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Behavioral Interviewing

Behavioral Interviewing is a tool that I help my clients use to ensure they hire the absolute best candidates for their open positions. The premise is simple: Past performance is the most accurate indicator for how someone will behave in the future. This is true of many facets of our lives, including in the workplace. Behavioral Interviewing uses highly specific questions about a candidate’s actual experience — how they have applied their skills in the past, how they have solved problems, how they have approached challenges — to assess the way they will perform in the future. 

Often, interviewers want to get at the big picture, so they ask wide-ranging hypothetical questions (“Tell me how you approach conflict,” or “How do you stay organized?). But this approach delivers ideas, not actual behaviors. Behavioral Interviewing posits questions about actual situations, tasks, actions, and results that deliver much more specific and useful details about the candidate. 

The Right Tool for the Times

Let’s face it: We are living in an unprecedented employment landscape. With record unemployment rates, the lingering impacts of the COVID pandemic, and The Great Resignation, companies have to work harder than ever to recruit and retain the right people. 

In this environment, the employers I work with often don’t have the luxury of a large pool of applicants. Open positions remain unfilled for longer periods of time, stretching and stressing the existing workforce. There’s a lot of pressure to hire a great fit. 

A recent article in Forbes magazine put it well: “With an exceedingly tight labor market, especially when it comes to hard-to-find skills, it might be tempting for some employers to overlook behavioral red flags in their hiring process. But every decision should be viewed through the lens of the potential cultural damage that could result.” 

That makes this tool even more important. It gives hiring managers another important data point on who is in front of you at the interview table.

Putting It All Together

For my clients, Behavioral Interviewing has been a game changer. Recently, I worked with a client that was hiring for two open positions. They had three qualified candidates who made it to the interview phase. We reviewed the Behavioral Interviewing assessment for all three of the individuals, which allowed us to evaluate how each of them might adapt, flex, and grow. The tool showed us how they might take action, where they might need support or coaching, and how they would likely perform under pressure. As a result of the evaluation, my client decided to hire all three. They realized the candidates’ behavioral styles and cultural fit were exactly what the company needed to expand. 

I work collaboratively with my clients, ensuring that they understand how to use the Behavioral Interviewing assessment – and indeed all of the tools and techniques I utilize – thoroughly and responsibly.

When utilized together with the suite of solutions I empower my clients with, we can together improve every point along the employee lifespan, from hiring to engagement to leadership development. Contact me today if you want to learn more about how Behavioral Interviewing could revolutionize the way you hire and onboard new team members. It’s the closest thing you’ll have to a crystal ball.