Good Interview Practice for hiring supervisors

sawynia

My CEO came to me late last week and asked me to build an interview where we can figure out a candidates aptitude and skill level to find supervisors. And of course, like any good CEO, wanted this yesterday.

Does anybody have anything they might be willing to share with me that works for you when you are hiring for supervisors? I've ordered some books from SHRM to help me, but am concerned about how I would test or ask to find a candidates 'aptitude'.

Any suggestions that can help me would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Paul in Cannon Beach

What you want are "behavioral interview" questions that would identify if the applicant has the ability to supervise effectively. Behavioral questions ask applicants to provide examples of how they have handled a specific situation.

I would start by identifying three to five "traits" that a supervisor needs to have. For example, one trait could be "detail oriented". If that is an essential trait, then you craft behavioral questions that would identify that trait.

The behavioral question could be as simple as:

"Give me an example of a previous job or responsibility that you had where you had to organize information in a detailed and thorough manner."

If the applicant cannot provide an example, its possible that there is a reason why they have never been in a "detail oriented" position.

As an aside, the behavior of "detail oriented" could also be determined through a short test or by examining how the applicant completed the application process (was all necessary information provided? did the applicant appear to read and follow instructions?)

If another trait was "good communication" you can ask a question like:

"Tell me about a time when you had to have a difficult conversation with a coworker and how you handled it?"

There are books out there (and also online) that could provide you with sample behavioral questions.

I would also think that an applicants work history would be a strong indication of their ability to supervise. Do they gravitate towards leadership positions? Do they have a history of promotions?

My personal belief is that a supervisor should be a motivator. Yes, you can get your employees to do their jobs by fear and intimidation but the highest level of performance comes from employees who are motivated, engaged, and empowered to do their best.

Thus, good supervisors are hard to find.

Paul in Cannon Beach

Come on people, help out here!

AnneHa

Google 'interview qustions supervisory' and a bunch of resources pop up. I use this method whenever we're building interview questions for certain positions.

Anne in Ohio

Paul in Cannon Beach

Sawynia, I can e-mail you something that could be helpful. Just send me a private message with your e-mail address.

ACU Frank

I give my supervisory finalists a written exercise to complete between interview sessions. It includes a detailed scenario and timeline for an incident that might commonly occur here. Their task is to read the scenario and write two memos - one memo to their boss, explaining the incident, and another memo to the employee involved, as a coaching document. This often separates the pretenders from the contenders.

Nevada HR

I like that! Thanks.

sawynia

Paul in Canon Beach - I am unable to send you an e-mail. The forum states that your inbox has been disabled????

sawynia

ACU Frank - That is a great idea. I think I will look at putting that in place here as well.

Thank you!

ritaanz

My VP of Sales did that with his Regional Sales Manager applicants. He asked them to write a letter to the customer they had just visited trying to summerize the visit and close the deal.

Well, he hired one that had written an exceptional letter. Several months later when this guy had difficulty completeing an expense report, the VP discovered the letter was written by someone else. I suggest this exercise be done on company premises.

ACU Frank

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-11-08 AT 09:20AM (CST)[/font][br][br]Absolutely!

When I got here, I ended the practice of sending applicants a link to the website for their pre-employment tests. I couldn't believe they were doing that!