Managing Your Personnel Selection Process for Success

After spending 13 years on the front lines of retail "superstore" management, I learned a thing or two about people and how important they are to your organization. In fact the biggest asset and expense that an organization has, arguably, is its people. The process of finding the best talent for the position is a managerial mandate not to be underestimated or undervalued. The myriad fallout from a high turnover rate, including the cost of training and disruptions to your execution, as well as other tangible and intangibles will manifest painfully in your bottom line.

The particular challenge of the retail store manager is time; there is never enough of it. Balancing competing responsibilities and executing key deliverables is a delicate dance that all managers grapple with, regardless of the size of their organizations. Choosing to pass off the pursuit of talent in your time allocation however is a recipe for disaster. But, how do you effectively approach this time consuming process and balance your other responsibilities?

One effective hiring assessment method to utilize is the group interview. This approach is beneficial in a number of ways:

· First, it affords the manager the ability to maximize their available time to see multiple candidates simultaneously, and set specific blocks of time aside to devote to interviewing uninterrupted.

· Second, in customer service, the ability to view a candidate's interactions with other people, other than the person they are focused on impressing, yields an invaluable wealth of information that will form a clearer picture of how this person will react to others, and represent the organization on the front lines.

· Third, the group interview setting presents a wonderful training opportunity for the junior management team to learn in real-time what kind of candidate is optimal for the organization so that they can learn to spot them in the field for recruitment.

· Finally, if handled properly, even rejected candidates will come away from the experience with a positive and enthusiastic regard for your company, thus retaining them as valuable customers, and garnering referrals from them in the future.

What goes into an effective group interview? The following are suggestions based upon real experience, and can be altered to suit your organization's needs.

Setting the stage:

· Determine how many candidates are optimal, given time allocated and experience of the interviewer; however, going beyond ten candidates at any one time erodes the quality of the interview for both parties.

· Candidates who have been evaluated as possible good fits due to prior vetting, such as through applications, referrals, "one minute interviews," and direct field recruitment should be invited to interview. It is effective to refrain from notifying them about the group format, unless directly asked by the candidate, to maximize the freshest reactions in the group setting as possible.

· Ensure that the interview space is set and ready, and store personnel are aware of candidates arrival, and how and where to direct them, to ensure a professional experience for the candidate.

· Two members of the store management are optimal to conduct the interview. The lead interviewer should direct the flow of the interview and should not take notes, but rather observe and mentally note the behaviors and body language of the candidates for later discussion. The second interviewer's role is to record the candidates' specific answers to the predetermined interview questions.

· Predetermine the interview questions to use. The types of questions selected should invite open ended answers and discussion amongst the group, and speak to the organization's goals and standards and the role of the specific position being sought.

· Allocate enough time to allow for balanced contributions of the participants, as well as time for post interview candidate discussion between both interviewers.

Conducting the interview:

· The lead interviewer should personally greet and welcome each candidate within the group and invite them to introduce themselves with a small ice breaker question. Focus on building rapport with, and relative relaxation amongst, the assembled group to be able to fluidly direct the conversation, and elicit the most unstudied and genuine answers possible.

· Start the conversation by setting the tone and framing the conversation by giving the group well chosen facts about the organization, such as historical highlights, mission statement and position within the industry, as well as describing the specific position and its role within the structure of the organization overall. Set the "rules of engagement," to explain how the candidates should interact with the group and answer the questions being posed, as well as give a summary overview of the structure of the interview.

· Next, start asking your questions and let the conversation flow as uninterrupted as possible. The lead interviewer should above all listen and observe, and speak as sparingly as possible, except to keep the pace of the interview, invite those not heard from, and redirect when a member of the group begins to dominate. The secondary interviewer should be noting the specifics of the candidates' answers for later evaluation alongside the lead interviewer's observations about behavior and body language.

· Respect your candidates' time, and conclude the interview as outlined in the time allotted. At the conclusion, thank them for their interest and their time, and respond to the candidates post interview questions, also including a clear expectation of what follow-up they can expect and when.

· After the candidates have departed, both interviewers should discuss their observations, and decide which candidates are qualified to move forward in the interview process. This discussion time is especially valuable as a tool to solidify the personnel planning and selection abilities of the junior manager interviewer. This will ultimately solidify the talent bench, maximize managerial time and improve selection consistency across the team.

· To ensure a positive candidate regard for the organization, timely follow-up as promised is key!

If the group interview is used effectively, once candidates have been advanced, specific and targeted questions can then be asked of the returning candidate to dig deeper into their experience, and address any "red-flag" concerns. Ultimately this approach maximizes the time and quality of subsequent interviews and solidifies the ultimate hiring decision.

In the long view, a well thought out and executed personnel selection process, including the group interview, will net the retail store manager that elusive and most sought after of outcomes: successful results and well used time.