Direct from the 2012 International Alert Users Association Conference, Tom Ross, Chairman/CEO of Alert Management Systems, shares with members of the IAUA a presentation on behavioral interviewing techniques that will increase long-term hires. This is an essential presentation for members of the IAUA, users of Alert Easy Pro Management Software, and executives seeking to improve the quality of their workforce.

1. Behavioral Interviewing to
Increase Long Term Hires
International Alert Users
Association Conference
November 8-10, 2012
Tom Ross, Chairman/CEO

2. 2012 Copyright Alert Management Systems
All rights reserved. Printed in United States of America.
No part of this document may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission from Alert Management Systems

3. My goal today
Share with you a great technique that
will dramatically improve your
success rate in hiring new people.

4. Agenda
• Good people
• Time-tested hiring process
• Problems with traditional
interviewing process
• Unique approach
• 7 easy steps
• Live re-enactment

5. Hiring good people is
critical to all
organizations.

6. Winners
• Will work hard
• Help keep current
customers
• Help win new
customers
• Preserve our assets
• Help find better ways
of doing things
• Net: Increase our
profits

7. Losers
• Drag the whole team
down
• Hurt customer
relationships
• Create hard feelings
in work place
• Require lots of
management’s time
– Remedial efforts
– Terminating
• Net: Depress our
profits

8. Getting it right the first time
is worth the time and effort
to do it right.

9. Traditional hiring
process
• Write job/company descriptions
• Gather résumés
• Phone interviews
• In-person interviews
• Probe claimed experiences/skills
• Reference checks
• Hiring decision

10. Conclusion: Great
candidate

11. Then what happens,
all too often?

12. Crash landing!

13. Why?
(Generally unskilled without prior experience!)

14. Behavioral
problems!
• Work ethic
• Careless
• Can’t earn trust and confidence of
customers
• Teamwork issues
• Slow learner
• Can’t work independently
• Integrity
• Etc., etc.

15. Advertising example:
Keebler Cookies &
Crackers
• Cookies Account Executive
– Just promoted into job
• New Products Account Executive
– Doing a great job
• Crackers Account Executive
– Senior executive
– Promoted into another position; needed to
find his replacement

16. Example:
Cracker AE Finalists

17. My new hire

18. Why?
I had not determined his
behavioral characteristics.

19. Direct questions
don’t work
• Are you a hard worker?
• Are you a careful worker?
• Are you customer oriented?
• Are you a good team player?
• Are you a quick learner?
• Can you work on your own?
• Are you honest?
• Etc.

20. Why?
• The questions reveal the answers
desired.
• The candidate will give us the
answers we seek.

21. Need to understand
behavior before we hire,
but how?

22. The answer: behavioral
interviewing
Robal Johnson

23. Robal’s advice
• Be clear about your desired behaviors
before starting the search
• Put less emphasis on experience and
skills specific to your business
• Put more emphasis on behavior
• Put more emphasis on basic
intelligence/talents/attitudes

24. Example: counter
person, skills &
experience desired
• Familiarity with rental business
• Equipment knowledge
• Computer literate
• Local knowledge
• Able to lift 65 (?) lbs.

25. Example: counter
person, needed
behavior
• Build customer relationships
• Build peer relationships
• Inspire manager’s confidence
• Get the work done quickly & efficiently
• Suggest better ways of doing things

26. If these are the behaviors we
want, what are the
characteristics we should be
looking for?

27. Desired Behavioral
Characteristics
• Strong work ethic
• Ability to earn trust and confidence of
customers
• Strong team player
• Able to work independently
• Knows when to ask for help
• Quick learner, responsive to supervision
• Strong Initiative
• Safety conscious
• Protective of company assets
• Integrity

28. Stage of Hiring
Process
• Write job/company descriptions
• Gather résumés
• Phone interviews
• In-person interviews
• Probe claimed experiences/skills
• Reference checks
• Hiring decision

29. Robal Johnson’s Approach:
Behavioral Interviewing
Get the candidate to reveal normal
behavior during the interview

30. How?
Seven simple and easy steps !

31. Seven Simple and Easy Steps
Great indirect questions Make the candidate
completely comfortable
Look for 7
1
behavioral clues in
interviewing
6
process
2 Set resume side
5
3
Thereafter, ask only
quick, short, indirect 4 Critical starting
probes question
After a minute or two
interrupt

32. Step One
Great indirect questions Make the candidate
Look for
completely comfortable
7
1
behavioral clues in
interviewing
6
process
2 Set resume side
5
3
Thereafter, ask only
quick, short, indirect 4 Critical starting
probes question
After a minute or two
interrupt

33. What’s wrong with
this picture?

34. Step Two
Great indirect questions Make the candidate
completely comfortable
Look for 7
1
behavioral clues in
interviewing
6
process
2 Set resume side
5
3
Thereafter, ask only
quick, short, indirect 4 Critical starting
probes question
After a minute or two
interrupt

35. Explain why you set
the resume aside
• “You appear to be
fully qualified for
this job.”
• “I just want to get
to know you
better.”

36. Step Three
Great indirect questions
Make the candidate
completely comfortable
Look for 7
1
behavioral clues in
interviewing
6
process
2 Set resume side
“Please tell me
a little about
yourself.”
5
3
Thereafter, ask only
quick, short, indirect 4 Critical starting
probes question
After a minute or two
interrupt

37. Step Four
Great indirect questions
Make the candidate
completely comfortable
Look for 7
1
behavioral clues in
interviewing
6
process
2 Set resume side
5
3
Thereafter, ask only
quick, short, indirect 4 Critical starting
probes question
After a minute or
two interrupt

38. What does this
accomplish
• Serves to further relax candidate
– As candidates relax they will start to
exhibit their normal behavior
• Get candidates to tell their life
story, starting early in life

39. Step Five
Great indirect questions
Make the candidate
completely comfortable
Look for 7
1
behavioral clues in
interviewing
6
process
2 Set resume side
5
3
Thereafter, ask only
quick, short, 4 Critical starting
indirect probes question
After a minute or two
interrupt

40. Question samples
• Interesting, then what?
• Why?
• How did you decide that?
• How did you cope with that?
• What did that feel like?
• Etc.

41. Step Six
Great indirect Questions
Make the candidate
completely comfortable
Look for 7
1
behavioral clues
in interviewing
6
process
2 Set resume side
5
3
Thereafter, ask only
quick, short, indirect 4 Critical starting
probes question
After a minute or two
interrupt

42. Behavioral Clues
• Speech patterns - Direct?
Detailed? Energetic? Other?
• Self image
• What a person likes to talk about
• Specific contributions
• How treats others

43. Step Seven
Great indirect questions
Make the candidate
completely comfortable
Look for 7
1
behavioral clues in
interviewing
6
process
2 Set resume side
5
3
Thereafter, ask only
quick, short, indirect 4 Critical starting
probes question
After a minute or two
interrupt

44. Sample Questions
• Last job. Likes, dislikes
• Contributions
• Attractions of this job
• Admired people
• Proudest achievements
• Career goal. How to
achieve.

45. More Samples
• “Ruling passion”
• Reading habits
• Life goals
• Work area
• How decisions reached
• Reactions to setbacks/criticism
• Dealings with unreasonable clients

46. End Result
a
Great indirect questions Make the candidate
is t completely comfortable
at
Look for 7
h m fi n
1
behavioral clues in
interviewing
t r
ire -te atio
6
process
t H ng niz
2 Set resume side
rea Lo rga
G at
e ur O
r o
G y
5
or
3
Thereafter, ask only
quick, short, indirect
probes f 4 Critical starting
question
After a minute or two
interrupt

47. Additional Key
Considerations
• Reference Checks
• Legal Considerations

48. Reference checks
• At least one reference not supplied
by the candidate
• Give the reference “permission” to
tell the truth

49. Legal
Considerations
• Be mindful of legal restrictions
• Advantage of this approach – don’t
ask specific questions
• Link
http://humanresources.about.com/od/
interviewing/a/interview_quest.htm

50. Interview re-enactment:
Kara Lawrence
• Prior
– 69 resumes reviewed
– 20 phone interviews
– 50-75% of in-person interview already
conducted with Kara
• All with probes, no direct questions
• Now
– Time for some important specific indirect
questions

51. Re-enactment

52. Summary
1. Make the candidate comfortable
2. Set résumé aside (verify later)
3. “Please tell me a little about yourself…”
4. Interrupt! “Great, but go back to your early
life…”
5. Indirect probes. “Then what?” “How
come?” “How did you arrive at that
decision?”
6. Look for behavioral clues in life story
7. “Indirect” questions: Ruling passion,
reactions to setbacks, etc.

53. How can we be sure that
we are doing a good job of
interviewing?

54. Make certain that the
candidate does 90% of the
broadcasting

55. Same approach for all
contacts
• Phone screening
• In-person interview

56. Closing Thoughts
• Fire fast; hire slowly
• Beware of immediate impressions
• Have more than one interview
• Have more than one interviewer
• Put more emphasis on behavior
• Put less emphasis on experience and
current skills
• Hire for basic intelligence/talents/attitudes
• Be willing to invest in training

57. Suggested additional
step:
drug testing
• Inform up front
• Test at end of process
• Test everyone
• $30 to $40 per test

58. Background Checks
• Ready sources
– Sentrylink, Lexisnexis
• Inexpensive ($20)
• Potentially very important
– Felonies
– Misdemeanors
– Sex offenses
– Credit checks & more

59. Truism
“Never time to do it right, but there
is always time to do it over.”

60. Questions? Comments?
Discussion?

61. Thank You.

62. Possible additional step:
Personality testing
• Management Resource Group
– (800) 249-2443, www.mrgpeople.com
• Career Partners International
– (800) 686-5999, www.cplworld.com
• Buros Center for Testing
– (402) 472-6203, www.uni.edu/buros
• American Psychological Association
– (800) 374-2721, www.apa.org

63. Personality Testing
• Determine ideal characteristics
• Don’t shop on price
• Pre-test with successful employees
• Professional interpretation
• Validation

64. 2012 Copyright Alert Management Systems
All rights reserved. Printed in United States of America.
No part of this document may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission from Alert Management Systems