Effective interviewing techniques for virtual hiring in the private sector

¶ … Interviewing in the Private Sector

The objective of this work is to review effective interviewing in the private sector and to write a proposal for research in the area of effective interviewing in the private sector.

In today's globalized business environment, much of the hiring process is geared toward outsourcing or filling positions with individuals who work as 'virtual' assistants and fill some role in the company whether it be payroll, data entry, scheduling, secretarial, or whether fulfilling some other role within the organization. In terms of outsourcing hiring for these positions, new problems present and oftentimes the interviewer never actually meets the potential employee.

STATEMENT of THESIS

In today's business world, specifically in the private sector the interviewing processes that will be most effective for a company will begin with external interviewing and screening then to be followed by internal screening pushed by the outsourcing that is increasingly being used in this business sector on a global basis. Because there is an allowed flexibility in the hiring process in this sector of the business world, the human resources manager must necessarily utilize that flexibility through a many-faceted view of the candidate being considered by the company. Effective interviewing includes documentation that is still useful in the near and realistic future for filling positions that open within the organization. The interviewing process that is efficient is one that is highly systematic and that makes complete documentation of available skills and talents of candidates considered by the company.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Questions that this research will focus upon answering are the questions of: (1) How does today's interviewer determine which candidate is best for the job, which is seeking by the company to be filled? (2) What is 'best practice' for virtual interviewing of potential candidates for employment? (3) What are the most effective interviewing techniques in today's culturally diverse private sector? (4) Are 'structured' interviews better than informal interviews? And if so in what industries of the private sector of business? (5) What are the new processes in interviewing in organizations? (6) What changes has outsourcing brought about in terms of the methods used in the interviewing process in the private sector? (7) What options and theoretical framework presents as the most effective in today's business in the private sector.

METHODOLOGY

The methodology of this research, due to limitations of time will be in the form of a review of available, relevant and peer-reviewed literature relating to this subject area of human resources management interviewing methods.

DATA COLLECTION & ANALYSIS

Data collection and analysis will be through a qualitative review of literature in this subject area and will be in the form of descriptive and interpretive analysis. This analysis will include reporting of quantitative case study findings of published work in this subject area.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Strategic human capital planning "is the process by which an organization takes stock of how its people and people-management activities align with and support that organization's strategic goals." (Develop an Effective Strategic Human Capital Plan, 2006) the successful strategic human capital plan is one that "reflects the outcomes of the agency's systematic, ongoing business-planning. It is mission focused and lays out workforce strategies aimed at strengthening the agency's capacity to deliver on that mission." (Ibid) the work entitled: "Behavioral Interviewing Skills for HR Managers and Recruitment Specialists" states the fact that the human resources manager, recruitment and hiring managers should:

1) Understand why behavioral interviewing will lead to successful hiring at every job level;

2) Identify the behavioral competencies that lead to success in your organization's culture; and 3) Create a pre-interview screening methodology to save time and costs; (4) Develop effective behavior-focused interview questions;" (Develop and Effective Strategic Human Capital Plan, 2006)

This work further asks the question of how the organization might "...ensure a 'talent edge' in the industry?" The answer provided to this question is as follows: "By hiring candidates that exemplify the right values and behaviors to match your organization's unique culture." (Ibid) in the work entitled: "Hiring the Best People for Your Agency" that the legislation established by Congress Department of Homeland Security in November 2002 has granted more flexibility to all Federal Agencies in hiring practices and specifically in their practices of recruiting in that they will be able to use methods similar to those the private sector uses. In other words, there is the flexibility in hiring practices to select the best candidate for the job. This fact illustrates the importance that a company should vest in the interviewing process and in making sure that this process is highly effective. This requires special training in the human resources department and specifically in terms of those in management in charge of interviewing and hiring new employees. In exploring the methods utilized in the private sector it is discovered that the questions asked in the private sector when interviewing are generally inclusive of the following: (1) Tell me about some of the skills you acquired during the course of your college education; (2) Tell me about a recent work experience you found particularly challenging. What obstacles did you overcome and what results did you achieve? (3) Tell me about an occasion where you achieved something as a member of a team. (4) What was your role and how was the project organized? And (5) What factors will influence your decision to accept an offer? (6) What personal skills do you bring to your work, which would be an asset to the working relationships at our firm? (7) Tell me about a time when you had to work under time constraints? How did you get the job done? (8) What have you learned about our firm from others with whom you have spoken? Are there any remaining questions that I might clarify? (9) What are you hoping to gain from working with a firm like ours? (10) What work-related contribution has been most satisfying to you?

However, the effective interviewer will understand how to plan for the interview and how to conduct a thorough and objective interview. Furthermore, the effective interviewer will use effective questioning techniques and ensure compliance with applicable laws. (Effective Interviewing, 2007)

One method for studying the effective interviewing practice is reported in the work entitled: "Effective Workshops for Private Equity Professionals" written by Elaine Yew (2007) the work states that in response to 'increasing interests from clients with whom we have worked closely over a significant period of time" the company, Egon Zehnder International has, in recent years, begun to offer Effective Interviewing Workshops which present the case for a systematic approach to interviewing, and provide a basic overview of the competency-based methodology we use in our assessment of candidates in a search." (Yew, 2006) the workshop lasts one-half of a day and involves approximately one dozen "client team members" which are "all from the same company." The workshop is said to be facilitated "by about three Egon Zehneder International consultants." Used in the workshop is a series of "interview role-plays based on a real case study provided by the client group" with the purpose being the unfolding of "the insights..." And techniques of "competency-based" interviewing. (Yew, 2007)

There are many other interviewing techniques purported to be effective. For example, in the work entitled: "Effective Interviewing: A Handbook of Skills and Techniques" there are three types of interviewing processes which are those of: (1) Conventional; (2) Structured; and (3) Extended. (Edenborough, 2004) This work points out that interviews take place in a range of settings. Edenborough (2004) points out that 'Roget's Thesaurus lists interviews " in connection with hearing, listening, enquiry, exam, examination, interrogate, along with heckle, find out, quiz, pick one's brains and conference, all of which seem to imply some degree of formality in discourse." (2004) Edenborough further related that the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) Tells us that the word comes from the French entrevior, to have a glimpse of." Interviewing is generally accepted to mean "a meeting of people face-to-face, as for evaluating a job applicant." (2004) Edenborough states that it is "not uncommon for organizations to be very pernickety on the one hand about the costs they may be incurring in, say, an associated activity such as recruitment advertising, but to be totally unaware of and unconcerned about the processes used and the amount of management time involved in conventional interviewing." (2004)

Edenborough points out that most individuals believe that they are better at interviewing than others but states that this belief is a "well sustained myth and popular self-deception." (2004) in terms of interviewing skills, these skills are often based on assumptions of impressions when often liking or disliking someone in an interview is related to "...aspects of sociability which some studies have indicated as being capable of correct prediction from interviews (Otis et al., 1962) Whether or not these same sociability factors predict success on the job is another issue and many other studies suggest that for many jobs it does not. (Bevan and Tryatt, 1988 as cited by Edenborough, 2004)

Edenborough reports the study of Awosunle and Doyle (2001) which took place in a laboratory in which tapes of interviews were played to participant interviewers who would rate the interviews. Those rating the interviews were black and white individuals and findings state that: "the black raters rated the black candidates higher than the white and vice versa." (Ibid) Conclusions state that this demonstrated the potential of "institutionalized racism" in interviewing. DeGroot and Motowidlo (1999) state findings that "the unconscious influence what would, objectively be evident as irrelevant factors was found in a "positive relationship between a number of aspects of interviewee's voice quality, such as pitch and rate of speech" in the ratings of the interviewers. (Edenborough, 2004; paraphrased) Edenborough relates chain-interviewing in which the second interviewer will explore a fact that the first interviewer missed. "Conventional unstructured interviewing with a career history focus is widely practice, despite general recognition of its limitations." Edenborough (2004) the objectivist-psychometric view of interviewing places emphasis on the gathering of evidence in a systematic fashion. While the subjectivist-social perception in interviewing places emphasis on the need of gaining an intuitive feel for potential employees are well as for selling the organization to the potential employees in the interview. It is important, according to the work of Edenborough that the interview process make it clear to the potential employees what is expected "there and at any subsequent stages of selection" and that this take place in an environment that is "controlled and the interview conducted without interruptions." (2004)

Difficulties in Interviewing Identified by Edenborough (2004)

Edenborough identifies the common difficulties in conduction of interviews to be experienced because:

1) the stage management or control of the process;

2) Handling pauses;

3) Framing questions clearly;

4) note-taking;

5) Listening; and 6) Physical layout of the interview room." (2004)

Structured interviews range from very simple approaches to conduction of "psychometric measures" in interviewing. The work of Weisner and Cronshaw (1988) states findings that structured interviews have much higher levels of validity in terms of interviewing selection than do the unstructured methods. McDaniel et al. (1994) conducted a metaanalytic study, which states findings that "even the unstructured interview was found to have a respectable level of validity."

Rodger's 'Seven-Point Plan'

An early and widely-used method in structured interviewing is that which Rodger advocated in the "Seven-Point Plan (NIIP, 1951) which is approach that brought forth to light the aspects of an individual that are relevant and of primary importance. The Rodger "Seven Point Plan" includes the following:

1) Physical make-up: Have the candidates any defects of health or physique that may be of occupational importance? How agreeable is their appearance, bearing and speech?

2) Attainments: What type of education have they had? How well have they done educationally? What occupational training and experience have they had already? How well have they done occupationally?

3) General Intelligence: How much general intelligence can they display? How much general intelligence do they normally display?

4) Special aptitudes: Have they marked mechanical aptitude? Manual dexterity? Facility in the use of words or figures? Talent for drawing or music?

5) Interests: To what extent are their interests intellectual? Practical? Constructional? Physically active? Social? Artistic?

6) Disposition: How acceptable do they make themselves to other people? Do they influence others?

7) Circumstances: What are their domestic circumstances? What do other members of their family do for a living? Are there any special openings available to them?

Munro-Fraser 'Five-Fold' Grading System similar interviewing technique to that of Rogder's is one called the 'five-fold' grading system of Munro-Fraser (1954) which includes the five as follows:

1) Impact on others: Physical make-up, appearance, speech and manner.

2) Acquired qualifications: education, vocational training, work experience.

3) Innate abilities: Natural quickness of comprehension and aptitude for learning.

4) Motivation: The kind of goals set by the individual, his or her consistency and determination in following them up and success in achieving them; and 5) Adjustment: emotional stability, ability to stand up to stress and ability to get on with people.

Some structured interviewing is focused on behavioral aspects of the individual and this specifically is the psychometric interview or the SPI, which is focused on ones' tendencies in the area of behavior. Structured interviews are viewed as "lining up with the objective-psychometric model of interviewing, using Anderson's (1992) distinction between that and the subjective and social-perception approach..." (Edenborough, 2004) the 'Extended' interview is one in which there is a "division of labor, with different people exploring different aspects of the candidate's suitability."

The work of Margaret Aitchison reports the best practices in private sector 'e-recruitment' or hiring via the Internet. The work of Aitchison states that: "Developments in Internet technology, notably in the falling cost and increasing accessibility of broadband will result in an even greater impact on traditional recruitment techniques. The traditional boundaries that existed between print and media owners, job boards, recruitment advertising agencies, recruitment consultancies and technology companies are breaking down. Recruitment showed the biggest spending growth as the highest spending sector in online advertising, with an eighty percent increase in the first six months of 2005." (2006) Aitchison states additionally: "The private sector is exploring novel ways in filtering and screening techniques to select the best applicants in a competitive market place. These may range from basic spelling and arithmetical testing for operational staff to in-depth psychometric assessments for potential strategic managers." (2006) the HR Bulletin, published by the Northern California Human Resources Association in an article entitled: "Behavior-based Interviewing: Does it Still Work" states that today's interviewers "are in a bind" because behavioral interviewing that is reliant upon "give me an example" questions "is in jeopardy." (Kennedy, 2001) Kennedy states that: "Behavior-based interviewing uses the recognized principle that past and present behavior is the best predictor of future performance. However, more and more of today's candidates either have difficulty relating to traditional questioning techniques or have learned how to co-opt the behavior-based interviewer altogether." (2001)

Talent Shortage

There is a problem at present according to the work of Kennedy in that there is a 'talent shortage'. The answer to this problem is the modification of the interview processes because "in today's market, you may not always find a candidate with the exact skills and qualities you seek. That's why your interviews should focus on revealing every competency a candidate possesses - not just the ones you are told to probe for on a short list." (Kennedy, 2001) in fact, in hiring the best individual for the job one must "look deeper and discover everything a candidate might bring to the job." (Kennedy, 2001) Another point made in the work of Kennedy is that it is held by "Workforce 2020" that over one-half of entrants into the job market will be accounted for by minorities in the years to come and 'many, with technical backgrounds or degrees, will come from 'high-context' cultures such as Asian, Hispanic or Latino and Middle Eastern." (Kennedy, 2001) This means that the interviewer must "understand the impact of diversity on interviewing." (Ibid) Furthermore, today's candidates are "more savvy candidates" as stated in Bruce Tuligan's work entitled: "Talent Wars" "Interviews are not as reliable as they used to be because so many people are learning how to give the 'right' answers in job interviews - the kinds of answers interviewers want to hear." (Ibid) Kennedy states as well that candidates tend to either "generalize" or "exaggerate" (2001) Kennedy concludes his article by stating that: "Traditional behavior-based interviewing techniques may no longer yield useful or authentic information." (2001)

Outsourcing builds hiring advantage

While this sounds a little liberal with the most important processes of an organization, indeed hiring of new employees to consider allowing an 'outside' company to make such important decisions in today's business environment it is the reality for many. In fact the work entitled: "In War for Talent Recruitment, Process Outsourcing Helps Build Hiring Advantage" states that: "With today's mobile workforce and rapid company growth, HR departments generally do not have the manpower to continuously identify and hire talent. Plus, focusing on full-life-cycle recruitment responsibilities does not allow HR to be completely effective. The solution may be to outsource all or part of its recruitment efforts..." (Aon, 2006 HR Outsourcing Article)

The news from the 'Partnership for Public Service/.Private Sector Council' and published in the document entitled: "Develop an Effective Strategic Human Capital Plan" states that the roots of the interviewing process are having a 'Human Capital" plan which is a strategic plan throughout every layer of the organization. However, there are far too many questions yet to be answered such as: (1) What are the most common themes that emerge from interview with managers? (2) How should the quantitative HR data be interpreted in light of qualitative data as to competencies and skills needed for future success? Stated within the fabric of the human capital framework are five 'key' systems as follows:

Strategic Alignment - Agency human capital strategy is aligned with mission, goals, and organizational objectives and integrated into its strategic plans, performance plans, and budgets.

Leadership and Knowledge Management - Agency leaders and managers effectively manage people, ensure continuity of leadership, and sustain a learning environment that drives continuous improvement in performance.

Results-Oriented Performance Culture - Agency has a diverse, results-oriented, high performance workforce, and has a performance management system that effectively differentiates between high and low performance, and links individuals/team/unit performance to organizational goals and desired results.

Talent Management - Agency has closed most mission-critical skills, knowledge, and competency gaps, and has made meaningful progress toward closing all.

Accountability - Agency human capital decisions are guided by a data-driven, results-oriented planning and accountability system. (Private Sector Council, 2006)

SUMMARY of LITERATURE REVIEWED

The literature reviewed in this study has clearly demonstrated the changes that have and still are occurring in the interviewing processes of an organization in the private business sector, or in fact in any sector of business in today's globalized society. Several models have been described as well as have new alternatives to traditional interviewing processes. More study is needed to determine the effectiveness of available solutions in today's growingly more diverse business society. The interviewing processes being used in today's business world are progressively expanding and at the same time experiencing integration with and instead of more traditional interviewing methods. This expansion in methods of interviewing is driven by today's technological possibilities, fast internet connections, and outsourcing possibilities in the global business world. Layering of methods of interviewing allow more precise pre-screening of candidates in the talent pool for consideration as well as allowing for documentation of that contact for future use by the company in filling a position.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based upon the literature reviewed in this study, it is the opinion of the researcher that much is yet unacknowledged in the private sector as to what interview process is most effective in today's business environment. Additionally research should be applied towards understanding the various combinations of methods of interviewing that have proven to be effective in filling the need of the company from the available talent pool.