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HR Conducting Interview

How To Be A Great Interviewer

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When it comes to interviewing for a job, there’s a whole slew of online resources that interviewee’s can utilize to make the most out of every 15-30 minute job-defining conversation they have. However, what about the interviewer? Regardless of company title or rank, there are plenty of individuals around the world who have to interview other people everyday. Whether it be interviewing carpenters to renovate your kitchen, a new staff intern for the office, or even a new hiring manager so you don’t have to sit through any more interviews, interviewers should also keep a few things in mind to make sure that the process is fair for all parties involved. 

First and most obviously, before you begin the entire interview process, you need to make sure all applicants know beforehand exactly what you’re looking for in an ideal employee for whatever role you’re hiring for. Lucky for most, a lot of the application process now occurs online, so when someone is applying for a position, they likely see all the qualifications a business would be looking for before even talking to anyone at that business. 

However, it’s still important to be clear. So often job listings done online are way to general, which can waste a lot of time, especially if the application is long. Don’t just bullet point things like “looking for someone who can use Microsoft Word, is a team player, and willing to work odd hours.” Instead, list what specific duties potential employee’s will have to do on Microsoft Word for the job itself. What aspects of the job require teamwork and co-worker communication? Define “odd hours” and why employee’s in the past have had to work them. 

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These specifications are important not just for your employee to know, but for you to communicate as well so that you know the only individuals who are applying are mentally agreeing to all the distinct terms you’ve laid out. 

When it comes time to actually prepare for an interview, as the interviewer, make sure you’re choosing your questions to ask very carefully. Don’t ask generic interview questions like “what is your greatest strength/weakness” just because that seems like the right thing to do. What do you really need to know about a person in order to determine if they’ll be the right fit at your company/business/fulfilling whatever role you’re interviewing for?

Ask questions that will distinguish interviewee’s based on skill, ability to learn/grow, and overall experience. Skills can be taught, but only if they have a strong ability to adapt and learn; does their past job experience indicate to you that they have that ability?

Again, being clear is always the right route to go as the interviewer. You already know that as the individual being interviewed, there’s already a decent amount of anticipation and anxiety on their end that you have no business adding to. Don’t ask trick questions, and tell your candidates before the interview exactly what to expect when they come in so they can truly prepare for what’s to come. Remember, you’re not trying to scare applicants away, you’re trying to hire someone who’s best fit for the tasks at hand. The more upfront and honest you are, the more comfortable they’ll feel when it comes to presenting themselves, making the process easier for all parties. 

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In addition, if you weave your interview with trick questions and over explanation, the individual up for the job is likely to speak on that once they leave, which has the potential to ruin any other opportunity at others wanting to apply for the position at hand. Even though the interviewee isn’t a part of the company yet, you still are, and you’re representing your businesses values the second you both sit down and begin the questionnaire process, so do it justice. 

Finally, make sure you’re giving both yourself, and the interviewee enough time to speak. It’s definitely important for you to describe the specific details of the job and your company as a whole, but don’t get caught in the trap of forgetting to let your candidate actually answer a question because you were too busy speaking. If hired, they’ll have plenty of time to learn about all the inner workings of the business and their particular job, so allow them time to speak up for themselves first. 

On the opposite end, do make sure that you leave space for you to actually mention the key points about the job and business that you deem as most important for a potential employee to know during an interview. Basically re-emphasize the qualifications that would be listed on the online application for your business, this way you have a template of things to mention, without going overboard.  

Interviewing can be overwhelming for all individuals involved, but it doesn’t have to be scary as long as there’s direct clear communication from the beginning. Everyone has the same goal of either wanting to be hired or wanting to hire someone best fit for the job, so take a deep breath, and make it happen.

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Creating A Healthy Workplace Culture When Everyone Works Remotely

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Building a proper company culture is essential in 2020. When it comes to your business, or the business you work for, you may not fully enjoy your job, but you should at least feel comfortable enough in your environment to do your work to the best of your ability, and with the support of everyone around you. However, now that we’re in a predominately digital age, more and more jobs are able to be done remotely. So how exactly do you create a company culture of comradery and support when you’re not all under the same roof?

First, even with a remotely run company, all staff members should get together physically at some point to learn about one another and their roles within the company. Obviously this is only a real option if all employee’s live in the same area, relatively, however, group video conference capabilities have reached their maximum potential in 2020, so as long as everyone has some sort of video-chat capable device, everyone will be able to get together. 

Staying in touch via video chat is a great idea in general for creating a work atmosphere of support and respect. Weekly video conferences are an easy way to keep communication open and fluid amongst co-workers. Save some time in every video conference for everyone to discuss any questions or make any comments regarding the work they’re doing as a whole. By encouraging communication that is both supportive and constructive, you’ll easily create an environment that is both vulnerable and motivating. 

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Projects within your field of work that require cross-collaboration amongst different co-workers are another great way at establishing trust. When remote workers branch out within their occupation and work with other employees, whether it be in person or over video chat, it’s more likely that they’ll build personal relationships with one another. Creating appropriate personal relationships in the workplace can kick start a domino effect of new connections with other co-workers as well; you never know when one employee might recommend your skills to another based off the work you did together. 

This type of relationship building only further builds up the trust amongst every employee, regardless of rank, and creates a culture of open communication habits. Another way of building personal friendships while working remotely can be by hosting regular “virtual coffee sessions” with the entire office; an idea created by Karan Rhodes, who works remotely for a Human Resources company and writes for Forbes Magazine. 

“With today’s great video conferencing tools, a great tactic is to host regular virtual coffees with the entire team. Everyone literally comes to the conference with a coffee, tea or water to catch up in an informal way. You can have a mixture of topics—work and non-work related sessions—to add a ton of variety. For global teams, remember to rotate times to accommodate the multiple time zones.”

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Depending on your position within the company, holding regular “office hours” is a great way for all employees to know when you’re fully available to discuss any issue they may have. If every employee within a company has a designated slot of time in which they are most available, other employees will feel more comfortable not being physically with their co-workers should they have a question or concern about anything. 

Communication is obviously the key to creating an open culture amongst employees. If you’re in a position of power, keep your employee’s updated either with email threads, chain messaging, Slack, etc. on any and all progress that the company is making. When updating everyone on said progress, be specific with naming the employee’s who helped with whatever you’re updating everyone on. By being specific with your encouragement, you’ll not only motivate others to strive for the same level of success, but reassure everyone that their work is valued, seen, and well-done.  

Employee’s should also have group-chats that work outside the realm of the remote office in which they’re able to let off steam, build new personal connections, and discuss non-work related topics. While encouraging employees to not do work may seem far-fetched, it really is essential in creating deeper connections. When those relationships are established, the work within each employee will reflect that, because everyone will feel more trusting with one another to help.

Remote work is rising in popularity, but that doesn’t mean office comradery has to suffer as a result. Accentuate healthy means of communication, encourage collaboration, and emphasize success within an individual’s work, and the trust will follow. 

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The Differences Between America’s Working Culture and the Rest of the World

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When looking for a new position in your career, the salary is usually one of the first things a prospective employee looks at, closely followed by how well they can further their career thanks to the opportunities they believe will be created. However recent reports show that maybe we should be looking at how America’s corporate culture could be affecting those looking for employment.

Other countries wildly consider America as one of the forerunners in many areas of business yet our work habits are being seen as ‘”oppressive.”

A series of reports has highlighted the fact that many Americans are now dealing with a much longer work week compared to their colleagues abroad. While we are happy to spend longer hours at our desks – as well as eating on the go, losing out on vacation time as well as continuing to work on emails or reports long after we have left the office – the rest of the world has moved on.

In other countries it is seen as normal to have between 20 to 30 days of paid leave, as well as paid parental leave – for both parents –, as well as having the maximum hours you are allowed to work in a week set by law. Some countries are even trying to get the “right to disconnect” brought into law to stop employees being contacted via phone calls and emails once they’ve clocked out.

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While many Americans can be seen working an average 47 hour week, those in Europe have stricter controls. The Working Time Directive, implemented in 1993, has seen employees in the European Union only allowed to work a maximum of 48 hours per week, although those working in Germany will usually work around 35 hours per week. Many Europeans also believe longer working hours are ineffective as it allows you to linger longer on work rather than getting it done in an efficient time frame.

Vacations are another area that varies comparatively. While the US offers employees around two weeks of paid leave each year, nearly 50% of them do not take it. Compare this to countries such as Sweden, where they are currently entitled to five weeks paid annual vacation, you can understand why America is seen as having a corporate culture that is stuck in the dark ages.

Another major difference is parental leave. While America has decided to leave the decision of how long new parents are allowed to take off to the individual company, other countries have laws set to ensure all new parents get time to bond with their new born baby. For example, if you were to have a child in Finland the mother can take maternity leave from as early as seven weeks before the child is due, with a further 16 weeks after the birth, and it’s not just the moms. Finland’s fathers are also entitled to eight weeks of paid leave. Although these options are on offer to all parents, it is worth noting that not all take the leave.

While it may appear that America has a more industrious approach to business compared to a seemingly more relaxed approach around the world, this is not the case as there are also many similarities as well as differences.

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Obviously most employees will want to produce the best work possible while collaborating with colleagues across the office, country or world. So how can we break down these barriers and make the American workforce a place many will want to continue working in?

First of all, it’s good practice to only employ workers who not only have the same passions for the company as the majority of the team, but who also actually want to be there. By having employees that are happy at work, the work should theoretically be done in the required time, meaning your staff can go home happy at 5pm on a Friday, knowing they will not need to be contacted again until they come back in at 8am on a Monday morning.

It is also important for all annual leave to be taken. With nearly half of our workforce not taking their leave – whether it is for personal reasons or because work pressures cannot allow it – sickness, both physically and mentally, can increase. By enforcing your holiday time with colleagues they should be back at work refreshed meaning they will provide a more productive working environment.

Ensure that communication between colleagues – as well as supervisors, managers and directors – are open meaning that if there are problems in the workplace they should feel happy to discuss them with someone higher up the ladder than them. By resolving problems when they arise you should stop them getting bigger in the future.

By respecting everyone’s culture, regardless of where they are from, we should be able to finally bring our draconian culture into the twenty first century.

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The Advantages Of Digitizing Your Workplace Culture

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Businesses are constantly growing and changing with the times. Demographics change, consumer habits and wants shift, employee’s take on more or less of one job to make room for others, etc. One of the major shifts in business culture that pretty much everyone can relate to, is the implementation of advanced technology. Technology has grown and advanced a substantial amount within the past year alone, but in the past decade especially. More traditional ways of thinking have allowed some businesses to remain “old fashioned” in the way they run their operations and communicate with their customers, however, for the most part the digital transformation is taking over business culture.

Christian Hutter, a principal for RSM (a major tax/consulting firm) recently wrote for Denver Business Journal (DBJ) about the importance of digitizing your business and the main reasons why companies often embark on the digital transformation. 

“The three core goals of a digital transformation should be to; Enhance the customer experience, engage your employees, and increase operational efficiency. With a culture of innovation, your organization will more readily seek new ways to achieve your goals by leveraging technology. You may explore AI-powered social listening to help you better understand your clients, or internet devices to help you gain key insights to improve the efficiency of your production processes, for example,” (Hutter). 

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As stated by Hutter above, efficiency is the main goal for any business and incorporating technology can help you and your team be as productive as possible. It’s important to remember that just because you’re changing aspects of how your business is operated, that doesn’t mean the core values of what your business is, is changing. You can still maintain your same standards, reputation, employee’s and expectations all while embracing the digital change. 

To make this transition a little easier, start by creating a positive narrative surrounding digitization, and your work culture in general with your employees. Open up meetings and discussions more often for new ideas and methods of operation. Introduce the idea of newer technologies that can help run things smoother, but ensure to your employee’s that embracing new technology doesn’t mean that anyone’s job is at risk. Employee’s can be the most hesitant when it comes to embracing new technology due to the fact that so many jobs are currently being replaced by machines that can do the job faster and more efficiently. If that’s the case for your business, this might not be the article for you, as we’re discussing incorporating a digitized world to further grow your business, not break it down. 

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Through open and honest discussion with your employee’s, you’ll be able to come to an easier conclusion as to what type of technology would be the best for everyone in terms of efficiency. Whether it be a credit card reader for the company tablet to make transactions easier, new software to more easily create spreadsheets, advanced organizational methods, etc. you want your employees to feel just as benefited by this change as you are, and if you’re discussing the change with them every step of the way, not only will they embrace it more easily, but they’ll respect your authority as a boss who takes his employee’s suggestions seriously, even though you are the one who makes the final call. 

The next step would be to actually implement the new technology into your business. Depending on how intense of a digital transformation you’re implementing, you may have to think of this transition as a serious investment.

“Identifying your needs through an innovative mindset and culture helps you find the right tools to bring ideas to life that enhance customer experience, engage employees, or increase operational efficiencies, rather than trying to make technology work on its own,” (Hutter).

Embrace this change and encourage the employee’s who helped you make the jump. If you want your company to succeed and rise above its competitors it’s best to stay as up to date as you possible can in regard to digitizing your workplace’s culture. There’s so many digital tools available that are business specific that can help advance your operations, customer engagement, consumer review, employee efficiency, and more. If this is the type of transformation you want for your business, start with the current culture in your workplace surrounding change and discussion. Like most successful transformations, you have to start with what you already have to work with. So call a meeting, take everyone’s ideas seriously, and move your business up a level.

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How To Create A Workplace Culture Of Learning And Growth

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Workplace culture is extremely important from any perspective. According to Forbes Magazine, no matter what kind of workplace you’re either running or a part of, creating a space for constant learning and growth from one another is the recipe for the most success. When you go into a job and view the environment as one where everyone has an open line of communication with one another, you’re less likely to feel negatively towards that job. It’s up to employers to create this sort of workplace energy, luckily it’s not that hard to let your employees know that their voices matter. 

Forbes reports that seeking input for company projects, especially in their initial stages, from any and all employee’s will help create an environment of open discussion and learning. Learning from one another is a huge key in the success of any business. Having monthly check in meetings with an entire staff about areas in which the company can improve will allow for the group to build off one another and where they all agree more work needs to be done. These check in meetings should also allot time for employees to share what’s working well, and successful aspects of the business. This not only can inspire different branches to learn from one another, and what skills or tools they can adopt from each other, but will also allow employees and employers to praise one another on a job well done. Hearing that validation, no matter how small, will surprisingly increase overall motivation to keep up the good work, and also inspire others to aim to reach that same level of success. 

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According to Forbes, incorporating real-world experiences and stories into work related conflicts, or projects can help employee’s brainstorm and learn from each others past. Lindsay Tanne, the CEO of LogicPrep, an education company that helps families navigate the college admissions landscape, wrote with Forbes about how her and her employee’s like to bring in their real life experiences from on the job and outside of work to help each other learn from one another. 

“We’ve found that incorporating real-world experience and discussing actual case studies helps participants to see the immediate relevance of the discussion. In a recent session, I actually asked our college consultants to bring current student files to the table so they could learn from one another and immediately apply the lessons to their students. In order to make this happen, especially in a service business, I like to encourage my team members to think about the most formative client experiences they’ve had and bring them to the group.”

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If you want to learn from your employee’s or employer or just want to create a workplace in which everyone is constantly learning from each other, the best way to do that is to just straight up ask. Ask your employee’s for feedback on a completed project and what they thought about their role in it. Ask where they felt everyone could’ve improved, and what worked the best. If you’re an employer, it’s important that the people who work for you respect your authority and position, but are never afraid to approach you with questions or even critics on how something is running.

As previously stated, creating an environment for open communication will lead to the most success because everyone feels comfortable enough to work with one another and state their discrepancies if they have any. Success is the general goal for everyone, regardless of position or title. Going out of your way to ask each other for feedback, experience, ideas, and new ways of function are the keys to learning and growing with each other as a company.