BES-t Practices Training Interviewing with Purpose So why is interviewing important? Or is it?

Introduction: Of all the important aspects of running a business successfully, such as quality, service, unity and profitability, it is effective staffing that sets it all in motion. Every pizza gets made by a person, every customer gives their order to a person. Every business decision is made by a person. All problems are caused by people and solved by people. Nothing happens in a business that isn’t affected positively or negatively by efforts of people.

Objective: We absolutely have to make attracting the right people our top priorities. We cannot do that without solid effective interviewing and hiring practices to go along with recruiting and training. There is a time to hire aggressively to get more people in the door more quickly (when understaffed) and a time to hire with more discernment (when fully staffed) to get better people in the door. Either way we should ALWAYS recruit aggressively to continually move forward and improve.

Mindset Great Interviewing skills don’t staff a store. The proper Mindset staffs a store A Growth Mindset is always seeking to improve the staff (get ahead, stay ahead then get further ahead). This is positive leverage that leads to appreciation. A Fixed Mindset is tries to hire just enough to maintain staffing and not lose the staff you have (just enough to fall back to a minimal effort). They recruit only when they need to. This is negative leverage and always leads to depreciation.

Before the interview Give yourself as many options to choose from as possible. Make it easy for people to apply for a job with applications, pencils, “Apply Online” cards etc. Application flow- Maximize every opportunity. Keep organized, review and follow-up immediately. 24/48 Rule – When you receive an application review right away and determine if they qualify for an interview. Give them a call within 24 hours of receiving the application. – When possible try to set up an interview within 48 hours in order to beat other businesses to the punch. Keep in mind the better the applicant, the smaller window of time you have. Schedule the interview in a place to avoid distractions. Give yourself enough time for an effective interview. This may be challenging but don’t compromise this. Make sure your office is neat and organized and you are presentable and professional. Review the applicants resume or application prior to arrival. Prepare a list of questions to ask. See below. Be prepared to be flexible with these questions.

Best practices Plan to spend 75% of your time listening to them. The goal is to get to know them not to know you. Do not act like the person in control that has the power to determine their future. Be appreciative that they are considering us for their choice of employment. Treat them with respect. Smile and thank them for taking time out of their day for us. Remember while you interview them, they are also determining if they want to work for you. They will talk to their friends. Make them feel at ease and start with a simple ice-breaker question. Ask open ended questions to encourage conversation. Avoid Yes or No answers that lead to dead time. You can use “Tell me about a time when…” questions, however be careful, people can use these questions to make stuff up or tell you what you want to hear. You have a purpose for the interview, to find out if they are a good fit for our store. Don’t get caught up in social interaction. This will skew your objectivity, waste your time and make you stray from your purpose.

Questions you MAY NOT discuss/ask: 1.What is your religious affiliation? 2.Are you pregnant? 3.What is your political affiliation? 4.What is your race, color or ethnicity? 5.How old are you? 6.Are you disabled? 7.Are you married? 8.Do you have children or plan to? 9.Are you in debt? 10.Do you social drink or smoke?

Questions you MAY discuss/ask: 1.How do you know what is right and wrong? 2.Are you physically able to perform the job as described? 3.Are you able to be on your feet for a full shift? 4.Are you able to lift 20 lbs over your head? 5.Do you have any schedule restrictions or obligations that we need to be aware of? 6.Do you have reliable transportation? Any limitations to when your transportation is available? 7.Have you been convicted of a crime other than a misdemeanor?

Before you hire Call references to learn as much as you can about them. Look them up on to find out their criminal and civil history. Check your motives and make sure you are not overly optimistic or pessimistic in your evaluation. Don’t let your current staffing have more or less affect than it should. Make sure you have a plan for orientation and training. Communicate this clearly to them. Make them an offer at the most appropriate wage and make sure you have common expectations. Do not make any promises to entice them to take the job.

Practice makes perfect! (Small group exercise) Review the list of Interview Questions (next 2 pages) and select one or two questions from each category that are most interesting to you. 10 min. Break off into pairs and practice your introduction and interviewing techniques using your selected questions from the list. 20 min. When playing the employee, try to give the most typical answers you expect to hear during interviews. Discuss with your partner what you may be able to improve on. Follow-up, discuss any insights or observations you may have gained through this exercise. 15 min