Do you think that the traditional interview is outdated? Here are some innovative techniques you can use to assess candidates and hire the best talent.
Amy works at a well-respected recruitment agency that matches employers to employees. The interview process she conducts is straightforward and traditional. She asks about the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, their work history, and education. The interview ends and she and her team make a decision.
Lately, Amy has been thinking about how her interviews are based on information that was previously known about the candidate. During the interviews, they don’t learn anything new or discover more about the candidate’s personality and interests. Not long ago, she read an article that stated there’s a 50% chance an employee will leave the company within one year. When something like that happens, the recruitment agency will have to spend thousands of dollars trying to hire another person.
In recent years, traditional hiring processes have been proven to be ineffective in specific areas. According to the Global Recruiting Trends 2018 report, traditional recruiting is particularly bad at assessing candidates’ soft skills and weaknesses.
So, how can Amy find a candidate who will be a good cultural fit for the company she works with? What innovative approaches are out there that can help her with her assessment of candidates? To help her solve her problems, here are a few interviewing tools and techniques that every recruiter should start using:
1- Conduct a Soft Skills Assessment in Your Recruiting Process
There are two types of skills every person possesses: hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are the skills you gain through education and training. Soft skills are interpersonal or people skills and include great communication skills, listening skills, and empathy, among others. The Deloitte Human Capital Survey ranked soft-skilled teams as the top trend for 2016.
As a recruiter, there are several ways how you can assess a candidate’s soft skills. Candidates usually list their soft skills on their resumes, cover letters, and job applications. For example, the candidate might write that they have excellent “conflict resolution and problem-solving skills”. Or, they might write in their cover letter how they “have great communication skills”, “appreciate teamwork” and were “well-liked” at their previous workplace”.
Another way of assessing their soft skills is by asking the right questions. You can ask candidates the following questions:
- Do you prefer written or verbal communication?
- Sell me a pencil in 5 sentences.
- Do you prefer working as part of a team or working alone?
- What are your expectations of a manager?
- What is the most difficult change you’ve experienced in your career?
- Give me an example of when you’ve successfully solved a problem.
- How would you spice up meetings to boost creativity?
- What are the key ingredients to developing good relationships with others?
During the interview, you can ask the candidate a few behavioral interview questions. These questions relate to the candidate’s past experiences and are a great way to get a better understanding of their personalities. Here are some example questions you can ask:
- What have you done to fix a problem at work?
- Have you ever seen a co-worker do something wrong? What did you do?
- Have you experienced a miscommunication with your co-worker? How did you handle the situation?
2- Add Gamification
Gamification is described as “the application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service”.
This is a new-age method that companies use to test certain skills like time management, creative and innovative thinking, and the likes.
Gamification might include simulated games, quizzes about industry challenges, company-related quests, behavioral quizzes, etc. The goal is to assess candidates’ skills while adding a fun touch to the boring recruitment process.
An example of gamification in recruitment is Menlo Innovations. Their recruitment process is unlike any other and incorporates hiring people in mass auditions conducted several times a year. Everyone gathers in a huge room, pairs up, and plays a game. The goal of the game is to get the other person hired.
L’Oreal has also created a game called “Reveal” that they used to recruit talent. The candidates were able to interact with avatars representing employees. They performed work-related tasks and faced challenges. The company’s talent acquisition team contacted those who performed highly.
3- Organize a Meeting in a Casual Setting
Interviews are often stressful, especially for employees who have to answer a number of questions and make a lasting impression. For this reason, many recruiters, managers, and CEOs organize a meeting in a low-pressure environment. These low-key job interviews are a rising trend and are a super-innovative way to test your candidate’s skills and behavior.
Unlike a traditional job interview where the tensions are high, candidates are more likely to show their true personalities in a casual setting. This is an opportunity to see how they act in the real world, review their communication and interpersonal skills, as well as their table manners, in a more relaxed environment.
For recruiters, these informal interviews are a great way to meet a potential employee on a more personal basis and determine whether they’re a good fit for the company. For the candidate, it’s a way to learn more about the company without having to sit in a formal interview.
4- Conduct a Video Interview Using AI
Many companies worldwide use AI tools like HireVue to enhance their recruitment process. Unilever, IBM, and Dunkin Donuts are only some of the companies that are using this technology.
The candidates perform a video interview with preset questions, on their smartphones, or on their computers. The role of AI is to measure their facial expressions, capture their moods, and assess their personality traits.
There are many AI software available that companies use in their recruitment process. One example is HireVue, which selects the best matches and returns them to the human recruiter. The software is convenient for both sides. The candidates can have the interview whenever they want, and recruiters can review those interviews when they have the time.
5- Innovate Your Interview Process
Although traditional interviews are not going anywhere anytime soon, it’s always a great idea to apply these creative techniques in your recruitment process. Not only that they will help you see candidates more clearly, but will also take your company forward to the future.
You’ll be in the same boat with companies like Google and IBM that are taking the future of work to the next level. By including this innovative approach into your strategy, you’re avoiding being left behind and working towards hiring an impressive pool of talent.
