are asked to explain

what they would do. This might also be extended to some testing

after the interview process. Would you hire an Executive PA on

behavioural competence and fit and not actually test computer

proficiency or the ability to take minutes or the capability to deal with

actual instances where confidentiality and professionalism are critical?

6. Train your interviewers on competency based interview

process

No matter how good the interview questions, a bunch of interviewers

who are not trained in proper interviewing techniques will skew the

result and jeopardise the process. This means that all interviewers

need to be trained in competency based interview process. Two

important elements of the latter are dealt with in points seven and

eight.

7. Ensure thorough probing is done

Through ignorance or through clever manipulation, one comes across

candidates in an interview who give generalised, unsubstantiated

answers. If you are not able to probe for evidence in a way which

separates the big talkers from those who are competent, your scores

are rendered pointless. Effective probing requires training and

practice. It does not come naturally.

8. Work on a scored system

All of us possess often subconscious biases and preferences based on

our unique background and thinking. Furthermore a convincing talker

or charismatic personality has the potential to sway or suspend our

judgement at times. This means that scoring as per the skills identified

for the job needs to be done systematically with a panel facilitator

explaining, checking and managing the process in a way which will

stand up in the CCMA.

9. Check thoroughly for fit

No matter how impressive the candidate, if they do not fit in with the

company culture and extraneous factors involved, they will not be

retained. Fit questions involve probing around satisfaction and

dissatisfaction in a way that provides interviewers with a solid feel for

the motivational factors and working style of the potential appointee.

10. Make HR accountable to manage a rigorous,

equitable and transparent process

The only way to ensure that the above aspects are applied is to

appoint and empower an expert custodian, experienced in best

practice recruitment process to facilitate interviews and manage the

process to ensure rigour, consistency and transparency. Without this

you are likely to be doomed to hiring mediocre staff.