Fiorenze on HR management
First, to find the best person for the position in question. And, second, to stay out of court in the process. Standardized operating procedures or protocols can help. Each manager should be equipped with a basic interviewing guide setting forth questions that will elicit the necessary operational information while keeping the interview process free from unintentional discrimination.
Every question asked during a job interview, starting with the opening personal introduction, and concluding with escorting the applicant to the door, should be asked with a purpose in mind. If you are looking for a detail-oriented, independent thinker, your questions must be framed to solicit this type of information. Usually the key lies in not just asking what an applicant has done in prior positions, but rather how the tasks have been completed from start to finish.
A broad-brushed answer, “I filled the order,” can then be compared with a detailed answer, “I checked the shipping slip against the P.O., made sure it was correct, made sure the date and other information were filled in, completed the inventory sheets and filled the order.”
Before the interview, be sure to ask yourself how the questions you will ask relate to the job functions to be performed or the qualities you are seeking. Make sure you know what the right answer is. It is important for each interviewer to find his or her own depth and comfort level in the types of questions asked and the purposes behind them.
Be prepared with consistent questions. We have worked with some managers not only comfortable with, but truly committed to, asking “outside of the box” questions or setting up unexpected hypotheticals in an effort to escape a “by-the-numbers” interview and gain insight into the true character of their applicant.
Employee Exploration
One manager, for example, no matter the job opening, asks applicants why manhole covers are round. We have found, however, that all things being equal, most industry managers are most successful using a straight-forward interview process that deals with exploring, in detail, the manner in which a candidate would perform a specific job and the various sub-tasks involved.
