General Management

Interviewing Skills in Today’s Knowledge Economy

Today’s changing healthcare environment requires employees who are “knowledge workers”. Employees are required to operate in increasingly complex environments. They must be able to quickly learn new skills and feel comfortable working in ambiguous situations that are under constant change. Organisations need knowledgeable people – people with the ability to learn. At the same time, the roles within organisations are not for life. Employees must therefore have the ability to change roles within organisations or develop the skills that they can transport between employers.

Individuals who can apply their skills in many different environments will flourish in the knowledge economy. They are the ones who are able to learn and develop and who are able to deal with change. Organisations therefore need to adjust their traditional interviewing techniques to incorporate approaches to effectively identify and recruit these people.

In preparing for the interview it is the responsibility of the interviewer to determine what competencies are required to successfully do that specific job and prepare a set of questions to ask the candidate. The majority of organisations have well-developed competency profiles that relate to both the goals of the organisation and to specific roles. These are generally classified as professional or technical core competencies. In today’s environment organisations are augmenting these competencies with Knowledge Competencies.

Behaviourally based interviewing is the strongest technique to assess a candidate’s suitability for a particular role. The premise here is that past behaviour and performance is the best predictor of future performance. During a structured interview candidates are asked a series of questions under each competency area. Interviewers want to find out how the candidates have handled various situations, what they did and the results of those actions. They want to uncover the true nature of the candidate’s knowledge, motivations and values. With this insight an assessment can be made in terms of the candidate’s organisational fit. If the candidate is the wrong person to add to your existing group they won’t form the necessary informal networks that are necessary to share knowledge and enhance group productivity.

Knowledge environments require people who have a willingness to share ideas. During the interview process examples of a candidate’s ‘sharing behaviours’ are obtained and the motivation behind these behaviours elucidated. If employees don’t have the capacity to share their knowledge with co-workers then their contribution will not be aligned to the strategic intent of the organisation ie to be adaptable and flexible in changing circumstances thus enhancing profitability. For some individuals there is a personal challenge in working comfortably in such an environment and these individuals, regardless of how technically competent they may be, must be screened out, during the interview process.

Knowledge workers are required to work collaboratively thus helping to develop skills and expertise in others. The exchange and sharing of knowledge depends on an individual’s capability to pass on experience and understanding thus contributing to effective team working. Individuals must therefore have well developed communication skills as well as sensitivity to different situations and environments. The interview must therefore uncover examples of the candidate using superior communication skills, including their ability to influence others through negotiation and persuasion.

During the interview it is important to encourage candidates to talk, to listen to their answers and then use follow on questions that naturally flow from the answers given. The main purpose of follow on questions is to probe deeper into responses given by the candidate. Use phrases like: “Tell me more about that example”. These are used when you think that the candidate’s response is inadequate or superficial. You may need to clarify some information that a candidate has given you eg “You said that working in an open plan environment was fine sometimes. Can you tell me specifically when working in an open plan environment is not fine?” If the candidate does not answer the question then either repeat the question or paraphrase it. It is important to ensure that candidates do not over generalise about their achievements without specifics. Avoid leading questions that let the candidate know what the desired response should be eg “Would you say you had good team skills?”. Avoid bipolar questions where the candidate can only choose to answer from two options: eg “Do you prefer working by yourself or working with other people?” Be comfortable using silence during the interview. Importantly, as the interviewer, do not talk too much. After the candidate has finished speaking pause for a few seconds. This encourages the candidate to continue talking.

During the interview ‘Knowledge Workers’ also want to find out whether the job and the organisation is a good fit for their current and future plans. Prior to the interview the candidate should carefully think about those aspects of a role they would value and those they would not and then to ask the necessary questions during the interview. For instance,

• What Knowledge Management initiatives are in place throughout your organisation?
• How does your department contribute to these initiatives?
• What particular skills of mine will the role utilise?
• What skills will I be required to develop?
• What does the company value most?
• What are the most critical factors for success within the company?
• What is currently the most pressing business issue for the department?
• Are there adequate resources to accomplish the goals?
• Does management have realistic expectations about what the role can achieve?
• How is the role regarded within the local and global organisation?
• How does the company support professional growth?
• …and so forth.

During the interview the candidate is seeking as much information as possible so that they can make an assessment of the organisation and a valid comparison to their current role. They will then determine whether the new role will help them develop the skills that will provide future career advancement opportunities within the knowledge economy.

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