Behavioural Interviewing

Recruiting the right people is one of the most important decisions a manager makes; the top 15% of technical, professional and management staff outperform their average counterparts by more than 50%.  

The interview is still the most commonly used selection method and it can be very effective, yet many managers feel that an interview provides a superficial impression of a candidate.  

Studies have found the Behavioural Interview to be at least 3 times more accurate than traditional interviews in identifying top performers and the best general method available.  It also involves a collection of learned skills, many of which are transferable to a range of other interactions.

Good interviewing skills must be learned, through training and practice.  An interview is not a conversation.  Although it can be conversational in style, an effective interview is structured to gather specific information to guide selection and personal development.  As such, good planning and clear assessment criteria are essential.

There is no substitute for good training, but the following are some of the key principles.

Evidence vs. Impression

Behavioural interviewing gets behind the impression of capabilities the candidate projects and digs for evidence of those capabilities in action.

The assumption underlying this interview technique is that the best way to find out what a person is likely to do in the future is by examining what that person actually did in the past.

The best predictor of future behaviour is recent past behaviour in similar circumstances.

The behavioural interview concentrates on incidents that actually happened in the interviewee's recent past; things that the interviewee considers to be examples of effective performance.

1. The approach involves asking a broad question designed to focus on a particular set of competencies, supplemented by probing questions to gather evidence.

2. The objective is to focus on what a person did , said , thought and felt in past situations, in order to build up a detailed picture of their strengths, approach and motivation. To get accurate information, it is best to focus on events that have occurred within the last two years.

3. The evidence gathered is evaluated, marshalled and compared with the recruitment criteria, to establish how well the candidate meets the job's requirements.

According to candidates, the interviewer's conduct is one of the strongest indicators of the organisation's values, and candidates prefer the interviewer to be friendly, professional, and knowledgeable about the job and the organisation's aims.

Interviewees report that the "best" interviews are those which are thorough, comprehensive and demanding. They don't like "soft" or unstructured interviews.

For more information and advice on assessment and interviewing skills, managing agents should contact their own HR or Training Department or contact Jim Osler.