Job interviewers are risking landing their organisation in legal hot water, according to research out today. On average, around half (54%) of UK interviewers are unable to correctly identify illegal questions, yet staying the right side of the law scores low on their list of concerns.
In addition, those who rely on their intuition make hiring decisions could be wasting their organisations thousands in costs and time by selecting the wrong person for the job. Almost half of all interviewers globally (47%) spend less than 30 minutes reviewing candidatesí interview results before making a decision – less time than it takes the average Briton to commute to work.
Business leadership consultancy DDIís 2008 Global Interviewing Practices and Perceptions report surveyed 1,900 interviewers and 3,500 job-seekers across the globe and discovered some sobering facts.
Despite being a requirement for nearly every job in the world, the interview process isnít given the time it needs. Interviewers frequently come unprepared for discussion or turn candidates off with their behaviour.
Steve Newhall, Vice President for Europe at DDI, comments;
ìJob interviews are simply not being given the time and effort they deserve, and could be opening up businesses to costly legal problems. The average interviewer is far more confident about their abilities than the research shows they should be. In the current climate, organisations cannot afford to risk wasting valuable time and money in hiring the wrong person into critical roles.î
He continues; ìThis research underlines the need for organisations to have properly developed assessment and selection processes in place, and a greater awareness of the impact a good or poor hire can have on the organisation.î
ìBusinessesí due diligence when bringing new people into the organisation is often worryingly lax. The rapid time taken to make hiring decisions, the lack of more than one perspective and the fact that interviewers believe theyíre doing a better job than they really are leads to a dangerous mix.î
Despite UK interviewers faring well compared to their global counterparts - they are among the least likely to rely on ëgut instinctí - they are still over-rating their abilities.
Other key findings from the report show that;
88% of interviewers think interviews are ëimportantí or ëvery importantí (55%). Yet almost half (47%) make hiring decisions in 30 minutes or less.
Almost three-quarters of interviewers (73%) rate their interviewing skills an A or B, and 87% rate the overall quality of their hiring decisions as A or B.
Yet 64% also worry theyíll miss important information about a candidateís weaknesses that will show up later on the job, and many cannot identify illegal questions.
Interviewersí other concerns are getting enough information to make a decision (46%) and allowing one aspect of background to influence others.
UK interviewers are among the least likely to use ëgut instinctí, with only 32% saying they use this to make decisions. In comparison, 56% of their US counterparts claim to rely on this.
Job-seekers reported that their top ëturn offsí during job interviews were interview techniques that were more like interrogations (43%), taking too long to get back to them (42%) and not being up-front about details like salary, hours and expectations (39%).
Interviewers in Australia, France, and Germany appear to be the least aware illegal interview questions, with 60% unable to correctly identify them. But even in high-profile lawsuit locations such as the US and Canada, 20-40% of interviewers are still unable to recognise illegal questions.
Businesses risking time, money and lawsuits on bad interviews
People spend longer on their work commute than they do making a hiring decision
