Behavioural Event Interview 575

8/6/2019 Behavioural Event Interview 575

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official can better assess how competently the candidate will perform in the

position. In addition, with BEI, a more defensible selection decision is seen

because they are based on job-related criteria.

Use of BEI by organization

There are several reasons that so many companies have chosen this method of

interviewing:

They can design specific behavioural questions to determine which candidatespossess the particular competencies required.

They are interested in whether candidates have demonstrated these competencies

in past work experience and how past performance relates to the requirements of thecurrent position.

They can use reference checks to validate the specific situations, events andexamples that candidates provide in the interview.

Basic Structure of the Interview

A. Preparation Stage before conducting BEI

Interviews where BEI questions are asked can be conducted in a variety of

formats. One-to-one interviews where one person does all the interviewing and

evaluating are quick and efficient, but only offer the perspective of one person. Yetanother method is of BEI panel which is a process involving 2 or more interviewers (no

more than 3 are recommended) where each interviewer asks the candidate different BEIquestions. Using a panel process allows the benefit of multiple perspectives. All

interviewers see/hear the same thing which, when evaluating, helps to enhance the

objectivity of the process. However, because more than one person is involved, the cost isvery high in terms of time and resources. In addition, in a panel interview, fewer

questions are asked than if each interview is conducted separately.

The use of One-to-one Interview or Panel Interview:It depends upon the employer decision as to what format of interview is to be

used. However, before selecting the format, the merits and demerits are studiedthoroughly.

1. One-to-One Interview:This method is typical for most positions. One person, normally the selecting

official, conducts and evaluates the interviews.


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Advantage: This method is more efficient because one person does all theinterviewing and evaluating. Also, it is less intimidating to the candidate because most

candidates are used to one-on-one interviews.

Disadvantage: One perspective may not be enough to accurately evaluate

candidates for highly complex jobs.

2. Panel Interview:A panel interview involves two or more interviewers (no more than five) where

each asks the candidate one or more questions. In a modified panel interview, one

member asks the questions and the others observe and take notes.

1 1. All panel members participate in evaluating the candidates.2 2. The panel may include a facilitator who explains the interview process,

introduces the panel members, clarifies any questions, monitors the time allotted, and

facilitates the evaluation process.3 3. The selecting official responsible for the selection decision receives the

applications, interview notes, and evaluations.4 4. Panel interviews are typically used to interview a large number of candidates

and to fill multiple and complex positions.

1 Advantage: The panel interview enhances objectivity by providing multipleperspectives.

Disadvantage:

1 1. Can be intimidating to candidates and may adversely affect their performance

during the interview.

2. Expends more in human resources and administrative costs for items such asscheduling and coordination.

B. Qualification for the Interviewer:1 1. Be at the same or higher grade as the position being filled.

2 2. Decline participation if personal knowledge of the candidate precludes a fairand objective assessment of the candidates responses.

3 3. Respect the privacy rights of all candidates and not discuss the interview

proceedings with others, except as required for official business.

4 4. Consider and evaluate only the information discussed during the interview. Donot consider information not presented in the interview.

1 5. Give the selecting official the interview results on all candidates to ensure thateach receives full and proper consideration.

Interview panels, when used:

1 1. Should be diverse to the extent possible (e.g., gender, ethnicity, or disability).


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2 2. May include a facilitator. The facilitator:

3 a. Describes the interview process to the candidate(s).

4 b. Monitors the time allotted for each question and the entire interview.5 c. Facilitates the evaluation process by guiding the panel towards a consensus

rating.

6 d. Records the panel's consensus rating.7 e. Documents justification for the rating.

f. Is helpful, but not required. A member of the interview panel or another

individual in the organization who is trained in the BEI method may also serve as thefacilitator.

Once the interview format is selected, an interviewer first reads the lead question

for the first competency, and then proceeds to obtain an overview of the event. A lead oropening question (sets the context and the stage for subsequent probing questions)

followed by a series of probing questions elicit responses containing detailed information

on roles, situations, actions and outcomes from past job-related experiences, events, or

accomplishments. They go beyond hypothetical what would you do if.. situations byasking for real life examples. It is believed that more the recent and longstanding past

behaviour, the greater the predictive power. Hence, the questions asked should be basedon the job description, the performance indicators, the skills/personal qualities required

and the interviewer's knowledge of operating in the role because the interviewer is

interested in

(a) The thought process used and

(b) The values of the candidate and the outcome of the situation.

Thus, the major step in the BEI interview is to elicit behavioral events. Theinterviewee is asked to describe, in detail, the five or six most important situations he or

she has experienced in a specific job. The situations should include two or three high

points, or major successes, and two or three low points, or key failures. The candidate isasked to answer five key questions.

"What was the situation? What events led up to it?"

"Who was involved?"

"What did you (the interviewee) think, feel, or want to do in the situation?"

"What did you actually do or say?" Here you are interested in the skills that the

person showed.

"What was the outcome? What happened?"

The interviewer looks into the following aspects:

particularly interested in the person's perceptions and feelings about the situationand people involved in it.

How was the person thinking about others (e.g., positively or negatively) or aboutthe situation (e.g., problem-solving thoughts)?

What was the person feeling (e.g., scared, confident, excited)?


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2. Dont inadvertently screen candidates out because they dont fit your non-job

related pre-conceived notions about your ideal candidate (e.g. Caucasian,

attractive, mid thirties, plays golf, no foreign accents)3. Make sure that you dont inadvertently telegraph the right answers to the

candidates (e.g. We are a very fast-paced company. How well do you deal with

pressure?) This is a very common interviewing error.4. Dont get so caught up in the thrill of high growth that you fail to do some long

term manpower planning. Decisions made in haste because filling a particular

position is left until the need is urgent can be costly.5. Dont leave the bulk of the hiring up to inexperienced managers and then fail to

give them adequate training or tools.

D. Steps involved in BEI:

1. Development of BEI:

Step #1. Identify what you are looking for by completing a job analysis and/or

reviewing a recently updated position description.

Step #2. Write behavioral questions to gather information.

Step #3. Identify what constitutes successful demonstration of the competency.

Step #4. Create a user-friendly rating guide.

Step #5. Prepare the interview panel members before interviewing candidates.

Step #6. When the interview process is concluded, review all of the information

gathered in a fair and objective way.

2. Obtaining the events overview:The event overview is the road map that the interviewers need to structure how

the candidate (the interviewee) will provide the information. The best way to obtain

events overview is to use the STARtechnique:

Situation - describe a situation or problem that have been encountered.

Task- describe the task that the situation required or ideas for resolving the problem.Care should be taken by the candidate to describe the situation or task in detail so that the

interviewer can analyze the skills properly. The candidate can refer to an event from

his/her previous job, from a volunteer experience, or any other relevant event.

Action - describe the action taken, obstacles overcome. Here the candidate should talk of


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what was done by him/her and not what the team has done or what was supposed to be

done.

Results - highlight outcomes achieved that is,what happened? How did the event end?

What was accomplished? What was the learning?

The candidate needs to answer all 4 elements, to get full marks for the question. Action is

the most important because it describes what he/she did, what steps he/she took etc.

2. Probing for Details:Once the overview is obtained, the interviewers can go back and probe specific

milestones or steps undertaken by the candidate to explore behaviours in more detail.

3. Time and Recording:BEIs are very focused, clinical-type, tape-recorded interviews which can take

from 2-2 hours to complete. They require working with a candidate to develop a series

of "behavioral events." After each interview, the tape is analyzed for evidence ofcompetencies. The total process of tape recording the interview, creating transcripts and

analyzing them for competencies can take up to six hours per interview.

Merits of BEI

The benefits of undertaking a behavioural style interview include:

Removing the impact of misunderstandings about past experiences as thecandidate can describe in detail the situation and their performance.

Reducing the impact of personal impressions and therefore allowing the candidate

to highlight good performance regardless of their projected image. Reducing the chance of the candidate faking the interview as they are required to

provide real-life examples of what they have done, not what they would do.

Allowing the panel to hear information about the candidates performance and not

just theory from a textbook. The interviews provide an in-depth perspective of the jobs challenges and the

competencies needed to master them.

When average and low performers are interviewed as well as high performers,BEIs clearly discriminate between the competencies required for top performance and

the baseline competencies needed for acceptable performance.

BEIs are an excellent method for identifying the interpersonal and management

competencies that are often difficult to define. The very specific descriptions of effective and ineffective behaviors produced in

BEIs can be used to develop behavioral examples for competency models or case

studies, role plays, or other simulations for training.

Demerits of BEI BEIs are time and labor intensive. Up to a full day can be required to conduct an


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interview and then analyze the data.

A highly trained and skilled interviewer is essential to obtain accurate

information. The interviewer must have strong analytical ability and experience incompetency identification to accurately infer the competencies.

BEIs are not practical for analyzing a series of jobs because of the time, expense,

and expertise required for administration and data analysis. BEIs focus solely on current and past behaviors, which may be different from

those needed in the future.

Because BEIs focus on critical incidents, the competencies needed for the moreroutine aspects of work may be missed.

The data collected may not be widely accepted by stakeholders because it is

provided by a small number of interviewees.