Instructions
Approach your HR department — or your manager — to arrange a short informational interview with a mid-level or senior professional in your workplace (half an hour or less). If you cannot make this happen in the timeframe required, you may instead interview a business professional whom you know outside of your current workplace.
Questions for the Interview
You will prepare for the interview by selecting three of the questions provided below and creating two questions of your own. Your overall set of five questions should relate to at least two of the following HR topic areas: hiring, onboarding, and performance review.
Select three of the below questions:
What 2 or 3 key competencies do you seek in job candidates? Why are these competencies at the top of your list?
When would you hire externally and when would you promote internally to fill gaps in your team?
How useful are references to you in assessing job candidates?
How do you onboard new members of your team or department?
What performance review process does your organization use? How effective is it?
I HAVE CHOSEN THE QUESTIONS:
What 2 or 3 key competencies are you looking for in job candidates? Why are these at the top of your list?
This would depend on the job we are hiring for, but for most hourly roles we are looking at what their previous experience and if its relevant to the job they have applied for. How much of that experience they have and how much diversity in the field. This is at the top because in most roles required at least basic knowledge of the job. We would also try and assess their ability to work both in a team and individually in a professional and effective manner. No matter what role, being able to work with fellow employees in a professional manner is always important. Another important aspect would be reliability. We would try and assess for reliability of a candidate when it comes to being at work, being there one time, completing their work and completing it on time, can you give them directions/instructions and know they will complete it or ask for help when needed. This is important no matter what role or skill set, in a lot of roles skills for completing the work can be trained and taught, but it does not matter how experienced and competent an employee is in their work if they aren’t there or are not completing their work.
When do you hire externally and when do you hire to promote internally to fill your team?
We strive to promote from within whenever possible. We always post open roles internally and allow current employees to apply. There are some roles that are easy to fill internally and some that are not. If the role is a highly specialized role then we may immediately start with an external post. All external post are also posted internally for all employees across the company to see on the careers website. Some roles such as HR and Finance may not be considered for internal promotions due to their sensitive nature, but overall we would prefer to promote our employees. Not only do we want to offer growth to your current employees, but they are starting off with more knowledge about our products and business than someone new.
How do you onboard new members of your team or department?
Our onboarding process starts with electronic onboarding requirements such as I9 employment verification and some basic employee information being entered into the HRIS system to get their employee profile created. Once they arrive for their first day we require all employees to attend safety orientation with our safety team. After orientation HR does employment verification (only with direct hires) and gathers required documentation. HR goes over basic HR policies in orientation. If it’s a role that required laptop, access etc. then we issue the laptop and get them familiar with the software and accesses. The employee then is dismissed to their supervisor/manager and beings training, some areas go straight to the training area and some do on the job training from the start. Through the process of their first 90 days they get a new hire survey and a 60 day review then a 90 day review.
Thanks,
Danielle Tedder
Human Resources Representative
33 Pony Farm Rd
Clayton, NC 27520
C: 919-606-7467
Create two questions of your own, for a total of five questions.
Outline for your Paper
Write a paper of 2 to 4 pages that provides a report on your informational interview. Use the Outline provided below to organize your report into four sections. The prompts in each section are provided to help you cover all the required topics for the assignment.
Introduction
Describe the position and business role of your interviewee
Explain your relationship with him or her
Questions
For each question, briefly summarize the interviewee’s response
Note: Do NOT write out the interviewee’s exact words
Reflection
Comment on any answers that surprised you and explain why
What did you learn from this interview that you can apply in your own work?
Conclusion
Sum up your learning from the interview on at least two of the following HR topic areas: hiring, onboarding, and performance review
** YOU CAN FIND YOUR OWN SOURCES AS WELL ****
