Company Information | Manpower| Workforce Management

Interviewing Candidates for Employment

Job interview

If you put in the work and find the right fit, you’ll be moved into the interview phase. Interviews for jobs abroad can be different from other job interviews, and it is important to put in a little extra prep work to make sure that you are fully prepared.

Manpower hiring from outside of a host country to fill positions are generally looking for two things: someone who can be successful in the job, and someone who will be comfortable in a foreign culture, and is willing to be pushed outside of their comfort zone. To that end, most interview questions will fall into one of three categories: skills assessment, personality fit/drive, ability to work abroad.

The candidate interview is a vital component of the hiring process. To hire the most qualified candidates, Our human resource professionals and hiring managers must be well informed on how to conduct interviews effectively. This provides an overview of various interviewing methods, both structured and unstructured. It discusses our most widely used types of interviewing—telephone prescreen, direct one-on-one and panel interviews—and explains the objectives and techniques of behavioral, competency-based and situational approaches to interviewing.

With careful preparation,Our HR professionals and hiring managers can make the most of employment interviews and obtain the information they need. Preparatory steps include selecting a method of interviewing, drafting useful questions, phrasing questions properly and sharpening one's listening skills.

Business Case

Interviewing is an important step in the employee selection process. If done effectively, the interview enables the manpower to determine if an applicant's skills, experience and personality meet the job's requirements. It also helps manpower assess whether an applicant would likely fit in with the corporate culture. In addition, preparing for an interview can help clarify a position's responsibilities.

Moreover, to the extent that the interview process leads to the hiring of the most suitable candidate, it can help contain the organization's long-term turnover costs. Applicants also benefit from an effective interview, as it enables them to determine if their employment needs and interests would likely be met.

Types of Interviewing

In implementing an accurate and fair selection method, the Manpower can select from a variety of interviewing techniques. The choice depends on considerations such as the nature of the position being filled, the industry, the corporate culture and the type of information the Manpower seeks to gain from the applicant.

Interviewing techniques can be either structured or unstructured. The main purpose of structured interviewing is to pinpoint job skills that are essential to the position. The interviewer asks a specific set of questions of all applicants for the particular position. This straightforward approach makes it easier for the interviewer to evaluate and compare applicants fairly. Some interviewers ask the questions in a predetermined order, while others may not adhere to a strict order but still make certain they address all the planned questions.

Structured interviewing generally provides the interviewer with the information needed to make the hiring decision. It also can be crucial in defending against allegations of discrimination in hiring and selection, because all applicants are asked the same questions.

In an unstructured interview, the interviewer does not have a strict agenda but rather allows the applicant to set the pace of the interview. Questions tend to be open-ended, which can enable the candidate to disclose more than he or she might if asked closed-ended questions requiring only a brief answer. In addition, questions in an unstructured interview can be tailored according to an applicant's skills and experience levels. However, the absence of structure may make it difficult to compare and rank applicants because they are not asked the same set of questions.

The most widely used types of interviewing are:

  • The telephone prescreen interview.
  • The direct one-on-one interview, which can take a behavioral, competency-based or situational approach.
  • The panel interview.

Telephone prescreen interview

A telephone prescreen interview can be useful for assessing whether an applicant's qualifications, experience, skills and salary needs are compatible with the position and the organization. Telephone interviews are often used to narrow the field of applicants who will be invited for in-person interviews. During the prescreen stage, the interviewer should ask the applicant enough carefully prepared questions to determine whether he or she is, in fact, a viable candidate for the position.

Telephone prescreen interviews can help the employer:

  • Assess the applicant's general communication skills.
  • Clarify unclear items on the applicant's resume.
  • Ask about frequent job changes or gaps in employment.
  • Have a candid conversation with the applicant about salary requirements.

Direct one-on-one interview

The traditional face-to-face interview with the candidate can be structured or unstructured, and it can be approached in one of several ways, depending on the types of information the interviewer seeks. The three most common approaches to one-on-one employment interviews are behavioral, competency-based and situational.

Behavioral and competency-based approaches. Behavioral and competency-based interviewing both aim to discover how the interviewee performed in specific situations. The logic is based on the principle that past performance predicts future behavior; how the applicant behaved in the past indicates how he or she will behave in the future.

In the behavioral approach—a traditional technique for assessing a candidate's suitability for a position—the purpose is to review the candidate's experience, personal attributes and job-related skills. The competency-based approach focuses specifically on skills needed for the position; job-related skills constitute the criteria against which applicants are measured.

In a behavioral or a competency-based interview, the interviewer's questions are designed to determine if the applicant possesses certain attributes or skills. Instead of asking how the applicant would handle a hypothetical situation, the interviewer asks the applicant how he or she did, in fact, handle a particular situation in the past. Behavioral and competency-based interview questions tend to be pointed, probing and specific.

Following are some examples of behavioral questions:

  • Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.
  • Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.
  • Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
  • Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to achieve it.
  • Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone's opinion.
  • Give me a specific example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree.

If answers seem to be thin on detail, the interviewer can ask follow-up questions:

  • What exactly did you do?
  • What was your specific role in this?
  • What challenges did you come across?
  • Why precisely did you do that?
  • Why exactly did you make that decision?

Competency-based interviewing can give the interviewer a sense of an applicant's job performance and attitude toward work. Following are some examples of competency-based questions:

  • Tell me about a time when you had to encourage others to contribute ideas or opinions. How did you get everyone to contribute? What was the end result?
  • Tell me about a situation in which your spoken communication skills made a difference in the outcome. How did you feel? What did you learn?
  • Tell me about a situation when you had to persuade others to accept your point of view when they thought you were wrong. How did you prepare? What was your approach? How did they react? What was the outcome?

Situational approach

The situational approach is an interview technique that gives the candidate a hypothetical scenario or event and focuses on his or her past experiences, behaviors, knowledge, skills and abilities by asking the candidate to provide specific examples of how the candidate would respond given the situation described. This type of interview reveals how an applicant thinks and how he or she would react in a particular situation. The following are examples of situational interview questions:

  • You have been hired as the HR director in a 300-employee company and are struggling to perform the necessary HR administrative work by yourself. Your manager, the CFO, tells you that you need to be more strategic. How would you handle this situation?
  • You learn that a former co-worker at your last company is applying for an accounting position with your company. You have heard that this person was terminated after admitting to embezzling funds from the company but that no criminal charge was made. You are not in HR. What, if anything, would you do?
  • You are applying for a customer service position in a cable television company. If a technician visits a home to make a repair and afterward you receive a call from the customer telling you that the technician left muddy footprints on her new carpeting, how would you respond?

Group Interviews

There are two types of group interviews—a candidate group and a panel group. In a candidate group interview, a candidate is in a room with other job applicants who may be applying for the same position. Each candidate listens to information about the company and the position and may be asked to answer questions or participate in group exercises. Candidate group interviews are less common than panel group interviews.

In a panel group interview a candidate is interviewed individually by a panel of two or more people. This type of group interview is usually a question-and-answer session, but a candidate may also be asked to participate in an exercise or test. Panel interviews can be either structured or unstructured. When organized properly, a panel interview can create a broader picture of the candidate than a one-on-one interview would produce. Even weaker interviewers can learn by observing. Panel interviews can also help less-experienced employees get involved in the hiring process.

Video Interviewing

What are Video Interviews?

Video interviews are a way for employers to assess job candidates on their qualifications, soft skills, and more during the hiring process.

Video interviews are usually implemented as a preliminary interview meaning that the final hiring decision isn't made until later in the process.It is mainly used to improve the initial screening of candidates.It is not meant to replace CV or face-to-face interviews.They are used at many stages of the hiring process. For example, in the early stages, the hiring manager might pose a set of questions and ask job seekers to record their responses in a video. This enables the employer to screen candidates quickly and select which ones will proceed to the next stage.

The main purpose of a video interview is to get an overall sense of whether you might be a good cultural fit and your base level capabilities.

Video interviews follow the same format as a regular interview, but are held over Skype (or a similar application). These are known as live video interviews. More rarely, you might be asked to upload a video of yourself answering interview questions. You can think of that as the equivalent of doing a paper exam.

As candidates are invited by email to do the one-way interview, recruiters can engage more candidates at the same time and skip phone call scheduling issues. It also helps to develop a more collaborative hiring process by involving other team members in the selection process to make fairer and more effective decisions. Another good reason to include pre-recorded video interviews in the recruitment process is the quality of hire. Avoiding bad hires is a priority for recruiters given all the negative effects it can have on the company, both financially and culturally.

Pre-recorded video interviews allow you see who the person behind CV is and evaluate important aspects like motivation, personality and skills. With one-way video interviews recruiters can screen more candidates and they can do it better and in less time.

Microsoft Skype and Apple FaceTime. This is the least expensive approach and is generally easy to set up. The drawback is that the technology can do little more than establish a connection and record, store and categorize the videos.

The other main option for the interviewer is to use specialized video interviewing software from vendors, such as HireVue, Montage, Spark Hire or Sonru. These platforms have data capture and analytics capabilities that the consumer video software lacks and have more controls for scheduling video interviews and sharing the videos among hiring managers and HR.

The most sophisticated platforms have artificial intelligence (AI) that enables them to analyze facial expressions, vocal intonation and nonverbal communication for signs of a candidate's fit with the organization's needs and culture. The AI in video interview platforms also helps predict applicants' job performance.

There are two main types of video interviews: one-way and live video interviews.

What is a One-Way Video Interview?

A one-way video interview is an asynchronous video interview in which job candidates record video responses to interview questions on their own time.

One-way video interviews are also referred to as pre-recorded video interviews or on-demand video interviews because they don’t require the interviewer to be present when the candidate answers the questions. .

One-way video interviews give companies a consistent interview experience which puts all candidates on a level playing field.

When setting up a one-way video interview, the interviewer has the ability to customize specific parameters such as:

  • Think Time: the amount of time a candidate can think about their answer before the recording starts.
  • Take Limit: the number of attempts a candidate has to answer a question.
  • Answer Length: the maximum duration of a video answer to an individual question.

Once job candidates submit their one-way video interview, the recruiters and hiring managers at the company can watch the interview at their earliest convenience. Need to collaborate on a hire? Video interviewing makes it easy, by allowing you to share one-way video interviews with all hiring stakeholders. With video interviewing, the hiring process can work around your schedule – not the other way around.

Video interviewing on its own doesn’t really predict performance

Video interviewing doesn’t really help candidates showcase their talent. It’s too one-dimensional. There are so many other ways candidates can prove their skills. For example, they can do actual tasks. Candidates for technical roles like software developers of designers wouldn’t consider video to be overly relevant because their work can be demonstrated without verbal communication.

Watching endless videos of candidates speaking won’t really tell you how capable they are. Just like traditional interviews won’t. Video interviewing is an online recreation of traditional job interviews. It’s more efficient, but not necessarily more effective. If you want to see how candidates perform, ask them to do real work. Put them in the scenarios they’ll face on the job.

We use both types of interviews—video for screening candidates early on and in-person for the final round and the big decision. Keep in mind that in-person interviews are better determining which candidate is the best fit for the job.

How One-Way Video Interviews Work

One-way video interviews typically work as follows:

Determine the interview experience that your candidates will go through

  • Come up with the questions that your candidates will answer. These questions can be text-only or accompanied by a video of you or a team member asking the question on video.
  • Configure the interview parameters such as think time, take limits, and answer length.

Invite your candidates to complete the interview

  • There are a couple ways for you to invite your candidates to complete a one-way video interview:
    • Send a customized email invitation one at a time or in bulk by entering the names and emails of your candidates or uploading a CSV file.
    • Copy and paste an interview link in your communication with candidates

Candidates submit video responses to your interview questions

  • Once candidates receive your invitation for a one-way video interview, they’ll be guided through the process with step by step instructions.
  • Candidates can complete the interview using a computer with a webcam or on an iOS/Android mobile device.

Watch, evaluate, and share the completed one-way video interview

  • You’ll get an email notification when the interview is completed with a direct link to watch it.
  • You can review the completed one-way video interview anywhere, anytime, and from any device.
  • Evaluate the interview by rating and commenting on it and collaborate with other hiring stakeholders by sharing it with them.

The end result:you’ll make better decisions about which candidates make your shortlist in a fraction of the time.

What is a Live Video Interview?

A live interview is a real-time interview in which an interviewer connects with a candidate face-to-face via webcam. These interviews work just like their three-dimensional counterparts – minus travel costs and all the time it takes to schedule a traditional face-to-face.

Miss the interview but still want to weigh in? Live video interviews are recorded so they can be played back at any time. It’s video interview collaboration made easy and convenient.

Typically, organizations use live video interviews as the step just before or as a replacement to the in-person interview for non-local candidates.

A dedicated live video interviewing solution differs from video chat (e.g. Skype, Facetime, Google Hangouts) and video conferencing (e.g. Zoom. GoToMeeting, WebEx) in a variety of ways. For instance, live video interviews are:

  • Branded for a positive and professional candidate experience
  • Recorded for improved collaboration and future referencing
  • Accessed through a web browser (no downloading or adding people to contact lists)
  • Surrounded by additional features which are specific to the interviewing process

In addition, you’ll have access to a dedicated account manager and a 24x7 technical support team for you and your candidates. Spark Hire even offers live video interview concierge services in which we’ll connect with you or one of your candidates for a test interview.

How Live Video Interviews Work

Live video interviews provide a custom, private, virtual room to conduct an in-depth interview. This type of interview allows organizations to connect with their candidates face-to-face before paying to bring them into the office.

Select a date and time to meet with your candidate

  • After coordinating with your candidate on a mutually agreeable time, you’d create the live video interview for the scheduled time.
  • Alternatively, you can automate the interview scheduling with our interview scheduling tool.

Invite your candidates to the interview

  • Enter the name and email of your candidates to invite them to a live video interview.
  • The candidate will be taken to an invitation that’s branded based on your organization’s settings.

Conduct the live video interview with your candidate

  • When the time comes for your live video interview, you’ll enter via a web browser.

Watch, evaluate, and share the completed live video interview

  • After the live video interview is over, the recording will be processed so you can access it at any time.
  • Similar to the one-way video interview, you’ll be able to rate the interview and submit comments for others to respond to.
  • Easily share the live video interview with other hiring stakeholders in a couple clicks.

When to Use Video Interviews

Depending on the nature of your business, video interview can fit in different parts of your recruiting process.

Employers frequently use one-way video interviews as a better way to screen candidates earlier in the hiring process (as a replacement or complimentary piece to a phone interview) and live video interviews to connect with non-local candidates.

Common hiring challenges that lead employers to look into video interviews include, but are not limited to:

  • High volume job applications
  • Poor quality in-person interviews
  • Lengthy hiring process
  • Lack of collaboration between recruiters and hiring managers
  • Non-local candidates
  • Issues evaluating cultural fit/personality early in the hiring process

In general, employers find that video interviews help them:

  • Replace the phone screen/preliminary interview
  • Learn more about candidates in less time
  • Screen candidates faster than ever before
  • Standardize the interviewing process
  • Improve recruiter and hiring manager collaboration
  • Eliminate scheduling challenges
  • Review interviews anytime, anywhere
  • Only invest time and effort into the best candidates
  • Avoid bad in-person interviews

Staffing and recruiting firms mainly leverage video interviews to a) screen candidates more efficiently and effectively before sending them to clients and/or b) improve how a candidate shortlist is presented to clients.

Common reasons that staffing and recruiting firms start looking into video interviews include, but are not limited to:

  • Demand from their clients
  • Placement speed is too slow
  • Stiff competition with other staffing and recruiting firms
  • Need to stay ahead of the curve in the industry
  • Low conversion rates based on the number of submissions
  • Non-local candidates and/or clients

In general, staffing and recruiting firms find that video interviews help them:

  • Get candidates in front of clients quicker
  • Make candidates more tangible to clients
  • Gain an advantage over competitors not using video interviews
  • Brand their firm as innovative to candidates and clients
  • Improve collaboration with clients so time is not wasted
  • Build a digital library of video interviews that can be referred to at any time
  • Connect with candidates no matter where they are located

What are the benefits of video interviews?

Organizations of all sizes and from all industries are successfully using video interviews to reap benefits specific to their recruiting processes.

Below are the main benefits for both employers and staffing and recruiting firms.

Benefits of Video Interviews for Employers

Video interviews are not meant to be a replacement to the in-person interview. Their purpose is to help you make better decisions about which candidates you invest time and effort into during the hiring process.

As an employer, the exact benefits for your organization will vary depending on your industry, the types of jobs you’re recruiting for, and more.

Ultimately, the two metrics that employers mainly see improvements in are quality of hire and speed to hire.

Save valuable time and money.

Screening job candidates can take a huge chunk of your time and hiring budget. Video interviews make the process much less of a chore by enabling you to connect with candidates face-to-face – without having to fly them in. When it comes to screening candidates, save time and avoid scheduling headaches with one-way video interviews.

Considering 60% of hiring decisions were made within the first 15 minutes of an interview, according to a recent study by researchers from Old Dominion, Florida State, and Clemson, why bother with lengthy phone interviews? With one-way video interviews, candidates can record their answers to your questions on their own time, and you can view them on yours. It’s a win-win addition to your hiring process.

Gain better insight early on.

Anyone can sound good in a phone interview. Video interviews, however, allow you to pick up on visual cues that can impact your decision. See much more of the candidate earlier in the hiring process, from their facial expressions and body language to their personality and professionalism. Never be surprised in an in-person interview again!

Collaborate with hiring managers.

When it comes time to screen candidates or bring them in for an in-person interview, not everyone needed can always be present. And interview notes and recollections aren’t an accurate representation of a job candidate. With video interviews, interview recordings can be shared with colleagues. On top of that, colleagues can comment and rate candidates so the whole team can come to a better hiring decision. After all, multiple heads are better than one.

What Employers Say About Video Interviews

In today’s race to find and place top talent, staffing and recruiting firms need to embrace the latest trends and technologies to finish first. Video interviews provide staffing and recruiting firms with a distinct competitive advantage and improvements in KPIs including, but not limited to:

  • Placement speed
  • Submit to hire ratios
  • Number of placements
  • Revenue
  • Candidate and client satisfaction

Improve how you market candidates (and yourself).

Sending a video interview recording to supplement a candidate’s resume not only makes the candidate more appealing to clients, but it also makes you and your firm more appealing. Instead of having to blindly trust you, clients can see candidates for themselves, before investing valuable time and money to meet with candidates in person.

Coach candidates along the way.

Help candidates put their best foot forward by coaching them throughout the interview process. Review their answers in a one-way video interview, point out what they can improve on, and have them re-record, if necessary. Practice makes perfect, after all. And by being able to coach candidates along the way, clients can trust they’ll be seeing the best a candidate has to offer.

Place better candidates.

Supplying clients with interview recordings makes it easier to collaborate over potential hires. It allows them to outline exactly what they like or don’t like about a candidate – even more so with a candidate showcase feature. The feedback that you get from clients can help you provide top-notch candidates moving forward.

Expand your talent pool.

Having a growing talent pool is an essential resource for recruiters and staffing professionals. Building and tending to an internal database of candidates ensures quality talent is readily available when it’s time to fill a new position. With video interviews, if a candidate doesn’t work out for one client, you’ll still have their video interview on file for a future job order.

The panel should include no more than four or five people; a larger panel could be intimidating and unwieldy. One interviewer should serve as the leader, and other participants should serve in support roles. While all the interviewers need to be involved throughout the interview, the difference in the two roles needs to be very clear.

To help ensure the validity and effectiveness of employment interviews, the interviewer must prepare in advance. Before implementing the interview process for a given position, the HR professional who will be asking the questions should complete the following preparations:

  • Determine the critical success factors of the job.
  • Rank—according to the job specifications—the most important qualities, experiences, education and characteristics that a successful candidate would possess.
  • Make a list of qualities, skills and types of experience to use to screen resumes and job interview candidates.
  • Select specific questions to determine whether an applicant possesses the critical success factors.
  • Decide the type of interview process that will be used.
  • Review beforehand the job description and the resume of each candidate to be interviewed.
  • Schedule a planning meeting with the appropriate attendees, such as co-workers, an indirect but interested manager or internal customers of the position.
  • Determine who will interview the candidates.
  • Plan the interview and the follow-up process.
  • Decide on the applicant screening questions for the telephone screens.
  • Identify the appropriate questions for the post-interview assessment of candidates by each interviewer.

Interviewers must know how to elicit desired information from job candidates. It doesn't require a sophisticated technique, but it does require more than just asking candidates if they possess the required skills and attributes. The most recent thinking on how to conduct job interviews recommends that employers ask applicants about specific incidents in the workplace. Therefore, questions should be designed to show how the candidate has displayed the required skills in specific situations during his or her career. Responses to such questions can provide enhanced glimpses into applicants' actual experiences.

Framing the Questions

For both the Manpowerand the candidate to get the most out of an interview, it is essential to carefully consider the type of questions to ask. Despite the importance of preparing questions in advance, the Manpowershould not go into an interview with a list of ideal answers in mind. It is unlikely that any applicant would come close to providing such answers. A better approach is to keep in mind ideal characteristics that a successful candidate would possess.

Questioning should elicit information that will shed light on a candidate's ability to perform the job effectively. Many experts say it is best to ask open-ended questions ("Tell me about your relationship with your previous manager; how could it have been improved?") rather than closed-ended questions requiring only brief specific responses ("How many people reported to you?").

Open-ended questions encourage candidates to provide longer answers and to expand on their knowledge, strengths and job experiences. For interviewers, such questions can provide greater insight into a candidate's personality. They can also help employers gauge an applicant's ability to articulate his or her work experience, level of motivation, communication skills, ability to solve problems and degree of interest in the job.

Open-ended questions can provide a sense of an applicant's potential and whether the person would be a cultural fit. Following are some examples of open-ended questions:

  • Tell me about your past work experience.
  • What are you looking to gain from your next position?
  • Why do you want to work for our company?
  • Why did you leave your last job?
  • Tell me about your relationship with your previous manager: How was it productive? How could it have been improved?
  • Why was math your most difficult subject in school?
  • Please describe your management style.

Closed-ended job interview questions can enable the Manpowerto receive direct responses and specific information from the candidate, and they can help the interviewer control the direction of the interview. But such questions can have drawbacks:

  • They do not encourage candidates to elaborate on their feelings or preferences toward particular topics.
  • They limit candidates' ability to discuss their competencies.
  • They can leave situations unanswered or unclear.
  • They can be frustrating for candidates who may want to explain or state relevant information.

Benefits of Video Interviews for Staffing and Recruiting Firms

In today’s race to find and place top talent, staffing and recruiting firms need to embrace the latest trends and technologies to finish first. Video interviews provide staffing and recruiting firms with a distinct competitive advantage and improvements in KPIs including, but not limited to:

  • Placement speed
  • Submit to hire ratios
  • Number of placements
  • Revenue
  • Candidate and client satisfaction

Improve how you market candidates (and yourself).

Sending a video interview recording to supplement a candidate’s resume not only makes the candidate more appealing to clients, but it also makes you and your firm more appealing. Instead of having to blindly trust you, clients can see candidates for themselves, before investing valuable time and money to meet with candidates in person.

Coach candidates along the way.

Help candidates put their best foot forward by coaching them throughout the interview process. Review their answers in a one-way video interview, point out what they can improve on, and have them re-record, if necessary. Practice makes perfect, after all. And by being able to coach candidates along the way, clients can trust they’ll be seeing the best a candidate has to offer.

Place better candidates.

Supplying clients with interview recordings makes it easier to collaborate over potential hires. It allows them to outline exactly what they like or don’t like about a candidate – even more so with a candidate showcase feature. The feedback that you get from clients can help you provide top-notch candidates moving forward.

Expand your talent pool.

Having a growing talent pool is an essential resource for recruiters and staffing professionals. Building and tending to an internal database of candidates ensures quality talent is readily available when it’s time to fill a new position. With video interviews, if a candidate doesn’t work out for one client, you’ll still have their video interview on file for a future job order.

The panel should include no more than four or five people; a larger panel could be intimidating and unwieldy. One interviewer should serve as the leader, and other participants should serve in support roles. While all the interviewers need to be involved throughout the interview, the difference in the two roles needs to be very clear.

To help ensure the validity and effectiveness of employment interviews, the interviewer must prepare in advance. Before implementing the interview process for a given position, the HR professional who will be asking the questions should complete the following preparations:

  • Determine the critical success factors of the job.
  • Rank—according to the job specifications—the most important qualities, experiences, education and characteristics that a successful candidate would possess.
  • Make a list of qualities, skills and types of experience to use to screen resumes and job interview candidates.
  • Select specific questions to determine whether an applicant possesses the critical success factors.
  • Decide the type of interview process that will be used.
  • Review beforehand the job description and the resume of each candidate to be interviewed.
  • Schedule a planning meeting with the appropriate attendees, such as co-workers, an indirect but interested manager or internal customers of the position.
  • Determine who will interview the candidates.
  • Plan the interview and the follow-up process.
  • Decide on the applicant screening questions for the telephone screens.
  • Identify the appropriate questions for the post-interview assessment of candidates by each interviewer.

Interviewers must know how to elicit desired information from job candidates. It doesn't require a sophisticated technique, but it does require more than just asking candidates if they possess the required skills and attributes. The most recent thinking on how to conduct job interviews recommends that employers ask applicants about specific incidents in the workplace. Therefore, questions should be designed to show how the candidate has displayed the required skills in specific situations during his or her career. Responses to such questions can provide enhanced glimpses into applicants' actual experiences.

Benefits of Video Interviews for Candidates

Video interviews offer many benefits to your candidates that are important for you to know about.

Gets candidates in front of hiring managers

Hiring managers are the ones that participate in final round interviews with candidates. Ultimately, they are the people that make the hiring decisions. Video interviews give candidates the chance to get in front of and impress hiring managers earlier in the process because their video interview is shared with them.

Speeds up the hiring process

By eliminating scheduling conflicts and allowing the company to complete more interviews faster, video interviews not only speed up the process for companies, but also for candidates. Candidates don’t want to go through a lengthy process and video interviews significantly cut down on the time from the initial application to a hiring decision.

Showcases more than just a resume

Candidates have a story to tell. The video interview makes sure hiring stakeholders get to know the real candidate vs. just reading a piece of paper. A report on video statistics found that people retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text. The video interview gives candidates a platform to further discuss their background and expand on key aspects of their work experience that make them a great fit for the position.

Questions To Ask New Employees In Their 1st Month

The first 30 days of a job can feel like a blur. New hires are getting to know their co-workers, managers, the job, the company, the tasks – and everything in between. As a manager, hopefully, you’ve been able to spend adequate time with your new hire. But a lot of it has probably been spent on task-oriented training. Making time for feedback questions as they relate to manager interaction, job performance, team dynamics and career progression will help you understand what makes your new employee tick.

Here are 23 questions to ask new employees that will help get to know them – and their preferences at work – better.

What aspects of work would you like more involvement and direction from me? Which would you like less? If you can sort this out, it will save you both time.

How can I make your job easier? As a manager, your job should be to support employees. Find out firsthand how you can do it.

What would be the best use of our one-on-one time? Some employees prefer to review tasks and others want a brainstorm session. Let them use the time with you for what they need.

What would you do differently if you were me? A fresh perspective can help you improve. And it will also lend insight into what the employee might need more of.

What resources do you need to be successful at your job? Especially if this is a new role, there might be certain equipment, software or supplies that would aid your new hire in being successful. And they might be conflicted about outright asking.

Which aspect of the job are you excited about? Which are you worried about? In a month, the new employee should see his or her future and be able to express how they feel about certain tasks.

What has surprised you about the job in the first 30 days? Their answer will reveal how accurately you marketed the job and matched the skills necessary to complete it. It may also reveal something they’re uncomfortable doing.

What are some highlights of the job so far? You might find out that he or she likes giving presentations or that they were happy to hear one of their coworkers was impressed with their work. This question will show you what hits home for them.

What motivates you to come to work? If you can hone in on what excites your new hire about the job, you can help them achieve ultimate employee satisfaction.

Tell me about the best day you’ve had so far. And the worst day. This will lend insight into what the new employee values in doing their job.

How frequently do you like to receive feedback? Some employees want to know how they’re doing every step of the way; others prefer a quarterly check-in. They can feel bombarded or lost if you’re giving feedback too often or not enough.

How do you prefer to receive feedback? You may find your new hire likes written feedback, so he or she can take the time to digest it. Others may prefer it verbally, so they can have a two-way conversation about it.

How would you rate yourself? This answer will reveal how confident the new hire is in their performance.

What challenges have you come across thus far? Anything here is fair game. The new employee may mention another employee or a certain project.

Have you had any stressful experiences in the first month? As a manager, you may prefer to catch up on emails on a Sunday night, but that could stress out your new hire. Knowing that will help avoid any unnecessary anxiety. This is important, especially this early in the relationship.

Who on the team has been most helpful? And how? This provides good insight into which employees on the team step up when needed.

Is there something that’s missing on the team? Especially if you’re looking to expand the team, it’s nice to find out what the newcomer thinks about future need.

Have you had any conflicts with coworkers? Hopefully, this isn’t an issue in the first month, but it’s better to know and address it early if need be.

What do you like about the organization? This will help you see if the new hire is connecting to the organization. It could be a determining factor in longevity.

What area of the company would you like to learn more about? If there are projects that require collaboration, the answer could give you good direction. It may also lend insight into the employee’s other interests or career aspiration.

How can I help you reach your goals? Frame this as a big-picture, career-projection question. You want to show the newcomer you see them for more than what you hired them in for. Potential is important for retention.

What do you think you need to improve now that you’ve been doing the job for a month? As a manager, you probably have a few things on your list that you’d like the new employee to work on but see if they mention it first. It will help you determine how self-aware they are.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working? Sure, this is a personal question, but it will allow you to see your direct report as a person and not just an employee. It’ll help you start building a personal relationship if you haven’t already

 

 

Squeezing the Most Out of Onboarding Interviews

There are a myriad of to-dos for Human Resources when a new hire comes on, but the most important step of onboarding a new employee is the post-hire interview.

This should take place anywhere from 4-6 months from the hire’s start date, and with the goal of gauging how well the organization is doing with their recruiting, training and onboarding practices. It is also a great time to get proactive about workplace issues that the new hire might be experiencing. Bonus? They might be just past the honeymoon period and willing to tell you the honest truth.

Ideally, an HR professional who has gone through the appropriate training should conduct these interviews, but this may not always be possible. No matter who is handling the post-hire interview, it’s a massive missed opportunity that your team can use to reduce risk, improve retention and get better at onboarding. Concentrate on these areas during your post-hire interviews to get the data you need to make improvements and get proactive about employee relations issues.

Q: How would they rate their experience throughout the recruitment process?

The information gathered about a new hire’s candidate experience SSSS your recruitment team some insight into the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. With only about 5% of job applicants rating their experience “excellent”, there will likely be room for improvement.

It is especially important to gather information about how the candidate was treated. If they felt in any way discriminated against, or treated unfairly, the actions or behaviors that caused them to feel this way should be investigated immediately. If these issues persist, it could put the organization in jeopardy of facing litigation. Agree on a numerical scale for general feelings about their recruitment process and anecdotal feedback for specific areas that seem to need attention.

Q: What about the onboarding process?

Talent management experts contend that there is a strong correlation between low retention rates, and weak or non-existent onboarding processes. The onboarding process is crucial for establishing expectations, and the information collected during the post-hire interview can assist employers in doing that as effectively as possible. Slamming a binder down and uploading new programs to an empty computer does not make the onboarding process complete. Every company has its own processes and procedures, all the way down to the mailroom. Unfortunately, most companies neglect to tune in new employees, leaving them floundering for guidance at a crucial juncture.

This is also the step of the new hire lifecycle in which ensuring compliance is vital. If your new hire doesn’t know the rules, how can you protect them and your company? Short answer: You can’t. In the interview, confirm that the employee has access to all information and resources necessary. Then, confirm they understand it. A quick and informal quiz on policies and procedures can help you gauge their knowledge on company compliance.

Q: Was the training program effective?

Formal training is a process that all new hires should be asked to evaluate. The interviewer must find out if the employee felt as though they were adequately prepared for the job requirements. The interviewer should also solicit information about whether or not additional training is needed and how effective their training has proven to be. Ask specifically, which modules or areas of the training program have had a direct impact on his or her job. Take this knowledge back to hiring managers or CLOs in aggregate to create better training initiatives.

Q: Are expectations being met?

New hires generally come into a new organization with a lot of expectations. When there is deviation from those expectations, it can cause dissonance. This is a great time to revisit job descriptions and ensure that they are as accurate as possible. Dissonance can be getting hired as a creative director and then finding out that expected responsibilities are more akin to a junior-level designer. You can share these findings with recruiting and marketing teams to assist with employer branding initiatives. You should also ensure they have the tools needed to do their work properly.

A study conduct by Equifax revealed that 40% of employees who left their jobs voluntarily in 2013 did so within 6 months of starting the position. That statistic certainly represents a strong reason to improve and/or implement post-hire interviews. Focus on post-hire interviews if for no other reason than reducing exit interviews.

Use this interview as an opportunity to be proactive about workplace issues.

Post-hire interviews should also be seen as a prime opportunity to get proactive about identifying and handling workplace issues that might otherwise go unnoticed. Soliciting information about potential complaints doesn’t just start a healthy dialogue, in certain cases; it can prevent costly employment practice litigation. However, starting a healthy dialogue doesn’t just happen overnight. An honest, two-way dialogue between HR and new hires needs to be cultivated immediately so that employees feel comfortable communicating workplace issues. The perfect time to do this is in the post-hire interview.

As the instance of EEOC claims increases, HR professionals must take steps to prevent workplace issues, and mitigate the risk those formal charges present. Because the post-hire interview is documented (not an option), having this information is vital to safeguarding the organization in the case of future litigation.

The interviewer should always disclose the motives for soliciting this information. Let the employee know that this data is vital in making improvements and keeping the workplace safe and healthy. The post-hire interview is a prime example of how HR and management can act in the best interest of the organization, while being a representative of the workforce.

The 6 Different Types Of Interviews (And The Pros And Cons of Each)

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again:  There’s no right or wrong way to run an interview.

Each method, style and technique has it’s own pros and cons, considerations and preparations depending hugely on your industry, business, the advertised position and so on.

It’s all about finding out what works best for you and your company…

Below, we’ve outlined the 6 different types of interview and their advantages and disadvantages .

Let’

1. The Telephone Interview.

Telephone interviews are hugely valuable because they speed up the interview process and minimise time-wasting, whilst culling your weaker candidates earlier on.

A face-to-face interview will take up your time as well as your candidate’s, so having a quick chat to suss out whether they’re suitable, before meeting up, will benefit both of you.

A CV only tells part of the story; hearing the candidate’s tone of voice and assessing their direct answers will provide a much more detailed insight into their personality.

Recruiter Pro Tip

This is the perfect interview for you if…

  • You have heaps of great CVs and you need to cut down your potential candidate list.
  • You don’t have a lot of time on your hands.
  • The job that’s on offer requires great telephone communication.
  • You want to make your interview process as efficient as possible.

How Long Should It Take?

In general, a telephone interview should take about 30 minutes, giving you both a chance to warm up for 5 minutes,  check each other out for 20 minutes and warm down for 5.

Of course, if a candidate manages to keep you on the phone for longer than 30 minutes with engaging conversation, that’s a very good sign.

Advantages:

  • It’s quicker than a face-to-face interview.
  • It’s cheaper than a face-to-face interview.
  • It’s less effort for you and the candidate.
  • You can assess the candidate’s telephone manner.
  • You can reach long-distance candidates.
  • You can cull weaker candidates right at the start of the process.

Disadvantages:

  • The call could be interrupted (bad signal, other calls, background noise).
  • You can’t read a candidate’s body language.
  • You might have to schedule it outside of working hours (if their employers don’t know).
  • It’s difficult to build as much rapport via the telephone.

Here’s a tip:

You can use the telephone interview as a fact-checking exercise to verify any prerequisites for the role, for example, do they have a driving license?

Also – don’t try and be clever and multi-task whilst doing a telephone interview; it’s important to remain focused, or you’ll sound disinterested in your candidate!

If you’d like to find out more about how to successfully pull of a telephone interview (and why you should even bother) click here to check out our recent post.

2. The Video Interview.

Video interviews (Skype, Google Hangouts, FaceTime) are a great alternative to telephone interviews.

The fact that you can actually see each other adds a certain level of importance and professionalism to the ‘call’ and removes the temptation for either party to multi-task or lose focus.

Of course, you could still face similar issues to those that plague the telephone interview.

Background distractions could still occur, other calls could come through, bad signal could distort the conversation and, as you can both see each other, there’s no hiding from them!

Recruiter Pro Tip.

This is the perfect interview for you if…

  • You have heaps of great CVs and you need to cut down your potential candidate list.
  • You don’t have a lot of time on your hands.
  • You have long-distance candidates to speak to.

How Long Should It Take?

Video interviews will vary in length, depending on the situation…

If used as a substitute for the telephone interview, at the beginning of the process, then it should last roughly 30 minutes.

If used as a substitute to the individual face-to-face interview, nearing the end of the process (either a group video chat or one-to-one) then it should last roughly an hour.

Advantages:

  • It’s quicker than a face-to-face interview.
  • It’s cheaper than a face-to-face interview.
  • It’s less effort for you and the candidate.
  • You can reach long-distance candidates.
  • You can cull weaker candidates right at the start of the process.
  • You’ll be able to tell if they’re focused (or just reading from notes).

Disadvantages:

  • The video call could be interrupted (bad signal, connection, background noise).
  • You’ll find it difficult to read the candidate’s body language.
  • You might have to schedule it outside of working hours (if their employers don’t know).
  • It’s difficult to build rapport via a video chat.
  • You have to look professional and focused (unlike via the telephone).

Here’s a tip:

To successfully pull off a video interview, you’ll both need to set up an account with a service provider like Skype, Google or Apple, have a strong connection and be positioned in a quiet location.

Tablets and phones are designed to make this process as easy and flexible as possible however we recommend using a computer for group video interviews – the more people, the smaller each feed will appear on the screen.

To find out more about video interviewing, check out this post from Spark Hire.

3. The Panel Interview.

Panel interviews are the same as individual, face-to-face interviews, but with two or more interviewers in the room.

The main advantage of panel interviewing is that it precludes any personal biases that might creep into the assessment process.

Each interviewer will pick up on different characteristics, strengths and weaknesses and together (hopefully) make a much fairer judgement.

Recruiter Pro Tip.

This is the perfect interview for you if…

• There are multiple people who need to meet the candidate before a decision is made.
• The primary interviewer isn’t experienced.
• You’ve reached a fairly late stage of the process.
• You’re interviewing for a senior role and need to involve multiple decision makers.

The panel interview is usually conducted as the sole or final step in the interviewing process to take place instead of an individual interview and following any telephone and/or group interviews.

How Long Should It Take?

Panel interviews should last 45 Minutes, at the very least, giving you a suitable amount of time to work out whether the person is genuinely right for the role.

A really great interview will last longer than an hour; your candidate must be doing something right if they’ve managed to engage you in conversation for such a prolonged amount of time.

Advantages:

  • No personal biases.
  • The chance to compare different opinions.
  • More chance to get notes (while others talk).
  • All relevant people meet at the same time.
  • Weak interviewers might need back-up.
  • The candidate gets a chance to meet everyone.

Disadvantages:

  • Some interviewers could get complacent.
  • It could be overwhelming for the candidate (scary!)
  • Interviewers could interrupt each other, striving for dominance.
  • There’s a risk of disagreement.

Here’s a tip:

One person should lead the interview, asking all of the main questions, while others follow-up with more in-depth inquiries into each topic.

This allows the interview to flow more easily and should prevent overlaps and interruption.

For more information on how (and why) to conduct a panel interview, check out this article from eHow.

4. The Assessment Day.

Assessment “days” can be used to assess larger groups of interviewees at the same time, for a range of different skills.

Common amongst graduate employers, they are a great way to evaluate candidates in more detail, for a longer period of time.

If you’re interviewing a large group and your offices are only small, it’s a good idea to seek out a local assessment centre to host the day for you.

Recruiter Pro Tip.

This is the perfect interview for you if…

  • Certain skills are essential for successful completion of the role.
  • You’re hiring graduates who’ve had no previous work experience.
  • You want to quickly assess large numbers of candidates in a team environment.

How Long Should It Take?

Most assessments take place across one day (although some companies have been known to host week-long assessment interviews).

They’re commonly used as the very first recruitment step, to suss out the superstar candidates in a big crowd, or as the only step, with an individual interview scheduled at some point, meaning the entire process is completed in just one day.

Advantages:

  • You can assess a wide range of skills.
  • Extra time to get to know each of the candidates.
  • It minimises legal risk and is less disputable.
  • You can assess interpersonal skills and teamwork.
  • You can interview all candidates at once.
  • It sparks competition.
  • Out of the norm, so generates genuine answers.

Disadvantages:

  • More difficult to administer effectively.
  • The pressure will put some candidates off.
  • You’ll have to focus for a longer time.
  • Dominant personalities will quash others
  • You could miss something or someone
  • More difficult to build rapport with individuals
  • Some candidates work better individually
  • It requires more staff to pull off

Here’s a tip:

Assessment interviews are so useful because they offer more time to assess a variety of skills, so make sure you take advantage of that with…

  • Case studies. Give candidates (individually or as part of a team) some information to analyse and to draw different conclusions from.
  • Group work. Pose a problem or brainteaser and ask the group to work it out together, presenting their strategy and findings at the end of the task.
  • Activities. Set tasks for your candidates, for example, ‘sell this pen to me.’
  • Presentations. Ask candidates to plan a presentation on a topic they feel passionate about, a random topic of your choosing or something industry-related.
  • Individual interviews. If this is the final stage of interview, try to fit in scheduled, individual interviews at some point too (if not already conducted).
  • Social events. Simply putting on a social event like a group dinner, lunch, party or activity day will enable candidates to exhibit their teamwork and interpersonal skills.
  • Psychometric tests.

5. Group Interviews.

Group interviews are used a lot less regularly than the other interview techniques we’ve mentioned, but they still have their place in modern recruitment.

You could conduct your group interview in two key ways… like an individual interview; asking exactly the same questions that you would ask in an individual interview, openly, to the whole group, allowing candidates the chance to compete to impress.

Or like the assessment day, with brief introductions, leading into group tasks and activities.

Recruiter Pro Tip.

This is the perfect interview for you if…

• Teamwork is an essential prerequisite to the role.
• You want to assess how candidates cope with stress and in a highly competitive situation.
• You’ve had a lot of interest and need to cull the weaker candidates.

How Long Should It Take?

Group interviews that replace the individual interview, should last roughly an hour and a bare minimum of 45 minutes.

Of course, interviews that incorporate group-work tasks are much more difficult to organise and will invariably last longer, so allow yourself more time.

Advantages:

  • You can assess a wide range of skills.
  • You can assess interpersonal skills and teamwork.
  • It’s quicker (than assessment days).
  • You can interview all candidates at once.
  • It’s a good method to cull candidates early on.
  • Sparks competition.
  • Less individual pressure on candidates.
  • Out of the norm, generates genuine answers.

Disadvantages:

  • More difficult to administer effectively.
  • The pressure will put some candidates off.
  • Dominant personalities will quash others.
  • More difficult to build rapport with individuals.
  • Some candidates work better individually.
  • It requires more staff to pull off.

Here’s a tip:

It’s definitely worth bringing in a panel of interviewers so that you don’t end up missing anything or anyone.

It’s easy to get distracted by dominant candidates who are more likely to stand out, but remember, those who shout the loudest aren’t always the brightest!

6. Individual (face-to-face) Interviews.

Individual, face-to-face interviews are by far the most popular and efficient form of assessment.

Allowing you to get up close and personal with each candidate while keeping an eye on their body language is far more effective than any other interviewing format.

Think about it: do you find it easier to build a relationship with someone over the phone or face-to-face?

Recruiter Pro Tip.

This is the perfect interview for you if…

• You don’t have a long list of candidates to see.
• You’re comfortable with the interviewing process.
• You’ve already completed an initial interview stage, via the telephone or video.

How Long Should It Take?

You can tell a lot about an individual interview, by how long it takes. As a general rule…

30 minutes or less would imply a less-than-average candidate. Either they didn’t grip you at all and answered with the bear minimum or something was seriously wrong and you just wanted to get them out of the room (or vice versa).

45 minutes is roughly average. This shows that the candidate is engaging in conversation, expanding and answering with detail. These could be great candidates for the job.

Over an hour. Candidates that are really impressive will keep you talking and before you know it, the interview will have overrun. These super-engaging candidates are the ones to look out for.

Advantages:

  • You can build rapport more easily
  • You can thoroughly assess the individual
  • You have opportunity to dig deeper
  • You can read their body language
  • You can test the candidate’s commitment
  • You’re more flexible with location/ style (informal/ formal).

Disadvantages:

  • Candidates can rehearse answers
  • It’s time-consuming
  •  You’ll need a trained interviewer.
  • Interviewer bias will affect the decision
  • There’s no one present to assess the interviewer’s method
  • It’s costly
  • Interview techniques could be inconsistent
  • Possible interview fatigue

Here’s a tip:

The individual interview is your chance to delve further into each candidate’s psyche and address any issues you might have with their CV, application or anything else you’ve discovered.

But to save time, effort and money, it’s sensible to, at the very least, conduct a telephone or Skype interview prior to a face-to-face meet, so you don’t waste your time and the candidate’s, if they’re clearly unsuitable.

Once you’ve decided to host a face-to-face interview, you’ll also have to decide what kind of style it’s going to be… check out this post to find out more.

Summary

You should always personalise your interviewing technique, structure and goal, in accordance with your business, industry and job role on offer.

Work to your strengths and try different techniques to see what works best.

When you have decided, take a glance at the “Assessing Applicants” section of our blog, which is filled with sample questions (both difficult and easy), hints, tips and warnings to help you interview like a pro.

Good luck with the interviews!

10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Questionnaires

As with every research method, there are pros and cons. We’As with every research method, there are pros and cons. We’ve gathered the biggest treasures and pitfalls so you can make the best possible decision.

What is a questionnaire?

We define a questionnaire as an instrument for collecting data, which almost always involves asking a given subject to respond to a set of oral or written questions.

10 Advantages of Questionnaires

What are the 10 biggest strengths of a questionnaire?

1. Questionnaires are inexpensive

First of all, questionnaires are one of the most affordable ways to gather quantitative data Especially self-administered questionnaires, where you don’t have to hire surveyors to perform face-to-face interviews, are a cost-efficient way to quickly collect massive amounts of information from a large number of people in a relatively short period of time.

A questionnaire can be placed on your website or emailed to your customers. These methods have little to no cost, though strong targeting is necessary if you want to have the highest possible response rate receive the most accurate results.Still, no matter what type of questionnairesyou pick, it will be more affordable than outsourcing to a market research company.

2. Questionnaires are practical

Apart from being inexpensive, questionnaires are also a practical way to gather data. They can be targeted to groups of your choosing and managed in various ways. You can pick and choose the questions asked as well as the format open-ended multiple choice). They offer a way to gather vast amounts of data on any subject. They can be used in a wide variety of ways.

3. Questionnaires offer a quick way to get results

It’s quick and easy to collect results with online and mobile tools. This means that you can gain insights in as little as 24 hours (or less!), depending on the scale and reach of your questionnaire.

You don’t need to wait for another company to deliver the answers you need.

4. Scalability

Questionnaires and surveys allow you to gather information from a large audience.

Online, you can literally distribute your questions to anyone, anywhere in the world (provided they have an internet connection). All you have to do is send them a link to your survey page. And you don’t even need to do this manually. This could be done through an automated email in your customer onboarding or lead nurturing campaigns.

This means that for a relatively low cost, you can target a city or a country.

You can use multiple data collection points, for example via multiple tablets in kiosk mode.

Geography no longer stands in the way of market research either, thanks to the internet. But be aware of cultural differences between people and countries when conducting worldwide research. Thanks to Survey Anyplace’s multiple languages feature you can easily create a single questionnaire available in multiple languages.

5. Comparability

When data has been quantified, it can be used to compare and contrast other research and may be used to measure change. This makes monthly or yearly questionnaire more and more valuable over time.

Improving comparability implies that errors due to translation have to be minimized. In terms of questionnaire translation for multi-national, multi-cultural and multi-regional surveys the aim is to achieve a level of comparability across all local versions.

6. Easy Analysis and visualization

Most survey and questionnaire providers are quantitative in nature and allow easy analysis of results. With built-in tools, it’s easy to analyze your results without a background in statistics or scientific research.

Tools like Survey Anyplace offer easy to interpret reports and visualizations, meaning that you’ll quickly be turning your data into results. These results can be put in a wide variety of charts and tables to present them to your boss, colleagues, clients or customers.

7. Questionnaires offer actionable data

Look at research as a blank canvas.

The more data you gather, the clearer the painting becomes. All this information gives marketers the capability to create new strategies and to follow trends in your audience. Analyzing data and building reports can be used to generate predictions and even create benchmarks for follow-up questions or questionnaires.

8. Respondent anonymity

Online and email surveys allow respondents to maintain their anonymity

Mail-in questionnaires also allow for complete invisibility, which maximizes comfort for those answering. Even phone interviews are not face-to-face, thereby making it a more private communication. This concealment puts respondents at ease and encourages them to answer truthfully; however, there is still a human touch to these phone interviews.

Digital questionnaires give the best sense of anonymity and privacy. This type of questionnaire is great for all sorts of businesses and subject matter and results in the most honest answers.

You can be sure your results will be much more accurate when you have the opportunity to complete it anonymously.

9. Questionnaires don’t have time constraints

When using mail-in, online or email questionnaires, there’s no time limit and there is no one on the other end waiting for an answer. Respondents can take their time to complete the questionnaire at their own leisure.

As a bonus, they will often answer more truthfully, as research has shown that having a researcher present can lead to less honest and more social desirable answers.

10. Questionnaires can cover every aspect of a topic

One of the biggest advantages is being able to ask as many questions as you like. Of course, it benefits the marketer to keep each individual questionnaire short, since respondents may find a long questionnaire frustrating. We suggest a limit of 10 questions for online surveys.However, since they are efficient, cost-effective in nature and have an easy mode of delivery, there is no harm in creating multiple questionnaires, each covering a subtopic of the main subject, that build upon one another.

Disadvantages of Questionnaires

We’ve gathered 10 disadvantages, so you can outweigh both the pros and cons of a questionnaire to make an informed decision.

1. Dishonest answers

While there are many positives to questionnaires, dishonesty can be an issue

Respondents may not be 100% truthful with their answers.

This can happen for a variety of reasons, including social desirability bias and attempting to protect privacy. Stop dishonesty in its tracks by assuring respondents that their privacy is valued and that the process prevents personal identification.

2. Unanswered questions

When using questionnaires, there is a chance that some questions will be ignored or left unanswered.

If questions are not required, there is always that risk they won’t be answered. Online questionnaires offer a simple solution to this issue: make answering the question required.

Otherwise, make your survey short and your questions uncomplicated and you will avoid question skipping and get better completion rates.

3. Differences in understanding and interpretation

The trouble with not presenting questions to users face-to-face is that each may have different interpretations of your questions.

Without someone to explain the questionnaire fully and ensure each individual has the same understanding, results can be subjective.

Respondents may have trouble grasping the meaning of some questions that may seem clear to the creator.

This miscommunication can lead to skewed results. The best way to combat this situation is to create simple questions that are easy to answer.

4. Hard to convey feelings and emotions

A survey or questionnaire cannot fully capture emotional responses or feelings of respondents. Without administering the questionnaire face-to-face, there is no way to observe facial expression, reactions or body language. Without these subtleties, useful data can go unnoticed. Don’t get stuck trying to interpret emotion in data, instead go for a Likert scale, the response scale that often uses a rating scale from “slightly agree” to “strongly disagree.” This allows for strength and assertion in responses rather than multiple choice.

5. Some questions are difficult to analyze

Questionnaires produce a lot of data. Multiple choice questions can be tabulated and graphed, but open-ended questions are different.

Open-ended questions allow for individualized answers which cannot be quantified and must be reviewed by a human.

Too many open-ended questions can produce a flood of data, that can take forever to analyze. Fix this pitfall but choosing your question types carefully. If you have ten questions, you probably don’t want more than one to be open-ended since these have no way to be quantified.

That’s why it’s important to select the right type of question as a questionnaire is only as effective as its questions.

The survey questions need to be evaluated quickly and they need to produce data that can be acted upon.

If you make questions too difficult or confusing to answer, you may end up with meaningless data.Choosing the wrong type of question can also lead to incomplete results or data that is hard to interpret.The main question types are open-ended closed-ended and semi-closed ended questions. Within these types, there is an abundance of ways to present your query from ratings to yes/no question.

Learn how to select the right types of survey questions for your needs in our essential guide.

Why Use an Online Questionnaire

There are numerous advantages to using online questionnaires.

Online questionnaires allow users time to consider responses – a distinct advantage over face-to-face or telephone methods. Besides these great perks, the cost of online questionnaires is low and actionable items produced by the data can produce a high return on investment.

There are additional benefits as well.

User responses can be precoded, eliminating transcription errors. The data is already in an electronic format, allowing for easy analysis without the hassle of digitizing data.

Lastly, guidance and/or software is available through providers such as Survey Anyplace at an affordable cost and with a wide range of possibilities to make it fit your brand and your requirements.