How Disheartened Staffing Pros Finally Achieve Interview Experience Consistency

How Disheartened Staffing Pros Finally Achieve Interview Experience ConsistencyIts your favorite time of year. The time when you sit down at your desk and review all the feedback youve received from the candidates you bewerbungsgesprched. Hearing all the positive things they have to say about your einstellungsgesprchprocess gives you that bump in confidence you need as a staffing professional.Excited to landsee how youre doing, you open the data file on your computer. The average rating of your vorstellungsgesprch experience is only a three out of five. Having expected better, you delve into the individual responses.The first candidate rated their experience highly. They even included words like helpful, welcoming, and fair in the open responses, which are all qualities you strive for.But the next few were less impressed with their interview experience. They described it as everything from confusing to boring.And thats when the problem becomes clear your process lacks consistency. Yo ur overall average isnt terrible, but thats because the responses are all over the board.Unfortunately, this is common with staffing firms interview experiences. Being involved with it day in and day out, it becomes difficult to clearly see discrepancies that can make a big difference to candidates. Not to mention, inconsistencies can also affect the quality of talent youre providing to your clients.Lets take a look at how an interview process that doesnt run like clockwork can hurt youUnderstanding the dangers of inconsistencyBadreputationWe all have badeanstalt days, but as a staffing professional, being off your game hurts your reputation. A 2016 CareerArc survey found that nearly 60 percent of job seekers have had a bad interview experience. Of those, 72 percent have shared that negative impression with someone else.When other job seekers hear or see that candidates opinion, it can dissuade them from working with your company. Even if it was a one-time mistake, theres an inevita ble impact on your talent pool. And if you cant supply your clients with great talent, they wont be your clients for long.Bad hiresAvoiding bad hires for your client is your main professional objective. Thats why you spend so much time and energy assessing and comparing candidates so you can offer them the best options. However, the interview process is far from foolproof.In fact, a 2015 Brandon Hall Group survey found that 69 percent of companies blame a broken interview process for letting bad hires get through. And the more inconsistencies there are, the more likely the wrong candidate will bepresented to your clients.Asking different questions, for instance, wont revealthe same insights abouteach candidate. Or a less qualified candidate might appear better if youre reading their resume in the morning,when your mind is fresh. On the other hand, a great candidate might seem worse if youre reviewing their qualificationsright before lunch, when youre distracted by hunger.Longer hiri ng timesHaving a quicker recruitingprocess allows you to place more candidates and enablesyour clients organizations to get back to up to speed sooner. Plus, the soonera job offer is made, the higher the chances the candidate will still be available.However, differences at any step of the hiring process can lead to delays. For example, if half of the candidatess video interviews are reviewed by you and the other half by a team member, it can take longer to agree on who to present to the client.An inconsistent hiring process is an inefficient one. staffingtipsClick To TweetNow that you see whats at stake when your recruitingprocess has too much variation, lets look at ways to ensure every candidate has the same interview experience.How to build consistencyUse a scheduling toolHumans are imperfect beings. This is why you should automate simple tasks whenever possible. You could take the time to manually schedule each and every interview, but one missed emaille or one forgotten time zo ne change can ruin an interview experience.Instead, use a scheduling tool so you can concentrate your efforts on more complex aspects of your job. With the right tool, all you have to do is send out an invitation email with a link and candidates can easily pick which time in your schedule works for them.Here are some things to look for when choosing an interview scheduling toolIt integrates with multiple calendars. This is incredibly important if you and other members of your team use different calendars for their personal and professional schedules. A great tool will allow you to sync all of your digital calendars and present openings to candidates in a clear way.It makes communication easy. While you dont want the emails you send candidates to sound formulaic, you do want them to be consistent. You should be able to customize communications so they reflect the position, but still provide everyone with the same essential information, like what to expect in the interview.Its flexibl e. Its never ideal, but sometimes you or a candidate need to reschedule an interview. When that happens, there should be a simple way for everyone to be alerted to the change.It allows you to customize interview lengths. Some scheduling tools force you to choose between 30- and 60-minute interviews. If you know fruchtwein of your interviews take 45 minutes, this can create a problem. Make sure your schedule aligns with your process so you can stay consistent in your interview lengths.Help candidates prepareYou are an interview expert. You know what your clients are looking for and how to make candidates shine. Having to combat pressure and nerves, job seekers often struggle with how they present themselves.By providing each one of your candidateswith the right resources, you make sure they are prepared and put their best foot forward. That way, the best talentcan consistently stand out.Here issome information you should be giving all your candidates so they arent caught off guard by something unexpectedFor video interviewsAn explanation of how these differ from traditional interviewsStep-by-steps for the entire processFAQs for candidatesTips on how respond to the camera in a natural wayGeneral presentation dos and donts (e.g. what to wear)You can find more helpful resources for video interviews here.For in-person interviewsDirections to the interview location(and where to park)The contact information for who they will be meeting withInformation on the structure of the interview(e.g. panel or one-on-one)General interview tips and remindersThe more thorough information you provide candidates, the better and more congruent with their abilities their interview performance will be.Record one-way interviews in the same locationOne-way video interviews can be a great way to introduce talent to your clients. However, you want to make sure the focus is on the candidates and their responses. While one-way video interviews can be recorded anywhere, if your candidates c ome to your office to do theirs, it createsconsistency. All the talent you present to clients will have the same background. This can also helpyou minimize distractions and quickly solveany technical issues that pop up.Having you present as they record also gives you a unique opportunity to coach them through the process. This ensures theyre providing the best possible responses, and makes both you and the candidate look good in the clients eyes.Have a standard set of questionsYou might think customizing your questions for every candidate will create a more unique interview experience. However, it really just adds more variable to the decision process. Two candidates might give fantastic answers, but if theyre two different questions, its impossible to accurately compare.Its a better use of your time to ask the same questions. Still, ensure they give the candidates a chance to provide insightful responses. Here are some things to remember when crafting a standard set of interview qu estionsHave the candidates rank their aptitude with the top five most important skills for the position. This will show you how they perceive the weaknesses and strengths that will affect their performance.Always include culture-based questions. Abstract questions like If you were a color, what color would you be? give candidates the freedom to explain their personality without feeling like theres a right or wrong answer.Have good judgement about follow-up questions. Sometimes a candidate says something that merits immediate clarification. For instance, if theyre describing their former responsibilities at a job and they mention a skill you didnt know they had, its appropriate to dive deeper into that if its important for the role. However, if they casually mention your favorite TV show during their response, dont derail the interview by talking about how much you love the program, too.Use a clear criteriaAlot of people areinvolved in your clientshiring process. While you might be c onfident that each candidate can do the job, your clients hiring team might not be. If everyone is using a different guideline to assess candidates, it can become difficult for them tosee who the best hire is.Createa checklist that objectively rates each candidate so you can show our clients why you chose to present each person to them. Prioritize what traits and experiences are most important for the role. Decide what types of personalities mesh best with the company culture. When its time to make a decision, have everyone compare their score cards to see who the best hire is.Do you and your clients have a set hiring criteria for each position? staffingtipsClick To TweetHaving a consistent interview experience makes your job as a staffer easier. It allows you to better find great talent and to provide candidates with a great hiring process theyre glad to have been a part of.Want more tips on creating a more effective interview experience? Download our eBook