Having a Group Interview | Business Conferences Takeaways

At the Thrivetime Show business conferences, one of the many takeaways I received is how important having a group interview is. This process for many business owners is a huge help.  It sounds like such a large task but it really is a time-saver that only takes one hour a week.  

The group interview is held every week at the same time on the same day. This interview process takes about one hour compared to the ten plus hours it typically takes a company to sift through applications and schedule interviews only to be stood up by most potential new hires.

Implementing a group interview saves you time, headaches, and gives your team a reminder to stick to your standard.

During a group interview, you are able to connect with your potential new hires one time a week for one hour a week. In this hour you are better able to pick the best fit for your company; saving you time and keeping great people in the pipeline. Think of the time you had a full team only to have one of your key employees up and quit with little or no notice. With the group interview, you are ready and set to go with the next candidate to fill the position. Scheduling one hour a week every single week is a small trade-off compared to the peace of mind having a backup plan provides.

After the group interview, you can schedule your best fits for shadow days. A shadow day provides business owners with a chance to see what potential new hires can actually do. It is never fun to bring an exciting new hire onto the team because they had a great interview only to find out they have a “Debbie Downer” attitude and refuse to do any actual work.  Shadowing provides a glimpse of what your potential hire may bring to your team. This is an incredibly effective step when hiring great employees.

 The efficiency of the group interview doesn’t end there, in addition to saving time and protecting you from being held hostage by your team, your team is always on alert that if they can’t or won’t hold to the standards you set there is always somebody available who will. This last bonus of the group interview might sound harsh but 85% of employees lie on their resume according to Inc.com and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says that 75% of employees have stolen from their employers at least once.  

Implementing a group interview saves you time, headaches, and gives your team a reminder to stick to your standard. I know for the staff at the ThriveTime Show the group interview is essential to keeping a nontoxic environment for the entire team. Thank you to Clay Clark and Jonathan Kelly for breaking down the business into actionable steps during business conferences.