In today’s globalized economic market, companies have expanded their talent search scope, aiming for a “global layout.” Due to market integration, a “war for talent” has emerged worldwide. The talent labor market is now open globally, no longer restricted by a single country, language, or culture. Thanks to technological advancements and the emergence of many remote work assistance technologies, geographic limitations are also no longer a barrier. As a result, finding suitable talent effectively, quickly, and accurately is a headache for many company managers.
How do you find potential employees suitable for your company? Interviews have become a simple and low-threshold selection method for many positions, but assessments often rely on intuition, or the accuracy of candidate information cannot be confirmed; candidates may also provide unreliable information to secure the job—an insufficiently objective basis for judgment may cause companies to miss out on compatible talent.
The Behavioral Event Interview (BEI) method uses well-designed questions and identifies five key competencies from the job position to design interview questions, repeatedly verifying the candidate’s job fit. Although BEI has been practiced for years, its effective predictive ability has not been duly recognized. Research has found that, under the premise of the same educational background and communication skills, BEI can help companies discover potential talents with nearly 80% accuracy and effectively predict their future job performance.
The BEI method is mainly based on Parkinson Mark’s book published in 2004, dividing it into the following five broad areas. The questions are designed according to company culture, job nature, and other factors to objectively predict the candidate’s future job performance:
The Five Broad Areas of Behavioral Event Interview (BEI):
- Individual Competencies (IC): Related to personal attributes such as flexibility and personal integrity.
- Managerial Competencies (MC): Includes leadership abilities and strategic planning, considered standards for maintaining competitiveness and gaining an advantage.
- Analytical Competencies (AC): Represents personal analytical skills that aid in decision-making.
- Interpersonal Competencies (IPC): Also known as social skills, this refers to the ability to interact positively and get along with others, including persuasiveness, teamwork, and openness.
- Motivational Competencies (MoC): Includes self-motivation, initiative, and resilience, which are core drivers of organizational performance.
For HR, using the BEI method as the main interview approach allows for a more concrete and practical understanding of a candidate’s past behavioral performance, including personal soft skills (such as stress resistance, teamwork ability, etc.) and professional abilities (such as project management, data analysis, expertise, etc.). It effectively assists HR in avoiding hiring mistakes caused by overly embellished resumes, making it one of the best talent selection tools available.
Ref: The Relevance of Behavioral Event Interview (BEI) in Selection Processes
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