I don't enjoy seeing anyone with egg on his face. However, when it comes to interviewing, I am a big fan of using the EAR technique to smoke out a candidate's real-world experience, where ...
- E = Example
- A = Action
- R = Result
Example: If the candidate claims to be an expert negotiator, I might say "give me an example of a time when you had to win tough concessions in a difficult negotiation without damaging relationships. What action did you take? What was the result? Be specific." Clearly, if the candidate fumbles his way through this question, then his claim of being an expert negotiator would be suspect. Works like a charm.
But guess what? Yesterday I learned that Toyota has been using a similar technique in its manufacturing facilities for years. Toyota calls its technique the Five Whys, and the company claims that asking "why" five times usually leads to the root cause of a problem.
Example:
- Harry: We are going to miss our numbers this month.
- Boss: Why?
- Harry: Because we short shipped all of our orders by 30%.
- Boss: Why?
- Harry: Because the raw materials didn't arrive in time for the production run.
- Boss: Why?
- Harry: Because the raw materials supplier withheld shipment until we paid them the money we owed them for the last shipment.
- Boss: Why?
- Harry: Because our credit terms with them are Net 30 and we were at 45 days on the outstanding invoice.
- Boss: Why?
- Harry: Because our Controller made a new policy that says all payments should be lagged by 15 days.
- Boss: So, the real problem is that our Controller made a policy change without checking with all of our suppliers?
- Harry: I guess so.
Isn't that great? Imagine: A massive sales problem caused by an oblivious bean counter on the other side of the building. Who knew?
Try this technique on the next candidate that walks into your office. On the surface, it seems so easy to answer "Why?" five times, but it took me an hour to write the above example because I knew that you we going to drill down on my logic five levels deep. In a live interview, you are bound to catch the vast majority of your candidates flat footed -- and those who aren't are probably worth hiring. Isn't that what interviews are all about?
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Q: Need the number of a recruiter who "gets it?"
A: Download Harry's contact info for future reference.
