Peer Interviewing

Peer InterviewingPeer InterviewingPeer InterviewingThe question on every HR professional and managers mind is how do you hire, retain, and develop the best employees?Of course, it starts with knowing how to write a job description. And when its time for the interview, theres one interview technique in particular that is becoming mora and more popular peer-to-peer interviewing. This interviewing practice has job candidates meet one-on-one with employees the candidate is able to ask the employee questions about the company and job, while the employee can size up the applicant and then tell the boss his or her thoughts.Peer-to-peer interviewing is an especially successful interview process forsmall companies and for team-based operations, as it allows the organization to get a more complete idea of a candidates overall fit.The Upside to Peer-to-Peer InterviewingTransfer of knowledge. Applicants are able to learn more about the company from employees (who are likely to tell it a little more like it is).Guard is down. Applicants are more likely to let their guard down with peers, so the organization will get a better sense of who their candidates are and how theyll fit.Morale is up. Employees help to select their future coworkers. Being involved in the selection process is good for morale and productivity employees now have more of a stake in the organization. All this strengthens workers commitment to the organization and builds on a community atmosphere, in which peoples opinions do matter.Happy together. As employees are invested in the new hires success (theyve already met them and have a sense of who they are), they are more likely to help new employees. Similarly, new employees start work knowing their peers support them.Is there a downside?The downside of peer-to-peer interviewing can be managed, but should be carefully considered.Two-way street. Its important to remember thatthe candidate is also evaluating the company in the interview process. There have b een cases in which unhappy employees interview applicants, talk about the problems with the company, and end up discouraging the candidates from taking the job, if theyre hired.Solution Be sure that your employees are genuinely positive, happy, and enthusiastic about the company.Personal agendas. Some employees could be threatened by an applicant and not recommend him/her out of their own insecurities.Solution Heres where a bit of managerial intuition comes into play. Beyond that, employees participating in these interviews should get along with their coworkers and be generallylikeable people. Its also a good idea to ensure that employee interviewers represent a cultural cross-section of the organizations workers that is, have an equal mix of ethnicities, races, and sexes. Employees should also have great people skills, be articulate, and understand what company is looking for in its next hire.An interview, not an interrogation. A three-hour, six person interview is not what the can didate will be expecting or appreciate.Solution Peer-to-peer interviewing certainly doesnt mean a candidate should be interviewed by half of your staff. Not only is this intimidating for the candidate, but what kind of message does this send about your organization that any potential new hire should be questioned by everyone in the company? Keep the peer interviews to one or two people per visit.Sure morale is up, but productivity is down. How can peer interviews increase productivity when they take away so much of workers time?Solution Peer-to-peer interviewing can involve a lot of time preparing, conducting the interview itself, following-up with recommendations. Have a list of platzdeckchen questions for employees to ask, and a brief form (of recommendations) for employees to fill out afterward. Set a time limit of 30 minutes on the entire process. Again, this is another reason to keep the peer interviews to an effective and minimal couple of people.TipsInterview training is esse ntial. For example, employees must know what are legal interview questions and which are unprofessional, illegal, and therefore off-limits Do you have children?Keep the evaluative forms quick and effective. Adapt a quantitative approach by using a rating scale (between 1 and 10). Employees should grade the applicant on his/her knowledge, skills, experience, etc.Make it clear that while employees feedback will be taken into high regard, HR and management still make the final decision.Try new approachesThe job interview is as tried and true as the job ad itself, but that doesnt mean there arent new avenues to explore when youre ready to expand your team. Curious to know about different screening strategies?Sign up for exclusive https//www.youtube.com/ adviceand well send you the latest recruiting tips, hiring trends, management strategies, and even some awesome deals. Let the experts at show you how to put a modern spin on the job interview to help you find the best candidates for you r companys needs.