Employers and managers are often in the spotlight 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 for job rotation can be equivalent to a year and a half of salary. This factors in 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 follow exactly the 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 what 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 recruitment advertising to the application, interview, and selection process) are aware of any prohibited grounds.

3. What are really 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 required for that position. Knowledge includes technical knowledge and information that a candidate needs to perform the job (for example, knowledge of marketing principles). Skills are the hard and soft skills needed to perform a job (eg typing or multilingual). Skills are demonstrated observable competencies (for example, the ability to thrive in stressful environments or to meet tight deadlines).

In HR we talk a lot about KSAs and job specs for good reason. How many times have you been to an interview when the questions and the interview process didn’t really consider what was required for the position? In addition to 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:

Nowadays it is more and more common, and it is a good practice, to carry out 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 informed about the process, the position you are hiring for, as well as interview best practices. It is often helpful to create time at the beginning of the interview show for a 15-30 minute meeting between panel members at the beginning of the interview process to discuss what it will look 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 resumes of shortlisted candidates, interview questions, interview scoring information, and other information.

5. Block time between candidates:

Block out time between candidates for interviewers to complete their notes and also to synthesize group comments or recommendations. If you have 6-8 hours of back-to-back interviews, it’s only natural that each candidate will start to resemble one another. By blocking 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 that all panelists are comfortable and aware of the process and measurement (for example, if you are using some kind of matrix to measure). Also make sure that all panelists are on the same page (for example, that 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 yet “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 public relations opportunity. Even if the candidate is not elected, what message are you sending with the communication that he is sending about the 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. Often strong candidates can leave an interview realizing they don’t want to work for the company they just interviewed with. What is the company image you are portraying through the interview process? Does this align with 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.