Interviews Aren’t Just for HR: Why You Should Include Team Members as Well

By Jezabel Southard

Posted on December 9, 2016

Once your staffing partner finds, vets and qualifies candidates who offer a good fit for your team, it’s time to sit down and interview those candidates. To ensure the best fit and provide each candidate with the opportunity to learn more about the role, many companies are starting to include members of the team as part of the interview process – not merely the supervisor or hiring manager.

Why should you consider holding “team” interviews?

Consider these advantages:

The team gets to know each candidate – and vice versa.
Although an alert and experienced hiring manager can make a good estimate of which candidates will offer the best fit, including team members on the interview panel offers the kind of first-hand relationship building no hiring manager can match. Team members can offer their own insight into the team’s dynamics and how each candidate is likely to fit in. Meanwhile, the candidate meets the people they will work with on a daily basis – and gains the opportunity to assess whether the team, as well as the organization overall, offers the right fit.

Team members develop leadership, interviewing and critical-thinking skills.
Interviewing potential candidates is a role of great responsibility, which is why organizations have traditionally reserved it for those in supervisory roles. By sharing that responsibility with team members, however, managers can help those team members develop leadership skills and take ownership of the process. Learning critical interviewing skills also helps team members exercise their critical-thinking powers, which are essential to success in today’s fast-paced work world.

Choice “ownership” improves engagement for both new and existing employees.
Including team members in interviewing gives them a sense of “ownership” in the hiring decision, boosting engagement and encouraging them to make a wise, concerted choice. Likewise, a candidate who has already met the team will feel more engaged from the very first day – when they can say “Hi, how have you been?” to people they already know, instead of “Pleased to meet you” to total strangers.

Having your team involved in the interviewing process can play a crucial role to ensure you hire the right person for your team. The above advantages are just several reasons that you should keep your team involved; however, for specific advantages (or interviewing help), chat with your recruiting firm.

Your recruiter specializes in sourcing and vetting the right people for your business, and then will be able to lend you advice regarding who you might want involved in your interviewing process.

At TERRA Staffing, our recruiters can help you streamline the hiring process, improve your interview process, and ensure you find candidates who offer a great cultural fit with your team as well as the technical skills you need.

Contact us today to learn more about our award-winning staffing services in Seattle, Portland and beyond.

Categories: Employee Engagement Ideas, Staffing Tips & Recruiting Trends

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