Critical Incident Interview (BEI): what is it?

We live in a highly competitive world. We can see this fact in multiple aspects of life, one of them being the workplace. For each job offered we can find hundreds of people wishing to be selected, being necessary that employers assess the suitability of each candidate to select those most capable of performing the roles of the post.

In this sense, the personal competence of each one enters, which can be assessed through Methods such as the Critical Incident Interview, or Behavioral Event Interview.

The Critical Incident Interview

The Critical Incident Interview, also known by the acronym BEI for Behavioral Event Interview, is an interview technique devised by John C. Flanagan in 1954, which has been modified over time and is mainly used for the purpose of is get an idea of ​​the real skills of people.

It is defined as the set of processes used to collect observations of human behavior to facilitate the analysis of the utility of the individual's behavior and their mental capacity in solving practical problems.

This procedure can be used both in the form of a questionnaire that the subject can answer or directly throughout a interview, counting in the second case with the advantage of being able to directly observe the behavior and language not verbal.

The form of interview frequently used It was developed and popularized by Mc. Clelland, based on the assumption that the best predictor of a person's future performance in a specific task is what they had in the past with similar tasks.

Its main use is in the selection of personnel, when assessing the suitability of a candidate for a position, but they can also be used techniques based on this type of interview in training, preparation and distribution of tasks in different scopes.

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What is valued?

It is about assessing the level of performance of the candidate through a strongly structured interview, through which the consistency of the competencies shown is assessed.

The interviewer will ask the candidate to explain how she dealt with a certain event in the past, being told event a real situation that the candidate has experienced that has some kind of relationship with the position to which he is applying apply. Not only are the facts valued (although the most important and fundamental thing is what the subject in question did), but also thoughts and emotions are also requested to be elicited that these awakened in the candidate. An explanation is requested, not an evaluation of what happened

It is important to make it clear that what is valued are the facts, thoughts and attitudes that he or she showed, in the first person, not the performance of the company or enterprise to which he or she belonged.

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Interview Objectives

Although the main objective of the critical incident interview is to obtain information regarding the past competence of the subjects in order to predict your future performanceSaid obtaining of information can be carried out for different purposes.

In the first place, as previously indicated, one of the purposes for which this type of interview is usually used is to carry out personnel selection processes. Based on the previous behavior and the learning acquired from him, it is possible to assess the existence of specific competencies that may be useful (or, on the contrary, inadvisable) to exercise the position in question.

Once inside the company, it can also be used to evaluate the performance of workers, in order to assess their abilities and even assess the need for some type of training or training with workers.

Another possible application can be given in the world of marketing and in conducting market studies, in order to assess the needs of the population based on the skills and experiences that manifest. For example, it can be used to identify the need for a specific service or product.

Valued aspects

Throughout the process, the interviewee will be asked to answer a series of questions. Although to take into account the situations that are going to be reported and from which the competences are going to be inferred open questions are generally used, closed and very specific questions can occasionally be used as an introduction to these aspects.

Some of the basic questions focus on visualizing a specific experience and asks how it happened, how it came to be, what the subject's role was, or what end result it produced.

The aspects to be assessed in each interview will depend on the type of position offered and the roles and skills required in it. However, there are a number of aspects that are usually valued in most interviews of this type. Below we present a few aspects and the type of questions that are usually used.

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1. sense of accomplishment

Those things we are proud of They say a lot about our personality and our way of thinking.. In addition to this, knowing how they have been achieved can be of great value when it comes to forecasting the direction that the individual's future decisions will take. For example, a typical question might be. "Explain to me a situation or a result that you are satisfied with and how you got there."

2. Team work

Group work is one of the fundamental pillars of most organizations and companies. Being able to organize, work with competent professionals in the same or other matters, accept other opinions and/or Negotiating are essential elements today when it comes to offering a good service and maintaining high performance in a company. An example of questions of this type could be: “Do you like working in a group? Tell me about a situation in which you think that collaborating with others has benefited you.”

3. Autonomy

Although this element seems to contradict the previous point, the truth is that although group work is essential so is being able to act without the need for continuous guidance, especially when events occur that are beyond your control. forecasts. This does not mean that others are not consulted or that what we do is not reported, but in not rely solely on external criteria to act. An example of a question: "Tell me what you did at a time when you had to act quickly in the face of an unforeseen event."

4. Influence

The ability to influence others persuade them and/or make them see perspectives different from their own It is usually an element highly valued by various companies and companies that offer goods or services. An example of a typical question could be: “Describe for me the last time you tried to convince someone of something”.

5. Flexibility and adaptation to change

We live in a dynamic world where things are constantly changing. Be able to adapt and open up to new possibilities It is of great help in most jobs. They could ask us something like: "What is the last thing you had to adapt to in your last job and how did you experience it?"

6. Creativity and proactivity

The capacity of contribute something to the company it is usually an added value that companies value positively. Some typical questions would be: Do you consider yourself an innovative person? Tell me about a time when you brought about an improvement in your job position.”

Structure of the interview: Phases

The critical incident interview is a highly structured interview that follows a script predetermined by the company that conducts it, generally independent of the individual's answer (although depending on the answer, questions could be added to delve into any of the aspects).

Generally we can see that the Critical Incident Interview It is divided into three phases; reception, development and closure.

1. Reception

The first moment of the interview as such. The candidate is welcomed, given an explanation of what is going to happen throughout the interview, the approximate time it will last and you are assured that the content of said interview will be confidential. Also, the interviewer should try to make sure that there are no doubts regarding the procedure, leaving him to express any initial doubts that the candidate may have.

2. Development

In this second phase, the data from the file and curriculum are first analyzed together with the interviewee to have a better idea of ​​the areas and aspects with which he is used to dealing.

After this brief data check, the interviewer proceeds to ask different types of open questions regarding situations that the interviewee has gone through throughout his life, focusing on the description of the events, thoughts and emotions that he had at the time. It must be made clear that a concrete and non-generic answer is sought, and the reflections made by the subject in this regard are not valued since what is being evaluated is only the competence.

3. Closing

In the closing phase, it is intended to recap and make sure that you have all the necessary information, finish providing information about the position, that the candidate can ask about those elements about which he has doubts, and indicate how contact will be maintained in order to communicate the decision.

Advantages and disadvantages

The critical incident interview It has many advantages over other types of evaluation., but also a series of drawbacks.

As a main advantage we can establish that it allows us to get a more or less clear idea of ​​the ways of acting that the subject and the type of competencies that he has, which makes it possible to predict future performance with greater accuracy than an interview classical. Besides it work from situations that the subject has had in real life, not forcing him to imagine a strange situation. It is an inexpensive and easily understandable methodology for both the interviewee and the interviewer.

However, as disadvantages we must mention that concrete events may not be fully remembered by the subject, plus it can fake them. In addition, the fact that the situation is chosen by the interviewee means that there may be a certain lack of control. about it and that moments are chosen that are not fully representative of what is intended assess. Finally, personal experiences can be difficult for some people to describe, assuming an invasion of their privacy that can limit the answers given.