Your job is to probe - gently, tactfully but persistently - to find out what lies behind the grumbles, as far as it is within your authority, so that you can get to the root cause of them and resolve them.
Probing means:
- not accepting every fact or statement at face value
- not letting potentially significant remarks and asides pass without examining them
- not being satisfied with clichés and bland answers
- getting to the truths behind the half-truths
- recognizing the evasions
- detecting the lies
- repeating the same question but in a slightly different way
- remaining silent to encourage the interviewee to give fuller replies
- pretending ignorance or uncertainty and calling on the interviewee to supply the information
- summarizing the last points made by the interviewee
- reflecting, that is repeating the interviewee's last reply but in a slightly different way, as in the following exchange:
Interviewer: 'Do you mean that nobody recognizes your abilities?'
- o using encouraging verbalisms such as 'Uh-huh', 'Mm-mmm', 'I see', 'I understand' and so on
- guiding the interviewee away from irrelevances to the central issues, that is, not merely the events or circumstances that are causing the problems, but his or her attitudes towards them.
'In my beginning is my end,' the poet T. S. Eliot wrote, and the same thought could apply to all forms of interviewing. The beginning of the interview - defining its purpose - should coincide with its end - the accomplishment of that purpose. In all effective interviewing there should be an interrelationship between each step, so that where one ends the next starts and the division between them is virtually undetectable.
For problem-solving interviews, the purpose is not to solve the problem as such - it may not be in your power to do so -but to help the interviewee understand what the problem is and to see a way to solving it.
How long should a problem-solving interview last?
As with all types of interviews, it should not be open-ended. You and your interviewee's time are valuable, you are both on a team that has its own goals to fulfill, and giving too much of your day to one member or one subject can throw the team out of kilter. Also, by concentrating on one subject, it takes on more weight than it need do. Longer than an hour and there is a danger of the interview turning into a conversation, which means that you will no longer be fully in control and the purpose will not be achieved.
If the problem is deep-seated you may have to set up more than one meeting. Give interviewees the feeling that you are available to them when they need you, but not that you are at their disposal, otherwise they may become dependent on you, which is only going to create more problems for both of you. You have been supportive, you have created the right atmosphere, you have given the interviewee a fair hearing, now what do you do?
Five steps to terminate the interview:
- Indicate firmly when the end is approaching by asking if interviewees would like to add anything more to what has been discussed and summarizing what has been decided so far.
- Thank the interviewee for talking to you (and mean it!), even if it was the interviewee who initiated the interview. No matter how pressed you are for time, do not leave interviewees with the feeling that they are being rejected.
- Agree with the interviewee on a plan of action. Interviewees should not be left 'in the air', as it were, but should have specific tasks to carry out which they themselves, through your gentle probing, have suggested. Remember, though, it is their problem, not yours, so you should not undertake to do anything which will relieve them of responsibility.
- Discourage further interviews until the interviewee has carried out what you agreed on. If you are an empathetic and interested interviewer, the interviewee will enjoy being inter viewed by you and consequently it can become a substitute for action.
- Set up another meeting if necessary? But not too far in the future - no more than a few days. The sooner the problem is dealt with the better. Delaying may make it worse.
Though not all managers realize this, the interview is still the most effective method by which the majority of problems can be solved.
Interviewing, as we have seen, is a continuing process and an integral part of managing, which means that after the interview you continue to maintain contact with the interviewee and do not give up your interest until you are satisfied that the problem is solved. After the interview:
- Write up your notes as soon as possible so that you can still remember how the interviewee answered, as this may be just as important as what the interviewee said. A record should be kept, particularly if the interview involved a complaint, as it may be necessary to refer back to it at a later stage.
- Even if the immediate problem has been solved, follow up any suggestions or plans agreed at the interview. This is important, not only to ascertain that appropriate action has been taken, but also to assure the interviewee of your continuing interest and concern.
- Whoever initiated the interview in the first instance, make a further appointment with the interviewee to check on progress. Don't wait too long, as problems have a bad habit of appearing to solve themselves whereas in fact they have only gone underground and, just when you think they have gone away, re-assert themselves, usually at the most awkward times
