The War for Talent has always been a challenge in human resources management for companies. This war is not new, and the intensifying situation has become a given. However, many HR researchers believe that rather than focusing on reducing turnover (retention), focusing on selecting talents that fit well with the company is the most efficient method.
In past selection processes, job interviews have been one of the most commonly used and relied upon tools by companies. However, this method can easily fall into the trap of interviewer subjectivity, and candidates may fake or exaggerate during the process. To address issues of interviewer bias, subjectivity, and inaccuracy, as well as candidate deception, adopting the Behavioral Event Interview (BEI) method can reduce erroneous judgments.
This study uses the STAR method to conduct BEIs. Candidates answer questions about past successful or unsuccessful events covering the Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Through BEIs, interviewers can more easily identify fabricated educational and career achievements, recognize exaggerated behaviors, obtain more detailed work history and performance information, and assess candidates’ abilities.
To understand the effectiveness of BEIs, this study conducted an initial competency screening of 60 subjects and selected those with high communication skills and academic abilities (16 in total) for BEIs. In this interview method, five competencies were evaluated: personal ability, management ability, analytical ability, interpersonal ability, and motivational ability. The study also collected information on the subjects’ job-seeking status one month later. The results showed that subjects who scored high in BEIs performed better in future interviews, indicating that BEIs are effective tools for predicting future potential.
Incorrect hiring decisions not only lead to unnecessary expenses for companies but also harm the workplace. BEIs can address past interview issues (e.g., interviewer bias, candidate deception) and effectively screen for talents that align with the company’s culture, goals, and characteristics.
Ref: The Relevance of Behavioral Event Interview (BEI) in Selection Processes: A Corporate Sector Study
More information: Application of the STAR Method in BEIs
How to use BEIs to evaluate candidates’ competencies in actual selection? Take communication skills as an example. The interviewer might pose a question such as: “Please give an example of a time when you successfully persuaded others to follow your idea in the workplace?” or “Please describe an experience of a successful or well-performed oral presentation and explain why you think you performed well?” The interviewer needs to summarize and guide the candidate to respond with the Situation, Task, Action, and Result, such as:
- For situation questions: “What was the situation? Who was involved?”
- For task questions: “What was your main task?”
- For action questions: “What were your thoughts and actions when facing this task?”
- For result questions: “What was the final outcome?”
Finally, the interviewer will compare the gathered information against the communication skills rating criteria, such as:
5: Outstanding performance, able to guide others or become a learning benchmark
4: Good performance, better communication skills than most
3: Adequate performance, current skills sufficient for job tasks
2: Average performance, needs to improve communication skills
1: Poor performance, requires basic communication skills training
This evaluation result is then incorporated into the overall interview assessment.