As researchers have shown (e.g., Richard, 2000), a diverse workforce brings competitive advantage to an organization. One benefit is the development of novel and creative solutions to the company’s work problems. But to realize such benefits, an organization’s managers and HR professionals must first be trained to implement fair and unbiased selection procedures.
When an international consultancy carried out a survey of multicultural candidates who had been selected for employment in the United States, or in the Thailand plant of a large multinational corporation (DDI, 1999), it found that almost all candidates were impressed by the fairness and professionalism of the interviewers. Over 90 per cent of the candidates were satisfied with the way the selection interviews had been conducted. Among the reasons given were:
1 Candidates were able to speak most of the time during the interview.
2 They found it easy to talk to the interviewer about their accomplishments and experiences.
3 Candidates were able to present themselves accurately during the interview.
4 The interviewer’s questions were easy to understand.
5 Interviewers made candidates feel at ease, and effectively managed the time and pace of the interviews.
Most of the candidates believed that, since they were given ample opportunities to present themselves, the information elicited from the interviews allowed the interviewers to make correct selection decisions.
According to the researchers, features that accounted for the positive impressions gained by candidates included:
● The tight focus of the interviews.
● Well-trained and skilled cross-cultural interviewers.
● Structured interview format and targeted questions.