I have been involved in hundreds of applicant interviews for many types of jobs. The interview is a significant aspect of the recruitment process and candidates are on their best behavior because they want to ”impress”. But how can you accurately determine if the individual will actually be a strong and suitable fit for your organization?

The hiring decision can have negative or positive consequences.  A good decision can provide an employee that will uphold the standards of the organization and become a motivated and productive team member.  Conversely, a bad hiring decision can be very costly to the organization.  It is estimated, depending upon the source that replacing an employee that quits within the first year of service can cost an organization three (3) times the annual salary of that individual.  A bad hiring decision also lowers productivity levels and forces management to spend more time training and counseling.

What managers have learned is that they frequently hire based on skills and education, and terminate employees for their poor behavior.  Therefore, it is imperative that organizations focus on hiring candidates that want to embrace the organization’s culture. 

One way to accomplish this is a structured behavioral interview. It is an important part of the selection process and plays a critical role in determining the success of a candidate. Based on queries of the applicant’s past and present behavior, the interview helps predict an individual’s future job performance as well as his or her comfort level as a member of the organizational culture.  The latter is significant because individuals and organizations are most effective when their respective values, goals, and interests are aligned.  Similar attributes between individuals tend to improve communication and camaraderie which affects an employee’s morale and organizational outcomes.