I need a discussion done for week 3 for my 521 Recruit, Retain, Reward and Develop and a response to 2 Classmates
Week 3 Discussion
COLLAPSE
Assessment Techniques
In Chapter 5, Bock describes his preferred interview process, which involves “combining behavioral and situational structured interviews with assessments of cognitive ability, conscientiousness, and leadership.” Give two reasons why you agree or disagree with his position on candidate assessment.
Post your initial response by Wednesday, midnight of your time zone, and reply to at least 2 of your classmates’ initial posts by Sunday, midnight of your time zone.
Respond from Daneille,
Bock’s Interview Process – Candidate Assessment
Bock describes his preferred interview process, which involves “combining behavioral and situational structured interviews with assessments of cognitive ability, conscientiousness, and leadership.”
Question
Response
Candidate assessment is critical in hiring the right candidate for the job. It is the evaluation of listed candidates for an interview to determine who meets all the required criteria to be hired in a company. Effective candidate assessment requires a structured interview process guided by principles drawn from the organization’s culture and policies. Therefore, I agree with Bock’s interview process of “combining behavioral and situational structured interviews with assessments of cognitive ability, conscientiousness, and leadership” because it is critical in hiring the desired candidate for various positions in a company.
The first reason I agree with Bock’s position on candidate assessment is because behavioral and situational structure interviews provide the needed framework to identify and hire the right candidate who can complete the jigsaw puzzle for winning teams in an organization. Behavioral and situational structure interviews enable the interviewers to accurately determine a candidate’s ability and energy in executing the required duties and responsibilities in the position the candidate is to fill in the company. According to Ursal (n.p), candidates with energy can articulate the company’s mission and steer them towards achieving the company vision. Ursal (n.p) further points out that candidates with ability and energy can motivate others to perform and are likely to have the skills and passion in their job.
The second reason I agree with Bock’s position on candidate assessment is because assessing the candidate’s cognitive ability, conscientiousness, and leadership abilities are primary in hiring a candidate who fits in every organization. The cognitive ability helps determine whether the candidate can execute all tasks from the simple to complex tasks in their positions. Poindexter (n.p) points out that cognitive ability, conscientiousness, and leadership abilities are key indicators of a candidate’s quality. Smith (n.p) also acknowledged cognitive and leadership abilities as strategic elements that form blueprints for hiring suitable candidates. According to Smith (n.p), Bock’s interview process is also helpful in determining candidates’ ability to improve in their various positions of work.
Poindexter, Jacqui Barrett. “15 Interview Questions to Ask Candidates: Glassdoor for Employers.” US | Glassdoor for Employers, 2 May 2020, www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/15-interview-questions-ensure-candidate-quality/.
Smith, Carlie. “7-Step Hiring Blueprint That Built Netflix: OpenView Labs.” OpenView, 8 Apr. 2015, openviewpartners.com/blog/netflix-hiring-blueprint/.
Ursal, DJ. “The 4E’s and 1P – Live with Jack Welch.” LinkedIn, 14 Jan. 2016, www.linkedin.com/pulse/4es-1p-live-jack-welch-dj-ursal/.
2nd Response
Motlalepula Mojela RE: Week 3 DiscussionCOLLAPSE
Hi Dr. John and Fellow Students
Bock describes his interview process which involves combining behavioral and situational structured interviews with assessments of cognitive ability, conscientiousness, and leadership.
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Give two reasons why you agree or disagree with his position on candidate assessment.
An interview process involves people who believe in themselves that they qualify to apply for a position, based on their expertise, educational background as well as experience within the specified field. As individuals, Jack Welch mentions factors such as positive energy, ability to energize others, the courage to make tough decisions, be able to get the job done, and to have passion for what one is doing. As human beings no one is a perfect being, we are all prone to mistakes but learn from such mistakes as well so that one does not repeat the cycle.
Within the education fraternity, the minimum requirement used to be a three- year Teacher’s Diploma, nowadays, it has to be a four- year Bachelor’s degree, but nothing prepares one for a job interview, as it is only then that one is faced with a real-life situation that can determine success or failure in one’s career path. As managers in HR and or driving force towards hiring it is important to determine our expectations first before coming to the interview table. Most of the teachers, including H.O.D’s and Principals, bring some vague ideas when it comes to hiring. It is worse in a situation where one gets hired because of nepotism, bribery, and certain expectations, as it has been the norm in our country. There are very few institutions where one gets an honest interviewing panel and eventually gets hired. Maybe, through luck or the grace of God.
Bock’s ideas of behavioral and situational structured interviews should be the foundation of any organization that is willing to build leaders through support, encouraging debate within the organization, and allows everyone to have a voice. A place where everyone feels welcomed and one is able to contribute towards the success of the company. Behavioral and situational structured interviews should be the doorway in which credibility, gaining trust and candor are at the forefront of any organization.
Bock states that “hiring is the most important people function that you have, and most of us aren’t as good at it as we think.” This means that as HR personnel one should be forever on a learning curve, to improve as well as to understand those who might be on one’s interview panel. This would include embracing diversity and inclusion.
What Bock is giving us, is a guideline not only for those we are interviewing but also as a personal self-reflection to those who are part of the interview panel. This will create a match for the best possible candidate as well as finding a common ground for the success of any organization.
Combining behavioral and situational structured interviews should be the yardstick for every organization, well-established companies as well as educational institutions within the HR and also be included as one of the courses to be mastered at the undergraduate level so that it prepares the candidates for the world of work.
References:
1. Ursal, DJ. “The 4E’s and 1P- Live with Jack Welch ” LinkedIn,14 Jan 2016.www.linkedin.com/pulse/4es-1p-live-jack-welch-dj-ursal
2.Poindexter, Jacqui Barrett. “15 Interview Questions to ask candidates: Glassdoor for Employers, 3 May 2019. www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/15-interview-questions-ensure-candidate-quality/.
3.JWI 521. Week 3 Lecture Notes 2020
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JWI 521
Recruit, Develop, Assess, Reward, Retain
Week Three Lecture Notes
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HOW TO ASSESS A JOB CANDIDATE
What it Means
Whether hiring from the outside or promoting from within, you should never appraise a candidate solely
based on the experience listed on their resume. It is highly unlikely that your candidate has ever been in a
job with the same goals, challenges, and resources as the open position. When jobs are unique, intangible
traits make the difference between average and outstanding performance.
So, what can you do to assess your candidates effectively? Follow a strategic approach to hiring, based
on competencies. First, understand the competencies required for the open position. Second, put together a
shortlist with the candidates most likely to have those competencies. Third, create a set of interview
questions that will probe for those specific competencies in each candidate.
Why it Matters
• Appraisal of candidates for hiring or promotion is an important, complex, and challenging task
• The typical interview process is poorly structured and fails to identify the best candidates
• Well-structured interviews, based on competencies, will greatly improve your company’s hires
“Hiring is the most important people
function that you have, and most of us
aren’t as good at it as we think.”
Laszlo Bock
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HOW TO PREPARE FOR INTERVIEWS
Unfortunately, most interviews are ineffective. The typical job interview is highly unstructured. The
interviewer asks different, unplanned questions of different candidates. There is little advance preparation to
determine what competencies the position requires, what needs to be learned about the candidates to
identify these competencies, and which questions will best elicit this information.
This situation leads to ineffective interviews, which lead to poor hiring decisions, which lead to lower
retention and poorer employee performance. This is a high cost for both failing to adequately analyze the
requirements for the position and not planning in advance to design a consistent and structured interview
process. Structured interviews have been found to be twice as effective as unstructured ones. Structured
interviews are designed based on careful analysis of the relevant competencies, as well as careful thought
about the type of questions that can be used to identify those competencies.
Research shows that two types of structured interview are particularly reliable across a wide variety of jobs.
One is the behavioral interview, which is built around questions aimed at understanding what the candidate
has done in actual situations. The other is the situational interview, which is built around questions that probe
what the candidate would do in hypothetical situations. Both behavioral and situational approaches require
significant preparation, including a detailed plan for each meeting with the candidate. What competencies
will you investigate, and what questions will measure each required competency?
When a candidate has some relevant experience, the behavioral approach is preferable. It focuses on facts
rather than on speculation, and offers an opportunity to probe more deeply into a candidate’s actions and
choices. When the candidate has no relevant experience, the situational interview is often the better
alternative. It can also be effective to use a combination of the two approaches, including some behavioral
questions and some situational questions. Whichever approach is used, it is very important that call
candidates are asked the same set of questions, so that the assessors can make effective comparisons.
Structured interviews are the result of careful planning and disciplined implementation. First, the hiring team
identifies the key competencies required for the position. Then, they create a list of questions that can help
identify whether the candidate has those competencies. Finally, the assessors are ready to ask candidates
about their experiences and behavior in relation to the competencies that are needed for a good hire.
NEVER HIRE ALONE
You may be hiring someone who will be working exclusively for you. Or you may have a clear idea of exactly
the type of person needed for a particular position, and believe you have already found just that person. Or
you may simply be in a hurry to fill the position. But, no matter how quickly you need to fill the position or
how promising a candidate looks, make sure that several people interview every candidate. And listen when
a trusted colleague tells you she has a lingering suspicion that the candidate is not what they seem.
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JWI 521 – Week 3 Lecture Notes (1192) Page 4 of 5
Carefully select the people who will help you interview candidates. Some interviewers are much better than
others. How do you identify your high-caliber assessors? First, given the complexity of the task, you want
people who are familiar with the range of experiences and competencies relevant to the position. Other
attributes common to high-caliber assessors include good listening skills, the ability to decode nonverbal
behavior, and high self-awareness. Finally, the assessor must be strongly motivated to conduct a sound
appraisal and willing to take the time to prepare properly for the task.
USING COMPETENCIES TO CREATE QUESTIONS
The chart below shows how competencies can provide the structure to design an effective interview. The
search in this example is for a marketing director for a consumer goods company. The team identified five
competencies required for the position, as well as some required technical qualifications. The chart below
shows the five competencies, along with some of the questions the assessors developed to measure each
competency.
COMPETENCY SOME QUESTIONS ASKED
Results oriented
• Have you been involved in a business or product launch? What were the specific
steps you took to support the success of the launch?
• Describe the most successful marketing communications project you have led.
How did you measure the results?
Team-centered
leadership
• Describe a time you led a team to be more effective. What did you do? How did
the team and the organization benefit from your actions?
• Describe a time you were asked to lead a particularly challenging team project.
How did you overcome the obstacles you faced?
Strategic thinker
• What are the top three strategic issues that your current company faces?
• Describe a situation in which you have been personally involved in addressing one
of these issues. What actions did you take?
Change agent
• Describe a time when you faced organizational resistance to a project you had to
implement. How did you handle it? Would you handle it any differently now?
• Given our company culture and the changes we need, what specific examples
from your experience demonstrate your ability to perform effectively in this role?
Ability to respond to
deadline pressure
• Describe a time when you made an extraordinary effort to meet a tight deadline.
What were the results?
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JWI 521 – Week 3 Lecture Notes (1192) Page 5 of 5
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THIS WEEK’S CLASS
As you read the materials and participate in class activities, stay focused on the key learning outcomes for
the week:
• Understand the difference between behavioral and situational interviews
Think about your own experience with interviews, either as a candidate or as an interviewer. Did you
encounter behavioral or situational questions? If so, what skills and competencies did they reveal in
you or the candidate you were interviewing? If not, could such questions have improved the
outcomes of those interviews? Does your HR team make sufficient use of these types of interview
questions? If not, what can be done to address this issue?
• Explore the use of competencies to design structured interviews
In your organization, do job descriptions include a clear set of competencies required for the role?
Does your HR team understand how to use competencies related to an open position to design
structured interviews? Do candidates competing for the same position in your company get asked
the same questions, so that their capabilities can be effectively compared?
• Compare different models to assess job candidates and make hiring decisions
Consider the assessment techniques and interview practices used in your own organization. Is there
a well-defined process for interviewing candidates? How are assessors chosen and trained to
perform the important task of evaluating prospective candidates? Is the process of interviewing and
assessing candidates a team effort? What would it take to develop a new, more structured model of
interviewing in your organization, and how could HR help to make that happen?