Enhance quality hiring with structured interviews

Interviews. They can take many different forms, ranging from in-person to recorded on-demand on a cell phone. And while the location or technology used to complete an interview may vary, one thing should not—how they’re evaluated.

Structured interviews are based on the idea that all interviews for all candidates are the same—providing “structure” to each interview to ensure candidates have the same experience and are evaluated equally.

At HireVue, we believe technology and humans can and should work together to support quality hiring that is fair for everyone. And if teams want to create workplaces that are supportive of diversity, equity, and inclusion, they have to ensure their hiring is fair in the first place.

Below, we break down the case for structured interviewing—why it matters, why it should be the standard, and how you can implement it to create processes and candidate experiences that are positive and fair.

Why does structure matter?

Did you know that 78% of candidates believe bias is woven into the hiring process? Or that white-sounding names receive 50% more callbacks for interviews than black-sounding names? Or that 48% of HR managers admit bias impacts their hiring choices?  And it’s not just the standard bias we may typically think about like gender or racial bias. There’s unconscious biases like familiarity bias as well. Do they like the same sports teams or did they go to the same school? These factors can unconsciously impact hiring decisions. 

That’s our current hiring landscape—and it’s not fair.

According to Indeed, “A structured interview is a conversation in which an interviewer asks an interviewee set questions in a standardized order. The interviewer collects the responses of the candidate and grades them against a scoring system. Asking the same questions in the same order helps interviewers collect similar types of information delivered in a uniform context from interviewees.”

Structured interviewing helps combat inequitable hiring—including hiring based on resumes, names, alma maters, or experience. Ensuring all your candidates are evaluated the same, based on the hard and soft skills that matter, is not only effective in building quality teams but helps ensure you’re actually ranking your top candidates appropriately—creating a consistent baseline for evaluation.

Implementing structured interviewing

HireVue Builder is an automation tool that provides TA teams with job-related competencies, structured interview questions, templates, and evaluation guides for any job at any level so teams can build great, effective interviews fast. Instead of searching for last-minute interview questions on Google, Builder allows teams to access better interview content with validated behavior-based questions tied to competencies. 

HireVue also recently launched Builder for Live which combines the structured interview generator with HireVue’s live interview platform, bringing consistency and fairness to every version of virtual interviews. By implementing the technology, hiring teams are given access to well-designed, pre-written, and science-backed interview questions that evaluate for job-relevant skills and assess for competencies (not resumes).

We say this a lot at HireVue—but we believe in the potential of every candidate and strive to unlock it. Structured interviewing goes a long way in ensuring your hiring processes are reaching the needs of those who are autistic or neurodiverse. As a result, HireVue collaborates  with Integrate Autism Employment Advisors for fairer hiring solutions. 

Technology doesn’t make hiring impersonal.

When you’re auditing your hiring processes and thinking through what to change or maintain, remember that technology is not replacing human decision-making. Rather, it’s providing a way to support your decisions with data. 

Automating your manual tasks (like interview scheduling), texting candidates from a platform (not your phone), and making decisions based on data are all crucial steps to take if you want to make your hiring faster, fairer, and more flexible.

For many, structured interviews are mistaken as stuffy or too formal, preventing hiring teams from actually getting to know candidates and creating a space where candidates feel comfortable. However, structured interviewing should do the opposite—providing the same experience for everyone so candidates know they’re being evaluated on what matters and not on personal biases. 

HireVue technology also encourages hiring teams to help sell their brand during the hiring process by sharing videos on company culture or anything that may be helpful for candidates to know. 

Your technology should be able to support your decisions with fair data and replace your mundane tasks—so you can spend less time on manual efforts and more on connecting with your candidates and creating workplaces that are fair for everyone. 

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