Behavioral Interviewing Helps Reduce Employee Turnover

Employee Turnover is Costly

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), it can cost anywhere between $10,000 and half of an employee’s annual salary to replace each lost employee. 

One way to avoid losing an employee is to make sure you’ve hired the right person in the first place. Some HR experts believe that behavioral interviewing is one technique that helps recruiters and others involved in the hiring process to gain valuable insights into how an applicant will perform on the job. 

Behavioral interviewing operates on the premise that the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in similar situations. This type of interviewing does not replace the traditional questions: those that clarify the applicant’s experience, education and background, gaps in employment, etc.  You want to have a functional balance between traditional and behavioral interviewing questions. 

Advantages of Using Behavioral Interviewing

By gaining insights into how an applicant has behaved in the past, employers can better determine the candidate’s suitability for their workplace needs. 

Other advantages to an employer include:

• Reduces chances of bias and potential legal liabilities that can result from asking illegal questions. The same questions are asked of all candidates, and this type of interviewing focuses on specific workplace behaviors.
• Applies to any kind of business and to almost any type of position.
• Expedites the process; for instance, phone interviewers can use this behavioral interviewing. Unqualified candidates can be effectively screened out, saving valuable time for everyone involved.
• Increases efficiencies as every person in the interviewing process has a set of questions. It takes less time to prepare for each interview and it also allows for easier note-taking.
• Increases likelihood that the best candidates are hired, which in turn reduces turnover rates. The demand for skilled and qualified candidates is increasing in today’s workplace; this method is proving highly successful at meeting this demand. 

For these and other reasons, behavioral interviewing is increasing in popularity. 

Begin with a Job Description

Behavioral interviewing focuses on the job and performance criteria.  Begin the process by using a job description. If one is not available, make a list of the essential job requirements and responsibilities. To give you an idea: The following sample behavioral interview questions helped one of my clients successfully fill a customer-service representative opening: 

1. Describe the time you had a difficult customer service experience.
2. How did you meet the challenge?
3. What was the outcome of the incident?

Everyone wants to feel needed and appreciated. Employees perform at their best when they find the job best suited to their qualifications and experience. A “good fit” employee translates to one who enjoys greater job fulfillment and a sense of accomplishment. Employers are, in turn, rewarded with lower turnover rates and higher productivity.

One way to avoid losing an employee is to make sure you’ve hired the right person in the first place. Behavioral interviewing provides insights into how an applicant will perform on the job.