A recent client visit sparked a topic that I thought was worth sharing. This meeting was with a client who has over 30 years in the engineering industry and has established a very successful business, so it was rather unexpected and quite humbling for him to openly admit that he feels there are gaps in his interview technique and he is seeking help to bridge these gaps.
Recruitment of new employees in his business has mostly relied on solid connections in the industry spanning 3 decades and referrals of individuals from existing staff who work for the business, but when it comes to bringing in fresh, unknown new hires, the process can go a little astray. His view is that he knows the questions to ask and generally relies on gut feel, but he tends to trust people too easily and often let’s the conversation take on a very informal approach. The informal approach works for some firms that tend to make great hiring decisions but he feels it has not delivered the best results for his business lately. To summarise, he believes he lacks the technique, knowledge of interview styles and different types of testing.
In order to get some assistance on this, he has now sought the help of an unbiased 3rd party to attend the interviews alongside him and a colleague. What this brings is a different dynamic, an HR professional who has many years of assessing soft skills and has a good grasp of the technical side of the business too.
How else can you improve your interview experience for your candidates:
- By receiving pre-interview coaching, one on one.
- Obtaining templates with competency-based questions relating to areas you are wanting to assess.
- Benchmarking your top performer and the areas they are most successful in, and using this to assess new hires
- Paying for formal assistance in the way of testing that covers behavioural, competency, cognitive ability, EI, personality and skills
- Have someone attend the interviews to help guide it on track and provide some structure
- Understanding the different types of techniques used – formal, structured, group, CBI etc
- Providing formal training to hiring managers when you are not available to attend the interview
If you feel your business could do with a little coaching when it comes to preparing for and conducting interviews, as a business, Tyler Wren has decades of experience and we are passionate about finding ways that we can add extra value to the process. Alternatively, if you have a 3rd party who can be this sounding board for you, then I implore you to solicit their help with your process so that the best hiring decision can be made for your business. Not only does this improve the quality of hires, but it ensures a smooth candidate experience, as your brand in the industry is more important now than ever before. A consistent interview experience for every candidate means you’re giving people a fair process and are able to provide insightful feedback following the interview on where the candidate exceeded or fell short. More accurate questions asked means more information is uncovered. And of course, it adds heaps of credibility to your process.
For any assistance, please reach out to a member of the Tyler Wren team today! careers@tylerwren.co.nz