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In Busness Magazine, Oxfordshire. January 2015
It is a mistake to rely soley on one or two interviews to determine whether or not someone is right for the job, warns Anneli Thomson, Managing Director at Sandler, based in Chipping Norton.
Her advice is to research the requirements of the role thoroughly to identify key personal attributes and skills required, before using psychometric testing to help create a short list.
"The interview process, on it's own, can only provide an employer with a narrow, one dimensional view of the person being interviewed," explained Ms Thomson, who runs sales training and business development programmes.
"There are many challenges to overcome, including the very human desire to want candidates to like you and your company and therefore preventing you from asking some of the tougher questions."
"You may also find yourself sitting face to face with an experienced interviewee who is adept at puttting their best side forward. One of the problems is that companies often tend to interview when they have an immediate vacancy to fill which means they are often only seeing what the market has to offer at that given moment and may feel compelled to make an appointment, regardless of whether the person is the right fit for the role, the company or the team." Ms Thomson said.
"The most successful companies are often those with an open recruitment policy, continually looking for great people to complement their business, even if that means creating a role when the right person comes along."
"To ensure new recruits buy into the company from the start and are properly motivated, we recommend a 15 week development plan which clearly sets out the week by week requirements of the role and the comany's expectations within a supportive and nurturing framework. This will also provide clear measurement criteria which feed into their appraisal at the end of their probational period."
