by Lou Adler, CEO and founder of The Adler Group
In today’s competitive job market, organisations must refine their hiring processes to ensure they select the best candidates while minimising biases. A “Refereed Panel Interview,” using a performance-based interview format, offers a structured and effective approach to achieve these goals. This method involves one leader asking the major questions while panelists seek clarification without changing the topic.
Unstructured panel interviews can resemble anarchy, with each interviewer asking their favorite questions, often resulting in disjointed conversations and little meaningful information. In contrast, a refereed panel interview maintains focus and consistency, leading to more accurate and reliable assessments of candidates.
Key Components of a Refereed Panel Interview
Preparation of Performance-Based Job Description
Before conducting the interview, it is crucial to prepare a performance-based job description. This document outlines key performance objectives (KPOs, not KPIs!) and specific challenges the new hire will face. Without this foundation, it’s challenging to assess whether a candidate is motivated and capable of performing the required tasks under the actual job circumstances.
Structured Questioning
The interview is led by a primary interviewer, aka the “Referee,” who asks the main questions. The panelists’ role is to seek clarification and delve deeper into the candidate’s responses, ensuring a thorough understanding of their experience and skills. This approach prevents the interview from veering off-topic and maintains focus on the job-related factors.
The panel interview starts by conducting an in-depth work history determining basic fit and if the candidate is a high achiever. If positive, much of the balance of a performance-based interview involves getting a complete understanding of the candidate’s major accomplishments related to the major KPOs defined in the performance-based job description.
Benefits of the Refereed Panel Interview
1. Concrete Evidence of Job Fit
By focusing on specific performance objectives and real job needs, this interview format provides concrete evidence of a candidate’s fit for the role. Panelists can gather detailed information about the candidate’s past accomplishments, problem-solving abilities, and team experiences. This evidence-based approach ensures that hiring decisions are grounded in actual job requirements.
2. Reduction of Bias
The refereed panel interview helps minimise biases in several ways. Firstly, the structured format ensures that all candidates are asked the same set of core questions, promoting consistency. Secondly, the panelists’ role is limited to clarification, which reduces the influence of individual biases. Finally, by focusing on job-related factors and evidence of past performance, the process emphasises objective criteria over subjective impressions.
3. Increased Interview Accuracy
This method allows for a comprehensive evaluation of the candidate’s capabilities. The interview covers various aspects, including job-specific skills, achievements, and teamwork. During the debriefing session, each panelist can offer insights based on their areas of expertise, leading to a well-rounded assessment of the candidate.
4. Finally, Measure Quality of Hire
The Quality of Hire talent scorecard converts each factor into a numerical score with each factor weighted differently. The total score represents a predicted value for Quality of Hire. Since the measurement is based on the candidate’s past performance doing work comparable to the real KPOs of the role, the same scorecard can be used to measure post-hire performance.
The Importance of a Formal Debriefing
Conducting a formal debriefing using the Quality of Hire Talent Scorecard is an essential component of the refereed panel interview process. This step ensures that all panelists collectively review and discuss their findings based on the structured interview.
The Quality of Hire Talent Scorecard provides a framework for evaluating candidates on various competencies and fit factors. Panelists should review the scorecard ahead of time to understand the type of evidence needed for a proper assessment. This preparation helps them focus on gathering relevant information during the interview as part of their fact-finding role.
Consistency and Objectivity
Using the scorecard as a guide ensures that each panelist evaluates the candidate based on the same criteria. This consistency helps to mitigate individual biases and provides a more objective basis for comparison. Each panelist explains their evidence, contributing to a shared understanding of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.
Conclusion
A refereed panel interview, guided by a performance-based job description and followed by a formal debriefing using the Quality of Hire Talent Scorecard, offers a structured and effective approach to hiring. It provides concrete evidence of a candidate’s fit for the role, reduces biases, and enhances the overall evaluation process. By implementing this method, organisations can make better-informed hiring decisions and select candidates who are truly motivated and capable of performing the required tasks under actual job circumstances.
Now I’m not sure this is a new idea, but I am sure it’s important, and one of the best ways to ensure candidates are accurately assessed for fit, performance and potential.
Permission has been granted from The Adler Group and Lou Adler, author of Hire With Your Head and The Essential Guide to Hiring & Getting Hired, to reprint this article.
About the author
Lou Adler is the CEO and founder of The Adler Group – a training and search firm helping companies implement Performance-based Hiring℠. Adler is the author of the Amazon top-10 best-seller, Hire With Your Head (John Wiley & Sons, 3rd Edition, 2007). His most recent book has just been published, The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired (Workbench, 2013). He is also the author of the award-winning Nightingale-Conant audio program, Talent Rules! Using Performance-based Hiring to Build Great Teams (2007). Adler holds an MBA from the University of California in Los Angeles and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University in New York.
