There are many reasons to conduct effective, legally compliant interviews in today's competitive business landscape. First, review sites and job boards offer levels of transparency we've never faced in the past and bad reviews are a sure way to ruin your employer brand. Second, as businesses become more complex and regulations continue to increase, hiring the right people is critical to maintain compliance. Third, a great hire can positively impact your bottom line by driving growth and productivity - and great hires start with great interviews.

Interview Training for Managers

Managers play a pivotal role in the hiring process, often conducting at least the first interview and making the final decision on which candidate to hire. This places tremendous responsibility on their shoulders holding several concepts in tension as they interview; practicing fair and unbiased assessments, keeping their interview process legally compliant, and choosing the best talent to grow the business.

Legal Interview Training for Managers

Navigating the legal landscape around interviews and staying compliant can be a challenge. This requires a good understanding of employment laws to prevent discrimination. Knowing legal vs illegal questions can protect the company from lawsuits. Managers must be trained on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), along with any state-specific laws.

Creating an Inclusive Interview Process

Managers set the standard and create the initiatives that inform interview training for interviewers. If a manager doesn't live by their principles, it will be hard to ask their team to do so. Great interview training empowers hiring teams with the skills and knowledge to conduct thorough, effective interviews. This includes teaching them how to structure an interview, develop relevant and legal questions, and evaluate candidates fairly. It also involves educating on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the hiring process and how to create an environment that is welcoming to all candidates.

Pillar’s interview intelligence software makes structured compliant interviews easy for managers. For your own personal interview guide with structured interview questions tailored to the roles you’re actively hiring, click here.

The Importance Of Behavioral Based Interview Training

Two primary styles of interview questions will help you keep interviews compliant and unbiased. Behavioral and situational. Behavioral-based interview questions are designed to help you discover how a candidate has handled work challenges in the past, while situational interview questions showcase a candidate‘s ability to think through challenges they may face in the future.

While both styles of questions have their place in the interview process, behavioral-based interview training for managers is crucial as it allows them to better understand a candidate's past behavior and decision-making. Asking behavioral-based questions will help a manager gain insights into a candidate’s thought process when facing a challenge, and their critical thinking skills to overcome those challenges, and allow you to see how they come up with strategies and take action.

Now that you know the importance of behavioral-based interview questions, let’s dive into the fundamentals of behavioral-based interview training for managers.

Understanding the STAR Method

To conduct behavioral-based interviews effectively, managers should have some training in the STAR method (or a similar framework). STAR stands for - Situation, Task, Action, and Result. This method helps interviewers structure their questions and assess candidate responses consistently and fairly. Understanding the STAR method will pay dividends in the quality and effectiveness of interviews as it helps managers accurately evaluate a candidate's problem-solving abilities, communication skills, and overall fit for their team.

Other Structured Interview Frameworks

There are other frameworks that can serve as alternatives to the STAR method in behavioral interviews. Methods like CAR and SOAR focus on using a similarly structured approach but from slightly different perspectives. CAR stands for Context, Action, and Result and is very helpful in understanding how a candidate reached a conclusion and took action in a given situation. SOAR stands for Situation, Objective, Action, and Result- and measures a candidate’s ability to craft solutions and strategies with the objective in mind.

No matter which framework or methodology you choose, the goal is to have a structured and consistent approach to behavioral-based interviews that helps you gain objective insights into a candidate's skills, potential, and fit for the role.

Interview Training For Hiring Managers

Now that we’ve covered some of the frameworks and methodologies behind behavioral-based interviews, let’s talk about creating effective interview training programs for managers. When building a training protocol, keep the end result in mind. We're trying to find the perfect fit for our team - this is a "big ask," but an effective interview process can help you achieve this goal.

Here are some key elements to include in your interview training for hiring managers:

• Understanding employment laws and regulations is a key first step.
• Creating a fair and unbiased interview process that focuses on skills and qualifications.
• Teaching managers how to structure an interview, develop relevant questions, and assess candidate responses consistently.
• Using the right tools to find and assess candidates.
• Emphasizing the importance of diversity and inclusion in the hiring process and how it can benefit the company. 
• Providing managers with resources and budgets to continuously improve their interviewing skills and stay updated on any legal changes or updates.

How to Conduct Interview Training for Hiring Managers - Core Points

Now, let's dive into each of these points. Following employment laws starts with looking at your local EEOC field office website (ours is in Indianapolis, IN.) and identifying the laws that are applicable to your organization and location. Your local EEOC field office will have resources and information specific to your state and region, including any recent changes or updates in employment laws.

Once managers have a solid understanding of these laws, it's time to put structure around your interviews. Pillar's interview intelligence software and accompanying library of interview questions can help you create a structured and compliant process. If you'd like a personal interview guide for your next interview, click this link, enter your job description, and we'll email you a custom guide.

Finally, diversity and inclusion training is essential in creating an unbiased and welcoming environment for all candidates. Managers should be educated on the importance of diversity and inclusion, not just for legal compliance, but also for the positive impact it can have on company culture and success. This training should cover how to identify potential bias during interviews and how to actively promote diversity in the workplace.

Interview Training Program For Managers

Now that you have some core points to add to your interview training activities for hiring managers, how do you turn it into a program to assess your hiring practices on a regular interval to ensure that they're compliant and generating the best results? An interview training program for managers with this end goal in mind should include a few things:

1. A time period over which the results are measured to set a benchmark. This could be a few months, a year, or more depending on the size of your organization and your average hiring cycle.
2. Clearly defined goals for the program - what are you trying to achieve through this training and evaluation process? This could include diversity hiring,  reduced turnover, improved candidate experience, or any other hiring metrics you'd like to see improved.
3. A structured format for conducting interviews, including specific guidelines for developing questions and evaluating candidate responses.
4. Ongoing education and resources for managers to continuously improve their interviewing skills and stay updated on any legal changes or updates.
5. Regular assessments and evaluations of the program's effectiveness, with a focus on identifying areas for improvement and implementing necessary changes.
6. An internal champion to hold the entire team accountable for results.

This last point is vital. Metrics get lost in the hustle of life. Having someone in charge of evaluating progress and staying on top of the program's goals can help ensure its effectiveness. It's also essential to keep the training program updated and relevant by regularly reviewing and refreshing materials, incorporating new techniques and best practices, and addressing any legal changes or updates that may affect hiring processes.

In conclusion, establishing a comprehensive interview training program for your hiring managers is like taking a huge leap toward high-quality hiring processes. These types of training net stronger teams and a more cohesive workplace culture where people do better work.

Ready to transform your hiring processes? Empower your team with tools and insights to streamline interviews and drive data-driven decision-making. Book a demo of Pillar's interview intelligence today.