One of the most common themes I see when working with clients is the risk they are exposed to during the interview process. Many times, people are promoted in to positions that are part of the hiring process and provided zero training on how to do it properly. Or interviewers invite inexperienced staff to participate in interviews without the proper guidance on what is expected and how to properly engage the interview. Often interviewers are asking questions that could end up with a candidate filing a discrimination complaint or may be deemed a violation of many of the laws that protect them during the process.
One of the big laws to keep in mind is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This law prevents employers from asking about items such as, Race, Color, Religion, Sex (including pregnancy) and National Origin. There are also laws that cover age and disability discrimination. It is important that anyone in the interview process know and understand the questions they can and cannot ask. Also, provide training on how to deflect should the candidate go down a road on an answer that falls into a protected area.
So how does one discover the proper way of doing an interview? There are many training classes that cover such topics and the internet is full of information on the laws that govern the process. The problem you may run into is deciding what information is relevant and how much time is it going to take to figure it out on your own. OmniaHR provides this type of training to our clients as part of the standard service package. There are several classes in June that covers this exact topic. Visit our website at OmniaHR.com and select training/events tab for more information.
