Improving the Interview Process

A southern New Hampshire hospital needed to improve their success at hiring additional physicians and a team of employed physicians were struggling to find qualified candidates for various positions. In the past, the physicians interviewed a candidate for about 15 minutes then returned to their busy schedules and evaluated the candidate based on instinctive feelings.

After noticing a disorganized interview process, the physicians enlisted Cejka Search experts to help create a successful interview process for the hospital, physicians and the candidates.

Strategy
Most physicians’ busy schedules leave little time to concentrate on interviewing a candidate effectively.

Cejka Search decided that in order for them to recruit successfully, the physicians had to make the interview process a higher priority, which meant starting the process with a serious training program.

Prior to the interviews, Cejka Search and the physicians met to address the results needed for a successful hire. The training continued with the group discussing the importance of advance preparation, introducing the entire team in one visit, assigning specific competencies to individuals interviewing and allotting enough time in the interviews for candidates to answer questions thoroughly. For instance, most interviewers tend to rush candidates even though allowing more time results in more comprehensive answers.

The physicians then role-played within the group to become comfortable asking interview questions. Finally, Cejka Search emphasized how crucial it is to evaluate a candidate within 24 hours.

Cejka Search recommended the physicians apply behavioral interviewing, a technique used to obtain more in-depth answers from the candidates and avoid scripted answers. This technique helps highlight the candidate’s experiences—how they have reacted to situations in the past; what they did to specifically address this issue and the outcome.

Results
After the physicians practiced behavioral interviewing, they interviewed numerous candidates for varying positions. Follow-up surveys, which allowed the candidates to evaluate the interview process, confirmed the process was highly effective.

As a result of the physicians using behavioral interviewing, each qualified candidate proved they identified with the core values of the hospital and would make a good long-term fit for the organization. The improved interviewing process helped the hospital hire several candidates quickly and efficiently.