Recruitment interviews are still considered to be fundamental to effective recruitment, particularly when it comes to making the final decision. But are your interviewers getting the recruitment interview right?

Over the years, as recruitment has evolved, so have the number of tools used to help assess candidates. These include personality tests, cognitive tests, gamification and video interviewing – to name but a few. Although these all provide great insight, recruitment interviews are still considered to be fundamental to effective recruitment, particularly when it comes to making the final decision.

Hiring the wrong person for a team is painful, and equally damaging is missing opportunities to hire good candidates, especially if they end up being hired by a competitor. Although interviewers do not plan to make poor decisions, there is substantial evidence to show mistakes are often made.

How can your organisation make sure the recruitment interviews conducted are most effective for your business? And how does this affect your organisation’s ability to make critical hiring decisions?

We take a look at how to measure and minimise the risk of errors made during the hiring process decisions and how to improve success rates.

Do your interviewers get it right?

Effective recruitment decisions are liable to be determined by the interviewer’s ability to:

• • • Correctly identify candidates who will become high performers in the company. Define successful indicators which are predictors of success in existing employees.

• Clearly articulate the roles and tasks the candidate will be held responsible for along with measures of success.This demonstrates to candidates that the hiring manager has a firm understanding of the role they will play. It should give them confidence that the role is as it was described during the earlier stages of the recruitment process.

• Reduce any level of positive or negative bias when assessing candidates. It is essential for interviewers to remain focused on hiring the right fit for the company. No room for positive or negative discrimination based upon personal prejudice. Use a  solid set of positive and negative indicators, backed up with a wash-up session focused on scoring. Using ‘gut decisions’ is not a path to long-term success.

• Deliver an excellent experience for the candidate, whether or not they are hired. Create a positive brand image and leave a lasting, optimistic impression.Candidates will reflect on how they were treated during the recruitment process and this will play a part in the candidate’s decision making process, should you offer them a role.

When conducted well, recruitment interviews add enormous value to the recruitment process. It is important to review and refine the effectiveness of interviews to maintain the calibre of your workforce. Effective recruitment interviews drive positive business outcomes including reductions in in employee turnover and can affect the overall performance of the organisation.