There’s no denying that promoting staff internally is cheap and easy - and internal interviews are just a formality, right?
Wrong. No matter how well you know your employee, you don’t know how well they’ll perform in a new role unless you ask the right questions.
Most hiring managers find out little extra information during an internal interview - and that’s dangerous. Skip the questions you already know the answer to and focus on new information. Here are some tips to get the most out of internal interviews:
If you aren’t serious, don’t bother
You don’t owe anyone an interview. If you don’t have any serious intention of promoting an employee, it’s better for everyone if you don’t waste your time leading them on.
Maintain a high bar
Expect more relevant answers from internal candidates who know the company culture. For instance, if you ask, ‘How do you handle conflict with a colleague?’ your internal candidate should be able to show understanding of how to handle conflict specifically at your company, in line with your company policies. However, if they flub the interview but you know they’re a good worker, consider having someone else interview them rather than writing them off.
Assess role readiness
You probably don’t need to ask much about their performance in their current role. Instead, ask them why the new role interests them, what they know about it, what their plans for it are, and what they would need to get up to speed.
Simulate work experience
Try putting the candidate in the role for a day, asking them to complete a sample piece of work before the interview, or to do a role play of an interaction with a team member or client.
In summary
Do:
Ask about their plans for the role
Use behavioural or competency-based questions to clarify their motivations
Simulate work experience - give them a role play or sample piece of work
Don’t:
Give them an interview just to be nice
Assume you already know everything you need to know about them
Ask questions you already know the answers to