EMPLOYEES AND JOB INTERVIEWS
This research report discusses the importance of good employees and customer service, as well
as the importance of and various aspects of a job interview. It is essential that interviewers
understand and properly carry out an interview in order to successfully hire suitable job
candidates.
Hiring poor employees is a reflection of poor interviewing skills on the part of hiring managers,
and poor employees lead to high turnover and inadequate customer service. Job interviews are
an important step in the employee selection process.
Background and Problem
Target is facing challenges of high employee turnover and poor customer service. These two
factors are negatively impacting the organization. Hiring good employees that will remain loyal
to the company will lessen or eliminate these problems. Understanding the interview process
and properly training interviewers will lead to the good hiring choices necessary to build a more
successful business.
Scope of the Report
This report discusses the importance of good employees, especially relating to turn-over and
customer service. Further, this report provides an overview of the interviewer, the interview
purpose, interviewer responsibilities, the structure of interviews, interview questions, and
interviews as both an art and a science. This report does not detail the specific steps to be taken
to facilitate an interview, it does not overview the entire human resources process of selecting
and screening applicants prior to the interview, nor does this report discuss how to create a work
situation conducive to retaining good employees.
Limitations of the Report
The researchers experienced difficulty finding information beyond basic interviewing knowhow. Other behavioral research in regards to interviews that the researchers found was too
detailed in subtleties to be included in this report.
Sources and Methods of Data Collection
This report includes information gained from both primary and secondary sources. To broaden
the information available for research, the researchers conducted interviews with Human
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Resources specialists. The researchers also gained information from academic journals and
internet resources.
Organization of Report
This report is organized into seven main sections. The sections cover information pertaining to
employee issues, the interviewer, the purpose of an interview, interviewer responsibilities, the
structure of an interview, interview questions, and the interview as both an art and a science.
EMPLOYEE ISSUES
Customer Service
“Customer service is the set of behaviors, actions, and processes that a business undertakes
during its interaction with its customers” (Buttles, McGraw, & Blash, 2010, p. 8). Customer
service is an important element of building a successful business; good customer service leads to
happy, loyal customers. According to the findings of Jixia (2008), “The interactional dynamics
between service providers and customers are critical for determining the success of organizations
that rely on customer satisfaction and loyalty” (p. 31). Good customer service encompasses
actions and attitudes of the employees, “examples of which may range from greeting customers
in a friendly and warm way to going out of the way to assist customers” (Jixia, 2008, p. 31).
Overall, good customer service builds a relationship with customers and contributes to the
success of a business.
Poor customer service, however, negatively impacts a business. While there can be many causes
of poor customer service, common causes include employees who are unhelpful or impolite,
have a poor attitude and are unapproachable, or are ignorant and unskilled in their work. One of
the resulting problems of poor customer service is negative word-of-mouth. Personal opinions
and advertising is a powerful factor affecting the public’s opinion of a company, and even a few
instances of poor customer service can set this negativity in motion. Poor customer service can
thus lead to reduced profits (Poor Customer Service, 2009).
“A company’s image and reputation can be won or lost on the impression conveyed to the
customer at first point-of-contact,” and the employee that makes this first point-of-contact should
be knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful (Poor Customer Service, 2009). Good employees
provide good customer service, and hiring managers should use the interview process to screen
interviewees to find friendly, professional, knowledgeable job candidates who are willing to
learn their job and provide excellent customer service.
Employee Attitude
Employees with negative attitudes and poor customer service performance not only negatively
affect the service the business offers, but the employees’ attitudes can become contagious and
influence other employees (Jixia, 2008, p. 32). The other employees can feel more negatively
toward their jobs, and a negative work atmosphere will result, tainting customer service and job
satisfaction. Jixia’s study found that “co-workers’ counterproductive behavior may have
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negative consequences in the service environment” (2008, p. 41). Employees who are negative
about their work not only serve poorly themselves, but also contribute to less productivity and
positivity in other employees, which feeds into a downward cycle of poor employees and
unacceptable customer service.
High Employee Turn-over
Turn-over occurs when employees quit their jobs for any of various reasons. While pay is often
thought to be one of the causes of high turn-over, other common reasons include an undesirable
work atmosphere, poor management, or unsuitability to the job. “High turnover can be a serious
obstacle to productivity, quality, and profitability at firms of all sizes” (Johnson, 2011). Turnover is an expensive issue which organizations must manage, and “major companies often spend
millions of dollars a year on turnover-related costs;” for example, the U.S. Department of Labor
estimates that the cost of turnover amounts to approximately thirty-three percent of the new
recruit's salary to replace the employee who left (Johnson, 2011). High turn-over also can
contribute to a lower level of satisfaction in customer service as new employees settle into the
organization.
Due to the expense, in finances, productivity, and customer service, it is important to carefully
choose job candidates who will fit into the company well and who will be likely to remain with
the organization for a good length of time. Often, “employers who are poor interviewers may
not discover that new employees are actually poor employees until after the workers have been
on the payroll for several weeks” (Johnson, 2011). The high cost of turnover makes it an
imperative that hiring managers are trained to recognize a good job candidate in the interviewing
process.
A Good Employee
According to Mary Keen Krikorian, Career Planning Associate at the State University of New
York College (n.d.), there are several qualities that a good employee should exhibit. A good
employee shows the characteristics of dependability, flexibility, willingness to take initiative,
motivation, and a positive attitude. Good employees should be sought out to avoid high
turnover, and a good interviewer will ask quality questions that help him determine the true
character of the job candidate.
During an interview, interviewers should look for characteristics in a job candidate that are
indicative of him becoming a good employee in the organization. A few characteristics that can
become evident through effective interview questioning are the ability to take on responsibility,
willingness to take initiative and be self-motivated, and the skill of listening well. If an
interviewee does not listen effectively in an interview, for example, the skill is not likely to
improve once hired (Ritter, 2004).
A Poor Employee
Poor employee performance can be prevented by not allowing unsuitable candidates past the
interview. Before an employee is hired, an interviewer should look over the job history of the
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candidate. Signs of a poor employee include a lengthy list of previous employers, less than a
year at each place of employment, and numerous or lengthy gaps in employment. A good
interviewer should notice these warning signs before or during the interview (Green, 2007).
Once an employee has been hired, early warning signs of a problem will include frequent
“illnesses,” poor attendance or tardiness, a poor attitude, lack of motivation to learn and achieve,
and lack of communication with coworkers and managers. Some job candidates will seem like
an ideal candidate, but, once hired, enjoy wreaking havoc and creating stress among other
employees. A good interviewer should ask questions that work to understand an interviewee’s
motivations, personality, and personal character (Green, 2007).
THE INTERVIEWER
The proper person must be chosen to facilitate the interview. According to Smith (2011), “Most
interviewers are not properly trained.” All too often, the hiring of low-quality employees is the
result of the interviewer not being the proper person to conduct the interview, or the interviewer
not properly understanding the purpose or functions of an interview. According to Dustin Hoot,
Associate Generalist of the Human Resources Department of Wisconsin Lutheran College, in a
personal interview on October 31, 2011, the best interviewing perspective is gained by having
both the Human Resources department and the hiring manager separately interview the job
candidate.
Human Resources
According to Hoot, one of the responsibilities of the Human Resources department is to screen
all résumés that are received by the organization in response to a job opening. Once the list of
potential candidates has been reduced to a reasonable number to consider for the position, the
Human Resources person should consult with the hiring manager. After this, while still looking
at only the résumés, Human Resources will contact the top five candidates for interviews. At
this point, both the Human Resources department and the hiring manager should interview the
candidates. Ideally, each candidate should have a one-on-one interview with both the Human
Resources person and the hiring manager (Hoot).
After the interviewee has interviewed with the Human Resources department, the Human
Resources interviewer should speak with the hiring manager. He should guide the manager
through the interview process, informing him of what questions he has already asked. The
Human Resources interviewer can also suggest questions and give questioning options to assist
the hiring manager (Hoot).
Hiring Manager
The hiring manager is the manager to whom the new employee will be reporting. Hiring
managers are an essential component of the hiring process because they are the people who are
most familiar with what qualifications are required to fill the position. Human Resources can
screen out those job candidates who are unsuitable to the position, but the hiring manager is the
interviewer who can determine if the candidate is truly a good fit for the organization and able to
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fulfill the specific duties of the job. Incorporating the hiring manager into the process and
properly training the hiring manager to interview well is essential to hiring good job candidates
(Heathfield, 2011).
PURPOSE OF AN INTERVIEW
An essential part of conducting a job interview is to understand what the purpose of the interview
actually is. According to Dustin Hoot, there are a few key objectives that an interview should
fulfill. When interviewing, an interviewer should use his questions and observations to
understand the candidate’s skills and ability, his “soul,” how he might fit into the organization,
and what the candidate expects regarding “housekeeping” items. Ultimately, the interview,
when used properly, is the tool by which the interviewer determines whether the candidate is a
suitable match for the job and organization.
Skills and Experience
Although the résumé is a tool to initially match a job candidate to the job, the interviewer should
use the interview to gain further knowledge about the interviewee’s skills and experience. The
interviewer can use the résumé to develop questions that further probe into the candidate’s job
history and amount of relevant experience and expertise. According to Hoot, a good opening
question is to ask the interviewee to provide a verbal job history. This gives the interviewee the
opportunity to highlight what is important to him and allows the interviewer to use probing
questions to better understand what the candidate can bring to the position.
The “Soul”
When interviewing, another of the primary objectives is to understand the “soul” of the
interviewee. The “soul” is the psychological part of the interviewee; it is who he or she is. In
order to attain this understanding, the interviewer must listen, engage, and take notes on what the
job candidate is saying. Creating a conversational atmosphere and listening carefully to what the
interviewee brings up in the conversation will help the interviewer grasp an idea of what is
important to the interviewee. A good interview conversation will help the interviewer gain a
comprehensive understanding of the candidate’s “soul” (Hoot).
Another way to understand this concept is to consider the candidate’s character. Important
aspects of the interviewee to understand include the candidate’s level of self-awareness, what his
self-perception is, whether the candidate is flexible, willing to learn, and how he will adapt once
in the job position. A good job candidate, for example, is willing and able to “give and take” as
he adjusts to his new position and organization. The interview should bring out the tendencies of
the candidate, and the interviewer must judge whether the candidate has the characteristics for
which the organization is looking (Hoot).
“Fit”
The third important objective of the interview process is to understand how the person fits into
the organization. Passion for the mission of the organization is an important aspect of “fit.”
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Using open-ended questions allows the individual to lead the conversation; when the interviewee
leads the conversation to his passion for the mission, this is an indication of good fit. Even if a
candidate has all the other qualifications for the job, without passion, he might not work hard and
stay long with the organization (Hoot).
Another aspect of fit is whether the job candidate is likely to be loyal to the organization.
Questions such as “Where do you see yourself in five years, ten years?” help the interviewer gain
valuable insight into personal and career goals. If the candidate hopes to be with the same
company for a lengthy time, he is more likely to fit well. The interviewer should use probing
questions to determine if the interviewee’s long-term goals match those of the organization
(Hoot).
Fit is extremely important, because if a candidate fits into both the mission and timeframe of the
job, he is likely to stay with the organization for some length of time. Making good hiring
decisions avoids high employee turnover rates, which is important because turnover can be
extremely expensive (Hoot).
“Housekeeping”
The fourth important objective of the interview is to discuss “housekeeping items.” These issues
concern the practicalities of the candidate taking the job, and housekeeping items can be a dealbreaker. If the interviewer thinks the candidate has potential, he needs to determine if the
candidate’s expectations coincide with what the organization is willing and able to offer. A few
of the items that may be discussed here, with a serious job contender, are salary and benefits, and
hours and schedule. The candidate might seem to be perfect, but if he cannot work with what the
organization can offer, then the interviewer needs to move on to the next interview. Perhaps this
“perfect” candidate will be a fit sometime in the future (Hoot).
INTERVIEWER RESPONSIBILITIES
The interviewee prepares for the job interview, and the interviewer should, too. Preparing
properly not only helps the interviewer get more out of the interview, but it also helps smooth the
process and shows respect to the job candidate. Furthermore, high-quality job candidates may be
in demand and have other opportunities open to them; thus, it behooves the interviewer to be
ready to “sell” the position and organization to the candidate (Interviewing, 2010).
Review the Résumé
The first responsibility of the interviewer is to prepare properly for an interview by reviewing the
job candidate’s résumé. Reviewing the résumé should be done with two objectives. The first is
to “match” the candidate to the job. The second is to develop questions based on the résumé for
the interviewee. These questions can ask for further clarification, but reviewing the résumé also
prevents wasted time by not asking questions that simply repeats information already provided
on the résumé (Hoot).
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Know Job Qualifications
Another responsibility of the interviewer is to understand the qualifications needed for the job for
which he is interviewing candidates. The interviewer needs to assess whether the job candidate
is a good match for the job. Understanding the job qualifications also helps the interviewer
develop pointed questions to ask the job candidate (Hoot).
Review the Interview
In order to properly review the interview and compare candidates, the interviewer must
remember what was said by the candidate and the impressions he formed of the interviewee.
The first responsibility during the interview, then, is to listen well. The interviewer should ask
probing questions and redirect the conversation as necessary. Further, the interviewer should
take good notes. The notes should contain both the pertinent information offered by the
interviewee, as well as the impression and thoughts of the interviewer during the interview. After
interviewing all the candidates, the interviewer is responsible for objectively comparing notes
from the interviews before arriving at a hiring decision (How to Conduct, 2011).
STRUCTURE OF AN INTERVIEW
Interviewers must choose a type of structure for the interview, and how an interviewer structures
the interview will affect how he assesses the job candidates. Interviews can be conducted with
high or low structure, and interviewers also need to plan the interview agenda.
General Agenda
The first few minutes of the interview can begin with several casual “ice-breaker” questions,
such as asking how easily the interviewee found his way to the interview site. While these
questions are friendly, they also can be used by the interviewer to develop an initial impression
of the job candidate’s resourcefulness and preparedness (Healey, 2008, p. 1; Hoot).
After the initial introductions and a brief explanation of the interview process, the interviewer
can proceed into the prepared questioning part of the interview. The interviewer can finish by
asking the interviewee if he has any questions. If the interviewee asks well-thought-out
questions, this can be an indication that he is interested in and has researched the organization
(Hoot).
High Structure Interview
“Structured interviews employ rules for eliciting, observing, and evaluating responses” (U.S.
Office, n.d.). Highly structured interviews restrain the interviewer to the use of the same
questions and evaluation for each interviewee. In these interviews, even the probing questions
are scripted. Highly structured interviews ensure that the same information is covered with each
interviewee but disallows the freedom to pursue interesting answers or probe for further
information (U.S. Office, n.d.).
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Overall, highly-structured interviews reduce the “variability across applicants,” which allows the
interviewer to more fairly compare interviewees. A high level of structure limits the interviewer
to a scripted list of questions, and, while this removes flexibility, it also “can lead to better
selection decision by reducing interviewers’ biases in judgment” (Chen, Tsai, & Hu, 2008, p.
1056).
Low Structure Interview
On the other end of the spectrum from high structure interviews are low structure interviews.
Low structure interviews do not follow a scripted list of questions, although the interviewer will
often have at least some type of information or prepared questions to reference during the
interview. In low structure interviews, interviewers can ask probing questions and follow-up on
any interesting information. Low structure interviews can help the interviewer gain a more
comprehensive idea of each job candidate as a unique individual (U.S. Office, n.d.).
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
According to Steve Schroeder, Director of Human Resources, in an interview on November 18,
2011, the two main interview methods that work best are “fit” questions and behavioral or results
questions. These two methods can be combined and used to optimal understanding of the
interviewee. Another type of interviewing that Smith considers important is situational-based
interview questions (2011).
“Fit” Questions
The “fit” interviewing theory concludes that the best job candidates are those who are engaged
and passionate. The candidate should display an enthusiasm for both the work and mission of the
organization. An employee who is committed and passionate will, in this theory, perform better
and remain loyal to the organization. Because a candidate’s enthusiasm will match them well to
the job, mission, and team, this theory is broadly referred to as “fit” (Schroeder). A good
question to ask regarding fit is “What interests you about this position?” The answer will inform
the interviewer of the job candidate’s motivation for the job and his passion for the work and
organization’s mission (Swinton, 2004).
With questions that are asked to determine a candidate’s “fit,” it is important to “listen for the
candidate’s perspective, what is important to the candidate, what motivates them, what they are
passionate about” (Schroeder). Questions should also give the interviewee an opportunity to
explain areas of applicable life or work experience. Furthermore, this type of questioning should
help the interview understand what the job candidate is looking for in this role and in their career
or life goals.
Behavioral Questions
Behavioral questions help the interviewer evaluate the interviewee’s past initiative, judgment,
and behavior. These types of questions ask the candidate to describe or explain an example of a
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time when he demonstrated a certain skill or trait (Smith, 2011). This is an excellent opportunity
for the interviewer to develop questions that probe into the results or achievements of a
candidate’s past job performance (Schroeder).
Situational Questions
Situational based questions allow the interviewer to judge the candidate’s knowledge, ability,
and judgment. This interviewing style offers hypothetical situations and asks the interviewee to
respond with a possible course of action. The hypothetical questions test the interviewee’s
reactions to a situation that may occur in the job position, and the interviewer can use his answer
to better understand whether the interviewee will respond well in the actual job (Smith, 2011).
AN ART AND A SCIENCE
According to Schroeder, “Hiring is an art.” A successful interviewer listens to not only what the
job candidate says, but also what is revealed from behind the “mask” that every interviewee
wears (Smith, 2011). The interviewer should balance the art of instincts and judgments with the
science of fairly comparing job candidates.
First Impressions
An interviewer can base his initial opinion on immediately-evident characteristics of the
interviewee; first impressions do matter in an interview. These initial judgments may take into
account such characteristics as the candidate’s appearance, demeanor, articulateness, and
confidence level (Healey, 2008, p. 3). Although these first impressions are an undeniable and
important aspect of forming an opinion, the interviewer should avoid being close-minded after
creating his first impression. The interviewee may be an excellent candidate despite making a
poor first impression, and the interviewer would err to ignore the quality of the candidate due to
an inaccurate first impression (Interviewing, 2010).
Probing Questions
Listening to an interviewee’s answers requires more than just note-taking. The interviewer
should also develop probing questions to follow-up on what the interviewee says; probing
questions are questions that encourage the interviewee to further explain or clarify what he has
already said. Using probing questions to learn about the unique skills and characteristics the job
candidate offers is, as Schroeder says, “why people do interviews.” Using listening skills and
asking probing questions enables the interviewer to learn more about the candidate and discern
whether he would be a good fit for the job and organization. Effectively using probing questions
contributes to the “art” of the interview process.
Standard for Comparison
Although each interviewee is different, and his résumé or answers to previous questions may
warrant unique follow-up questions, it is important to have at least a basic outline of questions
that each interviewee is asked. Asking the same questions of each job candidate allows the
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interviewer to fairly compare interviewees against a standard and each other. In some cases,
interviewers may even use a rating system, such as a ranking from 1-10, for the candidate after
each interview (Davies, 2010). A highly structured interview and a rating system can help the
interviewer compare the interviewees; this “science” approach should be balanced with the “art”
approach of judging the job candidates.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This report shows customer service and low employee turnover to be important goals successful
companies strive to reach. An organization who would like to have good employees must first
find good employees. The importance, thus, of the interviewer in this process cannot be
underestimated.
Any company looking to hire good employees must first have effective interviewers. Hiring
managers should be properly trained to understand the purpose of the interview, their
responsibilities, the structure and questions of an interview, and how to use the combination of
art and science to distinguish good job candidates from the many interviewees and applicants.
Based on this report, the researchers recommend that organizations should properly train all
hiring managers to interview properly. Aside from teaching the purposes and strategies of
interviewing, hiring managers may use role playing and “shadowing” of experienced
interviewers to learn and understand the interview process and how to better understand the
interviewee.
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