"Refocusing your resources on hiring better will have a higher return than almost any training program you can develop." - Laszlo Bock, CEO of Humu
Hiring the right people is the easiest way to your company's success. Easier said than done, though. Streamlining the hiring process can be complicated and time-consuming, especially if you don't know exactly what to tweak.
With interviews being the key to successful hiring, many hiring managers are rethinking the approach. By asking the right questions, it's possible to minimize hiring mistakes, speed up the hiring procedure, and keep top talent from shopping around.
Let's take a closer look at how an interview question bank can improve your interviewing structure, thus streamlining your hiring process.
What Is an Interview Question Bank?
An interview question bank is a collection of behavioral, competency, and situation-based questions designed to be asked during an interview for certain positions.
Asking the right questions is the most important part of the interview process. However, coming up with questions right before or during the interview can be time-consuming and counterproductive. With a question bank available, interviewers can retrieve relevant questions from the pool and use them as a foundation for each interview.
Questions can be stored by category and include:
- General questions
- Competency questions
- Skills (soft and hard) questions
- Knowledge questions
- Decision-making questions
- Analytical thinking questions
- Adaptability questions
- Communication questions
- Delegation questions
The question bank can also contain examples of answers to help the interviewer assess the candidate's suitability and reduce bias.
With the assistance of machine learning, an interview question bank can be organized, updated, and analyzed after every interview. This allows interviewers across the organization to work with the most relevant, productive, and proven questions, thus saving time and money for the organization.
Benefits of Interview Question Banks
Interview question banks are an integral part of a structured interview. They aren't just helpful for interviewers, they can assist interviewees, decision-makers, and the organization.
For Interviewers
On average, an interview lasts 45 to 60 minutes. During that time, the interviewer needs to collect maximum information while gaining an insight into the person's suitability for the organization, the team, and the current company's goals. Doing all the above while coming up with the right questions can be complicated.
Time
With a preset bank of questions, you don't spend time thinking about new questions. Instead, you’re able to focus on listening to the candidates, recording their responses, and analyzing the collected information. This doesn't just help you make better decisions about the candidate; it also makes the interviewing process more efficient and allows you to maximize value.
Comparison
An organized question bank gives you an opportunity to ask each candidate the same set of questions. This can be highly useful for comparison purposes. Additionally, this can streamline your DEI practices.
Bias
By taking advantage of preset questions, you are minimizing the unconscious bias that accompanies any interview. No matter how impartial you may think you are, small things can still sway your decision.
By following a specific interview structure, you keep your focus and minimize bias while gaining an opportunity to explore otherwise hidden interviewee qualities.
For Interviewees
An interviewee's experience during an interview can help them make decisions about the company. By using an interview question bank, you can improve this experience.
It's hardly a secret that interviews are highly stressful. In fact, 92% of American adults feel anxious during an interview. Preset questions are concise, direct, and straightforward. This allows the interviewee to feel more relaxed and confident, thus improving their ability to demonstrate their skills.
By reducing the interviewing time, you are making the entire experience much easier for the candidate. Anything that takes the stress out of the picture allows you to make better decisions about the candidate's suitability.
An interview is a two-way street. While you are analyzing the candidate, the candidate analyzes you. When it comes to top talent with numerous offers from other companies, the interview experience could become a cornerstone.
For Decision-Makers
One of the key benefits of an interview question bank is consistency. It allows you to use the same questions for each candidate, making comparison much easier. When you need to choose between several candidates, comparing their answers to preset questions can simplify your decision tenfold.
Instead of trying to rely on your memory and piece together different interview elements, you can analyze and compare answers one by one. This can help you make better decisions about hires and improve decision-making confidence dramatically.
Besides using the collected data to analyze and compare candidates, you can figure out which questions are the most efficient for decision-making and make changes to improve future interviewing processes.
For Organizations
According to Gallup, U.S. businesses lose a trillion dollars every year due to employee turnover. One of the main reasons for high churn rates is a poorly designed interviewing and hiring procedure.
An interview question bank increases the quality of the interviewing process, thus affecting the quality of hires. As a result, it can cut costs and improve the company's bottom line.
The Legal Element
No matter how well you follow the law, some candidates may still consider your hiring process discriminatory. Structured interviews created by using question banks produce detailed documentation that makes it easy to defend your company in court.
According to a 2015 review, only 13% of structured interviews challenged in court were found discriminatory. The same decision was made for over 50% of unstructured interviews.
Streamline Your Interviewing Process With interviewIA
Using an interview question bank for each interview should become an irreplaceable part of your interviewing structure. By having access to an organized collection of preset questions, you can streamline the interview process, make the right hires, improve interviewees' experience, and reduce bias.
interviewIA is a comprehensive interview platform that gives you access to a robust interview question bank. Along with other features, it can take your hiring structure to the next level. For more information, please contact our team at any convenient time or sign up your hiring team with a free collaboration account today.
