Involving Supervisors in Interviews

Sometimes candidates give answers like the ones above.  Seriously, I’ve heard some AMAZING answers to the question of where they see themselves in five years.  I’ve also seen some supervisors eat it up and insist upon hiring the individual who gave that answer.

So how do you prep your supervisors for an interview and ensure they’re going to be productive and give a valid opinion?

You need to give them some sort of direction.  If you can give them a list of questions you want answered or information you need gleaned and you trust them, you can let them interview the individual by themselves.  I personally don’t like this approach… inevitably the supervisor will ask if children will interfere with their schedule or if they have a chronic illness that will make our insurance premiums increase.  Train them on what they can and can’t say, then make sure they follow the rules.

The approach I like is to have a meeting with the supervisor prior to interviewing to go over what we would like to accomplish, the individual’s background, any specific questions we have, and then go from there.  They feel comfortable speaking up, but you’re there to really guide the interview.  This way you can debrief and discuss the candidates together, you get their opinions and viewpoint on answers you heard as well.

There are pros and cons to each situation and what works for me may not work for you.  The bottom line is that you need to ensure the supervisor is actually prepared to interview before they meet the candidate.  I’ve had a fairly good interview with a candidate, then sent them to the supervisor who was told this candidate, “kept all those bitches in line” at his last job.  It is our responsibility as HR Pros to prepare the supervisors for interviewing.

If they are just going to ask something dumb, or worse illegal, why even bother?

Because supervisors don’t like to be handed a new hire and told they have to train them and lead them.  If this individual turns out to be horrible, the blame lies squarely on HR and you get a reputation for not knowing what the business needs.  It doesn’t matter if you hired 10 amazing people before this one, the ONE new hire that didn’t work out will be on your head.  Giving supervisors some of the responsibility fosters a partnership in the new hire and makes the supervisor invested in their success.  They also see the other candidates and realize that this individual really is the most qualified and best fit out of the pool.  This isn’t to say you always have to hire the one the supervisor likes, but letting them have input in the decision fosters better hires, more collaboration, and a better experience for the new hire.  Nobody wants to be told on their first day that they were “forced” upon their supervisor who is now “stuck” training them.

Opinions on Potential New Hires

When recruiting for a position, whose opinions do you want for the hire?  Should HR really be the sole entity responsible for the staffing of your company?

NO.

We need to be there.  We need to be involved.  We may even carry the brunt of the responsibility, but it should not all be on our shoulders.  There needs to be at least one other voice involved, even in a small company.  The most obvious individual to get involved is the new hire’s supervisor.  What if this person also happens to be your entire HR department, which is how it is in my company?  All staff reports to me, the HR Manager.  Now what?  Who do I turn to?  I want another set of eyes, someone to keep this candidate talking and possibly unearth more red flags that I hadn’t caught.  Another individual may get a different vibe from a candidate that I missed.  There are three viewpoints that need to be involved in every single hire.  These roles may be filled by only two people, but typically more feedback will produce a better hire.

The viewpoints are:

• HR.  A no-brainer, but someone needs to be there to ensure nothing illegal or ridiculous is asked in the interview, or biased opinions are not given the highest priority.  A good HR Pro will already know exactly the type of person needed for the position and the qualities that will help them succeed.
• Supervisor.  The last thing a good supervisor wants is to be given an individual and told they have to accept them.  Supervisors who are involved in the hiring process will feel their opinions are valued and they can see what the other options were.  This engages the supervisor in their role, as well as gives a more hands-on perspective to the skill set you need.
• Co-workers.  Those who work most closely with this individual would also like to speak with them before an offer is made.  This isn’t always possible, and it depends on what type of culture you are trying to foster.  If you want your people to feel like a team and you trust them, they should certainly at least sit in on an interview.

I have facilitated interviews with a panel of five and I’ve conducted interviews one-on-one.  There is no right or wrong way, it all depends on what outcome you want and the resources available.

For the next few days, I will be taking each of these viewpoints and expanding on them, as well as expanding on the recruiting processes I use.  If you would like me to address a specific topic or situation, please hit me up in the comments and I will respond.