WELCOME TO CHECK POINT 28

HOW CAN YOU BENEFIT FROM CHECK POINT 28?

LEAN MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES FOR CHECK POINT 28

THE PURPOSE OF EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEWS

Business owners and managers must be familiar with various employment interview methods to secure good quality employees within the organization.

Employment Interviews, or Job Interviews, provide the employer with a distinct opportunity to "size-up" applicants and to assess their personal qualifications prior to making a final decision. These interviews, therefore, must be properly administered to obtain the most effective results.

The quality of employment interviews is of paramount importance to every organization. Business owners and managers, therefore, need to learn about various types of employment interviews and apply them selectively on a case-by-case basis to ensure successful performance of their organization.

You must remember that your success in business starts and ends with high quality employees, since you can’t do everything by yourself (unless you are a one person business). For this reason you must be able to select “right” people for various positions within your organization if you really want to succeed in business.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEWS

There are several types of Employment Interviews frequently used by business owners and managers in small and medium-sized companies. Four main types of employment interviews are outlined below.

FOUR MAIN TYPES OF EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEWS

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

NON-DIRECTIVE INTERVIEW

A Non-Directive Interview does not follow a special format and is based on a general conversation between an interviewer and the applicant. The interviewer, however, may use a relevant job description and job specification as a guide to conduct the non-directive interview in a more meaningful manner.

Business owners and managers, who are nor familiar with specific types of employment interviews, use non-directive interviews as the first step in learning about the prospective employee. Since employment interviews represent a critical phase in engaging the most suitable employees, it is essential to learn various interviewing methods discussed in this program to maximize the company's future operational performance and results.

PATTERNED INTERVIEW

A Patterned Interview is conducted in accordance with a predetermined sequence of questions. The prime purpose of the patterned interview is to obtain facts about the applicant's technical competence as well as to uncover personality patterns, attitudes, and motivation.

The patterned interview questions are provided in a set of Patterned Interview Forms that are designed for various positions such as managerial, clerical, technical, or sales. A typical Patterned Interview Form for a small or medium-sized company is presented next. (11)

STRUCTURED INTERVIEW

A Structured Interview is based on a series of job-related questions with pre-determined answers that are consistently asked of all applicants for a particular job.

The structured interview is similar to a patterned interview in that both contain a set of predetermined questions. These questions are part of a Structured Interview Form.  However, a structured interview involves many questions that are job-related and have been developed through analysis of a particular job. Furthermore, a selected team of supervisors prepares a set of suitable answers that is subsequently used to grade an applicant's answers.

Structured interviews usually provide more reliable results during the employee selection process since they are based on clear consensus among interviewers regarding the applicant's performance during the interview. A typical Structured Interview Form for a small or medium-sized company is presented below. (12)

SERIALIZED INTERVIEW

A Serialized Interview is a method whereby an applicant is interviewed by two or more persons separately before the final decision is reached. Each interviewer may use any interview methods described above and rate the applicant on an individual basis. Subsequently, all applicants’ ratings are compared before the hiring decision is made.

A serialized interview is applicable only if you have a management team and the applicant is being interviewed for a specific position within the organization. In this case several managers must provide their professional opinion regarding the suitability of a particular candidate and subsequently they share full responsibility for making the right hiring choice.

COMMON INTERVIEWING MISTAKES

To secure the most effective employee selection results, it is essential that the interviewers understand the basic principles of conducting employment interviews and avoid Common Interviewing Mistakes. Some of the most common interviewing mistakes are outlined below.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

STEP 1: PLAN THE INTERVIEW

Every Employment Interview should be planned in advance. The candidate's application form or resume should be evaluated on a preliminary basis to identify strengths, weaknesses, and potential suitability for the job.

Such an Evaluation should be conducted in conjunction with the particular job description and job specification requirements. Upon completion of the preliminary evaluation, it is useful to write down a number of questions in order to clarify matters of concern. 

Finally, it is important to allocate a Private Office for conducting the employment interview and to ensure that interruptions are kept to a minimum.

STEP 2: ESTABLISH A FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE

It is important to ensure that the applicant feels comfortable during the employment interview. It is useful, therefore, to spend the first few minutes of the interview in a general discussion concerning particular topic of the day, e.g. traffic, weather, sports.  This approach will Reduce Tension and, hopefully, enable applicants to present themselves more effectively.

Finally, by establishing a Friendly Atmosphere, the interviewer will have the opportunity to express human qualities toward the applicant, even if the job may ultimately be offered to another candidate.

STEP 3: ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

The interviewer should select the most suitable type of employment interview and conduct it by asking relevant questions. Remember, this is not a blind date! It is advisable to Ask The Right Questions, to which the applicant will have the opportunity to provide detailed answers.

The interviewer should avoid interrogating or patronizing the applicant during the interview. Instead, questions should be asked in an open-minded and constructive manner in order to encourage applicants to express themselves freely. A list of typical questions that could be asked by the interviewer are summarized next.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

The interviewer should ask an applicant a number of leading questions during the employment interviews. Some examples of the Interview Questions are illustrated below. (13)

STEP 4: CLOSE THE INTERVIEW

Upon completing the questioning of an applicant, the interviewer should steer the interview toward its final stage. It is appropriate at this point to give to potentially suitable candidates more details about the company and to inform them that the final decision will be made shortly. It is advisable to Close The Interview in a friendly manner, whether the applicant may or may not be suitable for the position.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

STEP 5: REVIEW THE INTERVIEW

After the applicant has left, it is essential to summarize all issues discussed and notes taken during the interview. This should be done while the details are still fresh in the interviewer's mind. It is important to Review The Interview objectively and to avoid the common mistakes described earlier.

It is also important to review the interview with each applicant on its own merits without being influenced by previous interviews. Inexperienced business owners and managers often make a mistake by comparing one applicant to another. So, in case of a weak applicant, every applicant that follows may seem to be suitable. The key is to assess the overall suitability of each applicant without falling into the trap of lowering the standard because one of the applicants was very weak.

STEP 6: SELECT THE MOST SUITABLE CANDIDATE

Upon reviewing all information pertaining to each applicant and summarizing relevant details, it is essential to finalize the employee selection process as soon as possible. The Selection Decision should be made through a candid discussion with other members of the selection team and each applicant should be informed accordingly by phone call or by letter.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

STEP 7: PREPARE A LETTER OF APPOINTMENT

Upon completing the screening and interviewing of applicants, management needs to proceed with the Selection of the most suitable candidate. Once a candidate is selected, an appropriate job offer must be prepared. 

Various job offers are usually accompanied by a Letter Of Appointment, which summarizes an offer in writing and briefly outlines the scope of work and the conditions of employment. One of the items related to conditions of employment is the Compensation Package offered to the new employee. This package may include hourly wages, or monthly salary, and other benefits. 

When a compensation package includes a salary, it is advisable to specify only the monthly salary and to omit the annual salary, since the latter may be construed as a promise of at least one year's job occupancy. A typical Letter of Appointment for a small or medium-sized company is presented below.

ABC SMALL BUSINESS, INC.
1223 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 100, Santa Monica, CA 90403

January 1, 2014

Dear Mr. Smith,

RE: YOUR APPOINTMENT AS VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING, WITH OUR COMPANY

It is our pleasure to confirm your appointment as Vice President, Marketing, subject to the terms and conditions of your Employment Contract and the Company's Policies and Procedures.

We urge you to familiarize yourself with all the relevant documents attached with this Letter of Appointment and keep these documents in a safe place for future reference. Any further changes related to your Employment Contract will be communicated to you in writing.

We would like to confirm the following details of your appointment:

Annexure 1:

• • Monthly salary.
• • Over-riding commissions and bonus structure.
• • Expense account and limitations.
• • Motor vehicle type, usage and running cost budget.
• • Method of payment for travelling and entertainment expenses, and budget.
• • Vacation allowance.
• • Pension plan details and contributions.
• • Medical insurance plan details and contributions.
• • Family and educational benefits details and contributions.

Annexure 2 will include a job description for the Vice President, Marketing, outlining duties, authority and accountability of that position, and budget limitations.

We look forward to a mutually beneficial long-term working relationship with you.

Yours faithfully,

John Jackson
President
ABC Small Business, Inc.

Please indicate your acceptance of this appointment and the terms thereof by signing below and by returning this letter to us by close of business on January 15, 2014.

____________________________
Name of Applicant