“Is is Time to Evaluate Your Interview Process?”
“Is it Time to Evaluate Your Interview Process?”
Last week, I wrote about “The Effects of a Bad Hire.” This week I wanted to focus on your Company’s process for ensuring that you limit bad hires – specifically through the interview process.
There is no doubt that the job interview is the most crucial part to a successful hire. Without the best people on board, you are doomed for failure. But how many interviews should you have, and what is the process involved to ensure that you hire the best candidate? Better yet, do you even HAVE a process? To attract and hire the best, you need to! Triumph Services has over 35 years of combined IT staffing experience working with Clients all over the U.S. Here are some of our findings and recommendations for ensuring that your Company’s interview process is efficient, and gives you the leg up in a war for talent!
Every Client is different, but I always recommend a phone screen to start things off. This accomplishes three things:
- It starts the process! This shows MUTUAL interest and gets the ball rolling!
- It doesn’t take much time. The best candidates are busy, and passive. Let them gain interest in your position without investing too much time. You want a workhorse, so expect them to be busy.
- It lets both parties see if there is mutual interest. It lets you ask enough questions, and vice-versa. It’s like speed dating.
While some of my clients hire after the phone screen, most do not. The next step is a 1-2 hour on-site meeting. This is the pivotal step in the process. These is where the candidate gets to see the environment, meet the key players, and find out more about the job duties, the future, and the team — and everything else!
For the client, this is where you get to see the candidate, how they interact with the team, the key managers, and ask your technical and behavior questions. Many of our clients use this 1-2 hour window as a chance to meet with everyone needed to make a decision, including HR. This can be done using a panel or individual meetings. But take note, while a panel interview saves times, Candidates tend to get nervous, especially introverted IT folks. Think “firing squad.” Also, make sure your process allows candidates to bring all necessary paperwork and applications with them to save time. Also, know that making a candidate wait in the lobby for 10 minutes not only adds to their anxiety, it can completely ruin the chances a 5-star candidate will work for you.
About 80% of the time after the first face to face, if there is a fit, an offer is presented. If the opportunity is a contract or contract to hire, I strongly urge my clients to make a decision after this step. There is less risk is this type of hire. Take the chance and believe in your instincts, your interview partners and your process.
With some clients, a final, 3rd interview is needed. This, in my opinion, is the last interview, and mostly done for higher level positions, many times getting the blessing of a “C” level executive, and in most cases, a Direct Hire. Sometimes a key player was out sick or on vacation. This is OK, as long as the candidate has been kept in the loop. Scheduling more than 3 interviews, and the candidate may think the company is unorganized, unsure, or just not confident enough to make a decision. Part of being a hiring manager and leader is recognizing great talent and working quickly to get them on your team. Don’t make great talent wait. They won’t. And don’t assume yours is the only Company they are evaluating, especially in IT. Playing the waiting game is a disastrous way to attempt to field a team of winners.
My company, Triumph Services, is comprised of IT staffing experts. We have over 35 years of staffing knowledge in the Richmond, VA area and work with companies that have 20 employees to 20,000 employees. We make it our job to understand our Clients’ hiring processes. Believe it or not, some of our clients trust us to the point where we are the interview process…and the hiring process — we decide who shows up on Monday mornings! That trust happens through years of delivering candidates that outshine everyone else. No matter how you utilize our services, we can help. Call us to have your process evaluated, or fill your critical IT openings. What do you think? Are there valuable reasons to have 3+ interviews?
Happy Hunting!
Logan Bragg
Partner
Triumph Services
804-290-0088
