We have considered in this work to provide a broad framework to the environment issue, seeking not to stray from the main topic which is the environment of an interview, and supporting the need for a “good environment”, in relation to the needs of the organization, its policies, Thus, strategies and objectives of the Human Resources area, which will undoubtedly have a relevant role in the environment created in the interview, from the physical to the psychological. Because we have decided to start this work by providing a definition to three elements, which in our opinion, interact at the time of the interview and are in turn synonymous with each other.
Definition of these three elements
- Environment: External factors capable of influencing an organism. Group or social sector. Setting: adapt or accustom a person to an unknown environment. Context: Medium that surrounds an object or an individual on which it influences intimately. Environment: Environment, that which surrounds someone or something.
As we can see, they are very similar to each other, but we have included the concept of “setting” in order to demonstrate that this must be the main objective to be sought when analyzing the environment, that is, in all the tasks that can be carried out carried out by the Human Resources area related to training, development, career plan, the same recruitment and selection (among others), all must try to provide the best environment, that is, to set the people up so that they feel comfortable, satisfied, and in this way we as Human Resources can take advantage and utility, to different situations.
By means of a global approach to the interview, we can see that it consists of several parts and various elements, different types of interviews, different roles, etc., but the environment is the thermometer of which the interview is going to be worth, which can condition the development of the same from the beginning to its end. In these terms, the interviewer plays a preponderant role, since we consider that from his conception, of how the interview should be, including how the environment predisposes, the most important positive or negative results will be obtained.
This topic will be discussed in depth later in the work, but we consider it important to highlight the power of attention and perception that the interviewer must have, because we must not forget that we participate in a relationship with another person in the interview, and depending on From this configuration, the questions, slogans or signs can be considered as an equivalent of everything that can be asked in a work context, and the interviewee's responses can be considered with the same character (how he responds, how he conducts, the level of autonomy put into play, etc.).
developing:
The environment, as we have mentioned, is conditioned by the interviewer and this is perceived even in the smallest details, such as the degree to which the interviewer is involved with the interviewee who will be influenced by experience, in most the cases This tells us that to the degree that we get involved, either with excessive distance or excessive involvement, we may run the risk that the interview will get out of hand. We must not forget that it is "a meeting related to public and social projects".
In all cases it is important to maintain the good climate of the interview, within the personal style, the fact of doing it includes respecting our characteristics with serenity and a sense of humor. We are working and we need to do it in the best level of comfort and naturalness possible. For this reason, the interviewer's task will be to reformulate in operational terms how the interviewee responds to this or that stimulus and to what extent their response helps or sabotages it.
Relationship: Interviewer role - environment
The interviewee plays a very important role in the interview and in the environment of the interview, this role is called the Interviewer Role.
The role of the interviewer is developed in interaction with the complementary role, which we usually carry out in our activities, in the action of interviewing both learn, both the interviewer and the interviewee. Participating in this situation allows you to progressively incorporate the structure of the situation.
When a person has gone through the different roles that make up a given situation, experience incorporates the structure of the situation, and can understand it from its different components. This type of "wisdom" is what can allow us to overcome the personal difficulties that lead us to repeat certain role stereotypes.
Learning (incorporation of new possibilities into our repertoire of behaviors) is based on understanding the problem from new observation angles. Putting yourself in the place of the other always enriches the perspective that you have from your own, it is an interactive round trip process, which allows us to collect information and then affirm the things we did well and try to improve those in which we made mistakes. In turn, it allows us to perfect our concept of an ideal environment, from the other person's experience and the degree of comfort or discomfort that we have provided.
The interviewer in training has to be very comfortable psychologically and physically. Daring into new situations involves risk and effort, you must spend the necessary time, especially for those who do not have enough experience, since the initial path always takes more time and work.
A well-developed role allows to operate in critical situations, because it maintains the distance, giving rise to thought and reflection.
The organization in general and its influence with the environment
As we saw in the definition of context, this intimately influences an object, in our case, the interview. Therefore we consider part of that context to the organization and its influence.
The context determines the role of the coordinator, the role of the observer, the purpose of the experience and the criteria with which what happened will be evaluated.
From the many descriptions that we can use, we will highlight the aspects that interest us for our work.
For this reason we will consider it primarily as an interdisciplinary space in which problems are faced and solved to obtain certain results.
Conceiving the company as an interdisciplinary space introduces both the concept of diversity and that of complexity. The task of selection, relocation or development requires working with interlocutors from different disciplines, as clients and / or as applicants, and with both the need to work interdisciplinary, with the participants or subjects of the experience, on the one hand, and other colleagues from different disciplines, on the other, interested in expanding their level of information to make decisions. With the latter, a relationship of parity or dependency may be established, based on collaboration or assistance. The concept of diversity alludes to the variety of convergent approaches and disciplines in the field, and that of complexity to the multiple relationships that are generated between the concurrent parties.
The evaluator or coordinator of the experience must assimilate its terminology to that prevailing in the context in which it acts as an initial condition, in order to later introduce concepts and criteria specific to the work with which it operates. It is a cultural exchange, and the suggested strategy is to approach this exchange from the dominant culture in the context.
By taking the predominant concepts in the field, the particular vision of the world that they help to configure is incorporated into them. In everyday terms it will be necessary to understand the words, in order to translate the ideas that you want to transmit into your codes.
Some central concepts should be taken from the field of work to explain ideas that a Human Relations specialist could do differently.
It will also be necessary to contribute your own ideas, resources or elements, which are not equivalent in the jargon of that context. The contribution of these new elements constitutes the basis on which it is proposed to develop a shared approach. The contribution will consist of other ways of looking at and thinking about reality.
Each discipline has a set of conceptual tools to decode in a particular way the reality or phenomena in which it participates and which contributes to generating it.
Faced with the same organizational phenomenon, an accountant could observe some aspects, an engineer respond differently, a doctor propose an alternative treatment or prevention and a psychologist generate an interpretive hypothesis.
Working in an interdisciplinary group means that each member, with his or her tools, offers a different resource, which brings into play and at the service of others, is sometimes confronted and sometimes integrated. Good interdisciplinary work arises when it is possible to listen, respect and accept the other, and their contributions, either in a daily work environment or at the time of a selection interview.
Another aspect to highlight in the business context is the concept of entrepreneurship.
In the background and in its origin, a company is a set of actions that are undertaken with the purpose of obtaining economic benefits. Benefits that can be achieved from an excellent use of the resources with which it operates.
The problems that arise between the moment in which you are and the objective that is posed configure the field of work, in fact, the employment contract is a contract to solve problems.
When we select staff, we are choosing people to solve problems, therefore, it is very important to know the type of problem they have to solve and the circumstances in which they have to face them. This information is part of the first data to explore, what kind of problems do they have to solve and what characteristics does the context in which the task will be carried out present?
Knowing all the aspects related to the organization, its environment, as we have seen is of vital importance, as well as understanding the constant change that is demonstrated in the example of what happened in the last decade when trying to take out the processes that are not main, the so-called outsourcing. Precisely in the Human Resources area, selection and training begin to undergo this process.
The process outlined, despite being very simplified, allows us to get closer to thinking about the evolution that is taking place in the work context, where we must act as Human Resources professionals to find an appropriate place from which people can exercise their trade and develop their profession. Recognizing that process and the changes that are taking place in the world of work helps us think about people in different ways.
If you consider that a specialist is someone gifted to think, you will be asked for answers based on the theoretical frameworks of your discipline. As a consequence, the expectations in relation to the contributions of each person may also be different and constitute another aspect to consider, determined by their training and experience in the first place and by their personal characteristics, any particular characteristic of the people is of vital importance., its objectives, as well as the objectives of the organization, policies, strategies, etc., to understand the organizational environment, and find ways to adapt.
To work in the environment of organizations, it is necessary to identify one's own task and recognize the different tasks, the different specialties with which it is necessary to interact, with which it is necessary to understand each other, from which it is possible to nurture and to which it is possible to attend.
The institutional location of the Human Resources area allows, in a certain way, to take into account the environment, both for the general performance of the personnel, as well as for interviews or any reason for which it is necessary. It is necessary to define the scope of the functions, locate the role of the area and that of the specialists who work in it.
The Human Resource is one of the resources with which a company operates; You cannot operate without it, but we all have rules of the game that govern our operation, and certain possibilities to respond according to our characteristics. It is just a more complex and less predictable field. The type of information that someone provides or the type of problem that they solve depends as much on the preparation acquired for that exercise as on their availability and one aspect does not replace the other; not knowing that all this affects the result to be obtained is not understanding how the Human Resource works.
From the foregoing, it is in our interest to convey the idea that the organization gravitates in “the environments”, from its policy, making itself known in the physical place destined to make a selection even in the fact of choosing to make a selection internally or external, or that this work is carried out by the organization's Human Resources members or simply outsource.
Human Resources and Labor Relations
Businesses can no longer compete solely on the basis of prices. They are obliged to respond quickly, on time and with the required quality. And they have to do better and better.
From this reality it is clear the importance of the correct selection of Human Resources and the importance of providing a harmonious work environment, because below we show you some factors to take into account in all the tasks of the Human Resources area (such as factors that are often repeated and tend to have great weight in our correct performance), when making a selection.
Factors that define a negative or dissatisfied environment:
- Businesses have cheap and abundant labor in simple tasks that is often treated as a renewable resource, which means that workers have to work harder and harder for longer hours until they are exhausted or end up leave the job.Shifts are getting longer, with ten hours a day being the norm to which many workers add several overtime, voluntarily or not. This is particularly the case in production processes with little added value, a lot of labor is used, which in the long run presents symptoms of dissatisfaction and wear and tear that leads a worker to give up obtaining moral value from the organization and comply with a monetary value. The workplace tends to be oppressive, intimidating, and unsatisfactory as a result of the above. Production is ineffective, mistakes are frequent, and waste is high. Turnover, delays, and absenteeism are also high. Workers are generally not consultedNeither are their needs taken into account. The intensification of work is such that it can even be counterproductive, causing a drop in productivity, a deterioration in quality and a high labor conflict.
Solutions used to modify an environment of dissatisfaction:
- The management decided to motivate workers by introducing cash incentives to increase production, productivity, reduce absenteeism and will keep their trabajadores.Las companies try to solve the problem of arrears offering breakfast to workers who arrive early so you have in addition to the advantage that, well fed, they can better take on the workday, considering also that they can influence the general work environment. Some companies offer free transportation, often very early in the morning or late at night, thus helping to respect schedules and reduce the fatigue generated by traveling long distances. Many companies provide medical and dental services, thereby reducing absences for reasons Some companies offer childcare services in the same factory (whether it is a company dedicated to developing their products or services), in its vicinity or in the community. This eliminates a concern for breastfeeding mothers and reduces the time and money they should spend caring for their children. Day-care centers in the factories themselves allow mothers to feed their children multiple times during their ten- or twelve-hour shifts a day.air conditioning to increase productivity. Some companies that are concerned with retaining their qualified and experienced personnel have established social security funds so that workers, after ten or fifteen years of work, can obtain lump sums with which they can start some economic activity.
However, it is a fact that these incentives cannot exceed a certain threshold and the need for constant improvement in speed, quality and costs forces management to pay more attention to increasing productivity and efficiency.
Lastly, we think that the physical environment at work imposed on the group by senior management fosters the behavior of the work group. The training that the environment has at the time of making mistakes will be decisive in human quality or product quality.
It is important to clarify that the organizational environment will be the reflection of the social context that surrounds us, therefore if our context remains in constant uncertainty our organization will suffer the impact of uncertainty that will lead the whole group to great unpredictability, dissatisfaction and lack permanent creativity.
Preparing the environment for the interview
Taking into account what has been seen previously, we will enter directly into the subject of preparing the environment for the interview, taking into account, previously having allocated the necessary time for the interview, the environment in which it is to be carried out is prepared.
The planning of the selection interview is essential and within this there are stages that help its improvement:
- Preparation of the interview;
- Ambient;
- Development of the interview;
- Interview termination;
- Candidate evaluation.
Our object of study are all those factors that make up the selection interview environment.
Create an environment of trust
The job of creating an environment of reciprocal acceptance rests with the interviewer. The interviewer has the obligation to represent his organization and leave his visitors - even those who are not hired - a pleasant, human, friendly image.
The best result of an interview is achieved when the interviewer gets to know the candidate and to achieve this the first step is to reassure the interviewee:
Greet the interviewee as follows:
- Standing up With a smile; Looking him in the eye; Introduce yourself; With a firm but gentle handshake.
To achieve our objective as interviewers (obtain all the necessary information from the applicant). It is important to remember that your attitude also bears approval or rejection: nod, keep a relaxed attitude, not tense and smile again.
We must take into account:
- Make it private. This is very important so that applicants can speak freely. They must be sure that what they say will not be heard by other people. This is of particular importance when discussing sensitive issues, such as why they have been asked to leave their current job. Let there be a minimum of distractions. These include a phone that rings without someone to answer for you, people who come into the office unexpectedly, or your own mental distraction if you are thinking about all the work you have to do. Make sure that the applicant is comfortable. This does not require elegant furniture, Persian rugs, or a burning fireplace. Their behavior and the general attitude in the interview will largely determine the degree of comfort of the visitor. If it can offer you to choose where to sit, fine, but if space is limited and there is only one chair available, it is the same, as long as you do what is necessary to make the candidate feel comfortable. If she has a coat, get it, make sure the seat is not crowded with books and magazines, and offer her a drink if possible. Do what you can to create a cozy atmosphere. If the applicant is comfortable, you will ensure a more productive interview. Both of you occupy an appropriate place. There is no specific place to place the interviewer and interviewee seats. Some interviewers believe that a desk between them and the interviewee is like a barrier between the two. If you consider it that way, then the desktop becomes a barrier. On the other hand, if you feel good about your work furniture, there is no reason why you should not occupy your usual position. The applicant in this case will undoubtedly feel comfortable on the other side of the desk.
It is important to highlight that the environment is not only shaped by the space (lighting, noise, order, etc.) but also those questions that we will ask the candidates in the interview and the attention we pay to each of them:
- We must allow the person interviewed to present the facts in their own way and then help them save the omissions. Avoid dogmatic positions. No one likes to be told, in an interview, how you should do your job; you should try not to argue, show sincerity and openness instead of cunning and sagacity. Give the interviewee the opportunity to express their full response. As waiting is inevitable, there should be enough chairs so that there is no need to wait standing. Newspapers, magazines, especially related to the firm, should be placed in the waiting room.
The environment for an interview can be of two types (as mentioned above):
- Físic or: the premises of the interview should be comfortable and just for this purpose; Psychological: the climate of the interview must be pleasant and cordial.
Even before starting the conversation, the interview can experience disturbances: an inadequate waiting room, an excessively luxurious lobby, a long waiting time, are all aspects to avoid. Likewise, the candidate may make an unpleasant impression knowing that her resume, or failing that the job application, was not read carefully.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
- RICINNO, Susana; “Selection of Personnel”.DOURY, Jean Pierre; "How to Conduct a Personnel Selection Interview".ALLES, Marta; "Choose the Best Author".
