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Comparing Behavioral Interviewing to Performance-based Hiring^sm

By Jason Weseman, February 14, 2006

Why did I make the switch to Performance-based Hiring? Considering that I have personally trained hundreds of participants in behavioral interviewing and am a certified DDI facilitator, this was a big step for me. I have conducted so many behavioral interviews that I now say the mantra in my sleep: "Can you give me an example of a time when ..." I know this stuff.

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Which brings me back to why I made the switch and why I'm with The Adler Group. I can tell you without hesitation that behavioral interviewing is a vast improvement on the traditional gut feeling approach. But it's not as effective as Performance-based Hiring.

The fact that behavioral event interviewing (BEI) is a structured interview helps reduce biases and at least gives you a chance to understand the candidate on a deeper level. Getting rid of natural biases is a critical step in conducting an accurate interview. According to The Wall Street Journal, 70% of all hiring decisions are made in the first three minutes of an interview. In fact, I'll contend (and the research proves) that the reason BEI gets better results is that the structured nature eliminates only errors due to bias and emotions, not because it's more effective at assessing competency! This is a BOLD statement that suggests that any structured interview - even one asking irrelevant questions - will give you identical results to any behavioral interview, including DDI's version. If DDI wants a shootout on this, bring 'em on.

Now let me describe my personal experience with Performance-based Hiring. In one or two of what seemed like casual interviews with Lou Adler prior to taking on the role of Director of Training and Development for The Adler Group, I was introduced to the concept of Performance-based Hiring. Immediately, I could see how this improved form of behavioral interviewing focuses not only on past behaviors, but more importantly, on how these behaviors were used to achieve on-the-job success. Lou asked me to describe in depth four or five of my biggest career accomplishments. He probably spent 15-20 minutes on each one. It was easy to talk about my accomplishments in this way, and I knew that Lou clearly understood what I could bring to the table. I felt respected as well, even while Lou challenged me in some areas and applauded me in others.

Next, I flew to LA and experienced first-hand two days of Performance-based Hiring training sessions with recruiters and hiring managers. The participants were very engaged as they practiced interviewing and accurately assessing each other. The hands-on aspect of the training started early in the day, and lasted throughout the session. That was really the tipping point for me. I then realized why Performance-based Hiring will one day become the standard for finding, interviewing and recruiting top talent. Not only is it so easy to learn, even an entry-level manager can utilize these concepts the minute he or she walks out the door or completes our rocking online version. In their very next interview, managers are already better than 75% of the hiring managers and recruiters out there, even those who have taken behavioral interviewing training (and I say that conservatively).

The problem with a behavioral interviewing training session is that you're overwhelmed with a vast amount of information. Behavioral interviews ask so many questions about so many different competencies (over 100), it's impossible to know where to begin. It's impossible to learn or cover this much stuff in a 30-45 minute interview, even an hour.

So if you haven't tried behavioral interviewing, don't. It's not worth your time or investment. Performance-based Hiring is. You'll learn more in less time and at a fraction of the cost. If you have tried behavioral interviewing, but were disappointed with the results, check out Performance-based Hiring. We'll show you how to quickly increase your returns on your investment training dollars. The fact that we provide instant, proven results is one area where Performance-based Hiring crushes behavioral interviewing.

There's another big reason why I believe behavioral interviewing has run its course. It's been around too long - 30 years or so. It's out-dated, it can be gamed, candidate's are trained to defeat the system and managers find it ineffective. Here's a quick test you can do right now to validate this point: Google or Yahoo behavioral interview questions into the search line. There were 2,780,000 results and most of those on the first page were sample questions designed to train candidates on how to ace the interview.

It's time to put traditional behavioral interviewing systems out to pasture, especially DDI's version. Don't waste your time, your money or your reputation. Few HR or recruiting leaders have gotten ahead by introducing behavioral interviewing into their companies. Most have been disappointed with the results, but feel they have to do it because everyone else is.

Try out Performance-based Hiring. It will make a difference. We offer plenty of free advice and free online training to get you started, so you can validate it without risk. As a test we'll even interview you on the phone, and you'll quickly see that a candidate can't fake true performance. (Sign-up for this.) This is true even if the candidate knows what you're going to ask. There are only two core questions involved in the Performance-based Hiring interview process. That's why it's so easy to learn and use - immediately, the next day for sure. Some people can do it when they walk out the door. (Hint: we ask the same two questions over and over to see a pattern of growth and personal development.)

While past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior, it's not a great measure of future performance unless the jobs and environment are equivalent. Performance-based Hiring takes this into account and it's far simpler to use. Even better, the recruiting process is integrated into the two questions. Top people come away wanting the job, knowing they've been interviewed accurately and respected during the process. For this reason alone you should check it out.

Bottom line, behavioral interviewing is no longer the best way to assess top talent. Performance-based Hiring is. That's why I made the switch, and why you should too. Email me (jason@adlerconcepts.com) if you'd like to learn more.