Question

In his initial meeting with the HR team, a newly hired HR director hears a number of concerns relating to talent acquisition, including the new hire selection process. The HR director believes these concerns, as he personally experienced several questionable actions during his own hiring process.

In the current process, interviewers use an unstructured approach, where each candidate is asked different questions and interviewers use different criteria to evaluate responses. The HR director also learns that the company has a track record of poor hiring, inconsistent decision making, and lack of diversity in certain departments.
The HR team is not confident that the organization is hiring the best people. However, that is not a concern the rest of the organization shares. Each department believes that its hiring approach is effective. Historically no department has shown an interest in trying a new approach.
The HR director wants to address his team's concerns soon. He also recognizes that the rest of the organization will need to be convinced to change. Which is the best immediate course of action he could take?

A. Create a structured interview process that standardizes the questions asked and the criteria for grading.
B. Maintain the current process but have HR participate in all of the interviews going forward.
C. Solicit feedback from organizational stakeholders about the key qualities they are looking for in talent.
D. Analyze turnover, performance, and exit interview data over the past two years to present to leaders.

Answer 1

The HR director should analyze turnover, performance, and exit interview data to present the need for a structured interview process to the organizational stakeholders. By demonstrating the issues with data analysis, the director can then pursue a structured approach and solicit feedback effectively.

Step-by-step explanation:

The best immediate course of action for the newly hired HR director to take is D. Analyze turnover, performance, and exit interview data over the past two years to present to leaders. This evidence-based approach provides factual data that can highlight inconsistencies and potential issues within the current hiring process.

Given the concerns of poor hiring, inconsistent decision-making, and lack of diversity, a structured interview process would benefit the organization. Through presenting the data analysis, the HR director can objectively demonstrate to organizational stakeholders the need for improvement.

Once the evidence has been shared, soliciting feedback (option C) and restructuring the interview process (option A) can be tackled more effectively, as there will be a common understanding of the issues at hand. However, option B of merely having HR participate in all interviews would not address the underlying problems of an unstructured approach and may not lead to an improvement in hiring quality.