Behavioral Events Interview: Concept Note by Dr.

Priya Somaiya

The Conceptual Framework BEIs are structured interviews with a specific purpose of identification of behavioral indicators for competencies. The BEI collects data about past performance assuming that it is a predictor of future performances, through open ended questions. The objective is to understand what the respondent actually did in a situation. This is achieved through a very detailed behavioral and action oriented account of how the respondent managed a successful situation and what problems were faced when a challenge posed itself. The pre supposition behind BEIs is that all competencies are constituted around specific behaviors and unless these behaviors are demonstrated and perceived no competencies can be measured. During the course of BEI, past data on competencies related to the actions taken by the respondent in a work related situation is collected. It happens through set of questions which in turn are very specific and aim to elicit specific responses from the respondents. Before conducting the BEI, the assessors should have a defined framework of competencies with behaviors to refer to. Having a detailed definition of each behavior is necessary to facilitate assessors to ask questions pertaining to actual steps taken and specific behaviors demonstrated to understand them deeply and distinctly. Behaviors can be defined as thoughts, feelings, actions and skills. The BEI deliberately moves away from broad statements of intent, abstraction and descriptions. It rather pushes the respondents to introspect, relive and think about what actually did they do, think and feel along with what skills were used to handle the situation. The assessor has to focus the interview around 2-3 critical incidents in the work life of the respondent where he/she succeeded and did well and other 2-3 incidents where challenges, problems and difficulties were faced. In isolating the competencies and behaviors it is important for the assessor to keep in mind what is measurable as per the defined competency framework and what is not. The subsequent section discusses the structure of a BEI. 1

Process Structure The process flows in the shape of an hourglass:

Introductio Duties & Responsibilities Performance Criteria

Critical Incidents

Further Supporting Data

The assumption behind the Process Structure The assumption that lies behind using an hourglass structure with a very focused and specificity aimed probing is to find out whether a competency actually exists or not. It might happen so that a participant assumes that he is good at certain competency, say, Strategic but in Energize People. It can also happen that a participant might think that he/she is not as good as desirable in Managing Execution, while the critical incident probing might reveal that he/she is an excellent executioner. The specific details gathered during the BEI provide rich details regarding the strengths and development areas of the participant. The exploratory mode and a careful probing on one side helps the assessor understand the competencies and behaviors of the participants better; and Vision, while the detailed description and probing regarding a critical incident reveals that his/her strength lies not in Strategic Vision

on the other side makes the participant aware of his/her own strengths and weaknesses based on their own experiences.

Introduction The assessor needs to inform the respondent about what a BEI is. The assessor can begin in the following way: BEIs is a structured interview will help me understand the competencies demonstrated by you at the work place. This would further lead to the exploration of your thoughts, behaviors demonstrated, actions taken and finally the results achieved in different work related situations in your career. We would discuss 2-3 critical successes and not so successful incidents of your work life as well. I would try to be very specific with my questions and would request and appreciate the same from you in your answers. So, with your permission can we proceed? If the assessor has to record the interview for later analysis; using a verbatim recorder or a technological interface such as a tape recorder, the permission of the respondent is required: I would like to record this interview to prepare my notes for analysis; I would only do so with your permission. Everything that will be recorded will be kept confidential and will not be shared or disseminated. If there is anything which you would like to be off the record, just let me know. Duties and Responsibilities When probing about duties and responsibilities the assessors should focus at putting the participant at ease and initiate the person into the BEI, rather than start asking direct questions. This rapport building exercise creates an environment of trust and comfort. During this interaction, if the assessor is not clear about any information provided, it needs to be clarified with the participant. This is important, so that in the later part when more detailed discussion takes place, the basic information is not misunderstood. For example, if the participant says I supervise the training programs This information is inadequate to understand what exactly this supervision means and it is the assessors responsibility to ask further questions to understand this.

The kind of questions that can be asked to understand the participants work better can be like but is not limited to: What is your present role What are your current responsibilities What exactly do you do How many people work in your team How many people report to you Whom do you report to The significance of understanding and discussing the roles and responsibilities of the participant is that it leads to the critical incidents to be discussed in the next section. Performance Criteria The assessor has to also understand from the participant what characteristics are required to perform the participants job well. This discussion helps serve two purposes: Building a rapport with the participant Understanding what the participant thinks is important This discussion ends in a list of skills, traits and knowledge which the participant thinks is important to have for successfully carrying out his/her own role. The questions can be: If you are hiring someone for your role, what do you think he/she needs to know and be able to do What skills, knowledge and characteristics will you look for? Can you recall of a time when you thought that having a particular knowledge/skill/trait helped you solve a problem Critical Incidents 5

The answers to questions about the roles and responsibilities would lead to the 2-3 critical successes and failures of the participant. The assessor would have to facilitate the course of interaction in a manner to elicit those incidents and then ask the participant to explain it in greater detail and with specific information.

The assessor can begin like: I want to understand better what do you mean by supervising training programs. Do you develop training programs for the employees? Who are the people who work with you? Which training program would you brand as the most successful one in the last 3 years of your career? Give me all the details right from the conceptualization to execution to the results achieved. The assessor can frame the questions around the STAR format which would guide the discussion and provide comprehensive information. Situation - The assessor should try and understand the situation in the example cited by the participant. i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. What was the concept/ the problem, How did it develop, Why was it important to address it and What did it set out to achieve and How did you handle the challenge or the problem, What did you think about it Whom did you meet Why did you do this

Task The participant needs to elaborate on the identified tasks and specific details about them. i. ii. iii. iv. v. What did you want to do in the situation? What motivated you to behave like this? What were you thinking about the problem? What did you think about the team? What were you feeling?

Actions What were the actions identified, how the resources were allotted, how were the people involved and other details 7

i.

What did you actually do or say?

Results Finally what were the results achieved. i. ii. What was the outcome? What happened?

The assessors need to be careful about the choice of words while asking questions, it is advisable to refrain from using terms like generally, typically, overall because these terms take the discussion towards generalization of information while the focus of BEI is always on specificity. Hence words like how, why, what, whom which provide very specific and detailed information are the pillars of the BEI. Similarly, the assessor needs to probe the participant about an incident when things did not go well. Your explanation was very detailed and informative and I understand your work much better now. Now, can you think of an instance when things did not go as well as initially planned, say a training program which failed? This would help me draw the distinction between what ought and what ought not to be done in such a situation. Coding and Recording Coding is the scoring technique used to analyze the data gathered during the BEI. During the interview the assessor needs to observe and record the behaviors demonstrated in the critical incidents. The competency framework and the description of behaviors in the framework should be the reference point for the assessors in understanding a particular behavior. The assessor should stick to what was said and done rather than his/her own inference of a situation. In case of any misunderstanding or missing information, the recorded notes should be referred to. The candidate either did something or did not; there cannot be an interpretation or inference regarding this. It is hence important that the verbatim recorder keeps a comprehensive record of every minute and specific detail provided by the participant during the interview. The data should be free from any emotional reactions and personal interpretations of the recorder. What is codable is what was said, done, thought and actioned. Some points to be considered are:

 Recording of data of behavior in terms of thoughts, feelings and actions Only direct evidence to be considered and circumstantial evidence to be neglected The behaviors are codable only when they fall within the competency frameworks definition Forced or imperative behaviors cannot be coded for example If the participant was forced to behave in a particular manner, that behavior cannot be used for coding and scoring Behavior without explained intent and objective cannot be regarded as competency

Instructions for the participant: For every question, understand what information is asked for Take some time to collect your thoughts and organize your response Provide a concise and short overview of the situation Provide specific details of your role in each situation Stay away from using we and stick to the details of what you accomplished individually Try to frame the story such that it describes the situation, your action and finally the result Be honest and narrate what you did rather than what you should or could have done Be specific, do not jump from one sub incident to another, focus on one situation and give a detailed account

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 Try explaining your learning as well from the 2-3 critical incidents that you narrate Always ask the assessor if they want more information, pause and explain in case of a doubt raised or clarification sought Listen to the questions carefully and when in doubt, ask the assessor what they mean by a particular question Pause and understand and then answer

Instructions for the assessors: Comprehensive understanding of the competency framework and behavior definition Background information about the participant, his role, designation and performance in the simulation exercises in the DC Customize the BEI to focus on eliciting specific identified competencies Build a rapport with the participant to help them open and answer freely Assure the participant regarding the confidentiality of information shared Seek the participants permission to use technological interface like a tape recorder Observing and noting minutest of details Probing the participant with questions to elicit the specific information Keep the STAR format in mind while recording the critical incidents If the participant digresses into sub incidents, bring back the focus to the main incident Guide the participant to frame the story in the STAR format by asking relevant questions 11

 Facilitate the participant to focus on real situations and occurrences rather than on hypothetical responses Probe to find out through process, reasons and feelings behind actions Create a positive setting for the participant, appreciate for a situation well managed Avoid questions that lead to abstractions like: i. ii. iii. iv. What could you have done What do you usually do What did you generally think What was your overall feeling

Do not let the participant lead the discussion, do not allow the participant to jump from one incident to another, every incident needs to be completed with situations, task, actions and results Look out for themes and patterns in the answers Double check your inferences by asking further probing questions If the participant provides vague answers, guide him/her to focus on the specific details After finishing the interview, thank the participant for his/her time Immediately after the interview summarize the information and record any observation which you had mentally noted Integrate the behaviors observed in the competency framework and measure according to the definition provided by it and scale accordingly

List of questions that can be used appropriately:

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 Who else was involved in the situation? What were you trying to accomplish? What was the first thing you did? How did you do that? What were you thinking at that point? Tell me more about your sequence of thoughts What was your role in it? Is there any conversation that you remember What were you thinking when you went for that meeting Tell me what did you say in the meeting What were your feelings after the meeting What was the next important step that you took How did it work out? Is there anything you recall and want to add to the situation? What was the biggest challenge? How did you convince your team and management

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