The Hidden Compliance Risks of Unstructured Interviews (And How to Avoid Them)

Whilst your hiring process may appear to run smoothly, you may not realise that consistently unstructured interviews could be creating significant compliance risks for your organisation - what seems like a routine step in recruitment can inadvertently introduce bias, discrimination, and inconsistency. This article explores the risks associated with unstructured interviews and provides strategies to ensure a fair, consistent, and effective hiring process.

1. What are Unstructured Interviews?

1.1 Definition and Examples

Unstructured interviews, unlike their structured counterparts, lack a consistent framework. While these interviews allow for flexibility, they often rely on the interviewer's intuition or 'gut feeling' rather than an objective set of criteria. For example, if an interviewer asked one candidate detailed technical questions but simply chatted about hobbies with another of equal calibre, they are not providing a fair interview experience to both.

The risk of unstructured interviews is that in the absence of a standardised set of questions, unintended bias can emerge, and the variance in questions could reflect subjective judgements rather than a fair assessment. If you're aiming to create a uniform experience for your candidates, relying solely on unstructured interviews can be a stumbling block.

1.2 Why Do Companies Use Them?

Unstructured interviews are often employed because they make conversations feel more natural, allowing interviewers to gauge a candidate's cultural fit or personality. Organisations might favour this approach when seeking qualities that aren't easily quantified, like creativity or adaptability. However, this intuition-driven method can leave you navigating ambiguous waters, and ignores the fact that it actually is possible to assess these less technical skills with structured questions.

Companies may also use unstructured interviews to build rapport with candidates in sectors where personal chemistry can be crucial, such as sales or client-facing roles. Yet, the lack of structure might lead interviewers to inadvertently skip over critical competencies or perpetuate their own unconscious biases instead of honing in on job-relevant skills.

Tip: You can still balance open-ended discussions with structured core questions, to harness the strength of structured interviews with more flexibility.

2. How Can Unstructured Interviews Lead to Compliance Issues?

2.1 Bias and Discrimination

Unstructured interviews can inadvertently introduce bias and discrimination into your hiring processes. Without a consistent set of questions for every candidate, interviewers might, often unintentionally, let their personal biases influence decision-making. This could result in preferential treatment for candidates that mirror the interviewer's own background or views, leading to homogeneous teams. Such practices may leave you vulnerable to discrimination claims that not only tarnish your company’s reputation but also impact employee morale.

Tip: Implement checklist-based evaluations such as scorecards to mitigate bias by enforcing objective criteria. This can be supported by interview intelligence tools like Evidenced, which provide structured interview builders and customisable scorecards. Implementing these tools ensures fairness and consistency across interviews.

2.2 Lack of Consistency

One of the significant drawbacks of unstructured interviews is the potential for lack of consistency. When different candidates receive varied questions, their responses become non-comparable, making it difficult for interviewers to objectively assess which candidate is more suitable. This inconsistency can be costly and inefficient, both in terms of resources and time, and may hinder the selection of the most compatible candidate, ultimately impacting your team's performance.

Ask yourself:

• Are all candidates being evaluated on the same key skills?

• Is there a defined criteria for assessing answers consistently across interviews?

If not, you may need to dedicate some time into making your interviews and the questions you ask more structured. You can address this quickly by employing interview frameworks that ensure a standardised interview process, providing comparability across candidates. You can also aid this process by employing automatic question detection using tools such as Evidenced, ensuring your interviewers are asking every candidate the same set of pre-defined questions.

2.3 Legal Repercussions

Unstructured interviews can expose you to potential legal repercussions, as this approach might breach employment laws when interviews are inadvertently skewed by personal biases or fail to adhere to discrimination legislation, such as the 2010 UK Equality Act. If a candidate recognises such discrepancies and feels unfairly treated, it could lead to legal claims that cost you financially and damage your image.

Consider these actionable steps:

• Conduct regular legal audits of your hiring processes.

• Focus your recruiting on candidate skills rather than indefinable characteristics.

• Ensure you keep records of your interview data and hiring decisions. You can use a tool like Evidenced to enhance compliance by tracking and reviewing all interviews.

2.4 Missed Talent

Unstructured interviews may prevent you from recognising potentially high-performing candidates, leading to missed talent. Without a strategy that equally assesses each candidate, it's easy to overlook those who might not initially shine in conversation but have strong skills and potential. This randomness in evaluation can perpetuate skill gaps within your organisation, causing long-term impacts on team innovation and productivity.

Reflect on your current interview process:

• Do you know which interview questions result in top performing hires?

• What is your candidate drop off rate during interviews?

• What is the rate of candidates that reject your job offers?

Indeed, a study by PWC found that 49% of job seekers have turned down a job offer because of a bad experience during the interview process. Unstructured interviews can result in these poor experiences, as candidates may feel that they are being unfairly evaluated, or asked the same things over and over again.

3. Strategies for Avoiding Compliance Risks in Interviews

3.1 Implementing Structured Interview Frameworks

Adopting a structured interview framework is essential to eliminate the unpredictability of unstructured interviews. Here's why you should consider a well-designed framework:

• Consistency: Every candidate faces the same set of questions, minimising bias.

• Objective Metrics: Evaluations are based on clear criteria, ensuring legal compliance.

• Better Comparisons: Uniformity allows for fairer assessment of candidates.

By using interview intelligence tools such as Evidenced, you can guide your team with real-time interview frameworks, improving consistency and compliance. By having a company wide framework, you're not just checking a box, but improving your hiring decisions across the board. Remember to regularly update your framework to reflect the needs of evolving roles in your organisation.

3.2 Standardising Interview Questions

Standardising interview questions across all roles is crucial for reducing bias and ensuring you're evaluating candidates on the same scale. Here’s how to do it:

• Focus on Job Relevance: Tailor questions to the specific competencies required for the role.

• Benchmarking: Use industry-standard questions for comparison. Take a look at our bank of interview questions for best in class examples.

• Legal Compliance: Ensure questions adhere to employment and discrimination laws.

Tip: Tools like Evidenced can automate question detection, helping you be confident that interviewers are staying on track and actually asking your standardised questions.

3.3 Regular Training and Awareness for Interviewers

Continuous training and awareness are pivotal for sustaining an equitable interview process. It’s not just about knowing how to ask questions, but understanding the impact of your biases. Key steps include:

• Awareness Workshops: Conduct sessions on unconscious bias and fair interviewing techniques.

• Mock Interviews: Practice sessions to apply learning in a controlled environment.

• Feedback Loops: Use post-interview surveys to gain insights into the candidate experience.

Try to provide practical guidance and targeted training to enhance interviewer skills continually. This approach fosters an atmosphere of learning and improvement, ensuring your team is always prepared to conduct fair and effective interviews.

By understanding the risks of unstructured interviews and adopting these strategies, you are not only mitigating compliance risks but also strengthening the integrity and effectiveness of your hiring process. A structured and well-defined approach to interviews helps eliminate bias, promotes fairness, and ensures that every candidate is evaluated based on consistent criteria. This not only protects your organisation from potential legal and reputational risks but also enhances your ability to attract and retain top talent. Ultimately, investing in a fair and structured interview framework contributes to a more inclusive, compliant, and high-performing organisation.