Behavioural Interviewing 101

Many progressive human resources managers favour behavioural interviewing.  It works on the premise that the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in similar situations.  Accordingly, it structures questions to determine whether the candidate has actually demonstrated the behaviours, knowledge, and skills required for a job, often beginning questions with phrases like "Tell me about a time ..." or "Describe a situation ..."

So, for example, if you're looking for a strong people motivator, you might say:  "Tell me about an occasion when you took the time to share a subordinate's achievement's with others."  Or if you're seeking problem-solving or time-management skills, you might ask respectively:  "In your last job, what problems did you identify and solve that had been overlooked previously?"; or "How do you set priorities when scheduling your time?  Give examples."

"How" questions like the last one, requiring candidates to explain in detail how they did something, can be especially revealing, because appropriate answers demonstrating experience, skills, and knowledge are nearly impossible to fake.

Mentoring + HR management + automation = great customer service

Further to my last post on mentoring, I appreciate small-business/start-up consultant Greg Meyer’s keep-it-simple take on the same subject in his recent article on improving customer service for WordOfMouth.org.  Mr. Meyer writes:  

“Find out what high-performing team members are doing and ask them to teach that idea to the rest of the team.”

His other sound ideas include:

“Finding the right people who are capable of delivering great service is much easier than training people who don’t want to deliver above-and-beyond service.”  

My additional two cents on human resources:  your own workplace observations and behavioural interview questions will show you respectively which prospective job candidates and which of your staff members are most capable of providing your clients with excellent service.  

(For more information on behavioural interview questions, please see my following post dated 10 December/12.  http://vicg8hr.blogspot.ca/2012/12/behavioural-interviewing-101_10.html)   

Mr. Meyer also advises:

“Be open to the idea of new tools. Often the team member who delivers the most WOW is someone who has discovered a way to automate their everyday tasks so that they can focus on the end goal of delighting customers.”

 You can read the full text of his article, “A guide to becoming a WOW-maker”, at:

http://wordofmouth.org/blog/a-guide-to-becoming-a-wow-maker