Interviewing: The Hidden Challenges

We’ve all felt it at some time or other in our lives, that sense of longing, enjoyment, appreciation, and a sense that “this is the one.” The Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary defines love as “A deep, devotion or affection for another person or persons,” and “A very great interest in, or enjoyment of, something or someone.” Love is exciting, motivating, enthralling, and, as the poets say, “blind.”

So, what’s the problem with love? The problem is, we fall in love at the most inopportune times. For example, during the interview and hiring process, even the most seasoned and skilled manager can be blinded by a well-dressed, articulate, engaging personality. “You’re hired!” Love strikes again. One month transpires, then two, then four, then six months. “How could I have made this mistake?” “I was so certain that he/she was the one.” Feelings of regret, confusion and self-doubt can develop in the hiring manager, compounding the situation. The truth is that some ninety percent of hiring decisions are made through interviewing alone. Research indicates that the final decision is typically made within the first five minutes of an interview. How much can we learn about an individual in five minutes? Further, most interviewers spend more time selling themselves and the organization to the candidate as opposed to investigating the individual’s character, level of self-motivation, and general aptitude to perform.

What’s the next line of defense? Typically, the résumé is reviewed and considered an accurate, unbiased and objective measure of the candidate’s true value. Unfortunately, most résumés are an exercise in fiction writing. In fact, a survey of the research on résumé accuracy indicates that as much as fifty percent of the information is likely to be exaggerated, if not fabricated. Interviewing and résumé review are probably the most widely used selection techniques. Unfortunately, studies of predictors of performance indicate that these screening tools are hardly accurate. In fact, interviewing and résumé review provide approximately fourteen percent and eighteen percent accuracy respectively in the prediction of on-the-job performance.

Now what? Many progressive organizations have taken to the use of outside consultants to aid in making better predictions of performance of new hires. Companies employing consulting psychologists armed with a battery of objective psychological tests of ability, insight, and motivational needs can quadruple the predictive accuracy of decisions based upon interviewing alone. Of course, the decision to utilize such a service raises questions and concerns. In our experience, there are a number of issues that give organizations reason to pause before hiring an outside consultant.

1) We are just a small company. This type of service is out of our reach! In fact, it is the small business that can afford least to make a bad hire. One new person in a group of ten amounts to ten percent of the workforce. Thus, hiring decisions have a much larger proportional impact in a smaller group.

2) Isn’t it illegal to use psychological testing in the hiring process? The answer is an emphatic and unrestrained NO! Tests that are culturally fair, unbiased, valid for the applied purpose and reliable are legal, ethical and moral to use in employment settings.

3) Won’t it frighten or otherwise irritate and alienate job applicants? We coach our clients to present the testing as “the next step” and a “reward” for making it to the next level in the selection/screening process. In other words we normalize the process and congratulate the candidate to be tested for their success in reaching “the next stage”. Also, it is indicative of the organization’s commitment to choosing “the best” and should be openly and unashamedly presented as such.

4) We’re not hiring right now, so we can’t use a consultant. Just as important as hiring the right people is keeping the good ones you already have. G.E. Gercken Associates also offers developmental evaluations and Executive Coaching to aid in the development and retention of your important personnel. Developmental reviews are also invaluable when promoting people from within.

5) Doesn’t this sort of thing require a big time commitment from HR? No. In fact, utilizing psychological consultants and validated tests can free your HR staff to pursue other pressing issues. Further, it is the candidate that must put the time in to complete the materials on their own.

6) All of this sounds great but isn’t it quite expensive? The service is only expensive if you believe that poor hiring and high turnover don’t cost the company time and money. In reality, turnover is the great hidden eater of profits. Research estimates the cost of replacing a manager as two times the annual salary for the position. Thus, for an individual earning $70,000, the cost of replacement is $140,000. A quality evaluation conducted by an experienced psychologist is a small fraction of this amount; about 1/100th the cost of replacing that manager!