How we can use the hiring process to bring out the best in people | The Way We Work, a TED series

Transcriber: TED Translators Admin Reviewer: Ivana Korom

A traditional job interview

is basically a one-sided, high pressure interrogation,

almost guaranteed to create

significant psychological strain.

Ironically, such stressful procedures

can totally obscure a person's true potential

causing us to overlook a lot of people

who could be great employees.

We need a different way to interview and screen candidates.

One that will reveal hidden potential and talent.

[The Way We Work]

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Twelve years ago, I founded CY,

an outsource call center

staffed and managed entirely by underdogs.

More than half of our hundreds of employees

are severely disabled.

Others come from other disadvantaged populations

or just suffer from anxiety,

low self-esteem and lack of confidence.

The problem I needed to solve when we started out was

that traditional interviewing and screening,

especially for entry-level positions,

are totally biased towards people

who function well under intense stress.

Now, if you're screening for Navy SEALS, I totally get it,

but the capacity to function under duress

is totally irrelevant if the actual job is stocking shelves

or folding T-shirts, unless of course it's Black Friday.

Clara is a classic example.

We met in CY's early days

while she was waiting for her job interview.

Clara was 25 years old, had cerebral palsy

and used a walker.

She seemed quite nervous,

but she was likable, intelligent and talkative.

And yet just a short while later,

her interviewer told me that she had totally failed,

that she couldn't string two words together.

The screening philosophy

of "let's pick our employees by viewing them at their worst,"

not only overlooks disabled people

but anyone whose shine is diminished under harsh pressure.

We developed the reverse screening process

to find potential.

And as the name implies,

we go about things practically the opposite way

traditional approaches do.

In a nutshell, if you want to assess a candidate's true potential,

see how they function at their best, not their worst,

which for most of us is when we're calm and relaxed,

not stressed and anxious.

So build screening procedures specifically tailored

to help candidates feel

as emotionally comfortable as possible.

Three examples how you can achieve that.

Lower anxiety and insecurity.

Start out by losing the whole interrogation vibe.

Rather, interviewers should view themselves as hosts,

be friendly and welcoming.

Choose an environment that's conducive

to putting a candidate at ease,

like making your interview room look like a living room.

People are most confident discussing things

about which they are knowledgeable and passionate.

So we ask candidates to fill out a short questionnaire

about their hobbies,

and we start out the interview by discussing those

so that candidates could bring forth their verbal skills,

strengths and personality.

Assess skills in everyday life situations

with which the candidates are familiar.

For instance, sales positions require the ability to use persuasion.

So ask the candidate to role play

how they would persuade a neighbor

to pay an extra maintenance fee

for the renovations of their lobby.

Looking for tough, full-throttle negotiations?

Ask the candidate to describe

how they would persuade a teenager

to not look at their phone during a family dinner.

Help them move beyond the stuck points

to see how they adapt and learn.

In the reverse screening process,

we offer candidates three lifelines.

We call it "Who Wants to Be an Employee?"

If the candidate asks for a hint,

the interviewer will model a few correct arguments

and ask the candidate to role play the scenario

to see how convincingly they absorb and convey those points.

Finding people's true potential makes for happier,

more diverse, and more successful companies and employees.

Remember Clara? We hired her.

She gradually improved

until she hit her targets of calls per hour,

and then she kept on getting better.

And nowadays Clara gives talks

about how many years ago no one, including herself,

believed she had any potential at all.

A job is so much more than a paycheck,

especially for marginalized populations.

By finding and hiring those you might otherwise overlook,

you will not only benefit your own company,

you will literally transform people's lives.

The opportunity to win with underdogs is all around you.

Make sure to grab it.