The StaffExcel process utilizes a structured interview to assess how closely the beliefs of an employee or candidate align with the qualities of successful individuals in similar roles.  

The Research Our research, in developing instruments, focuses on the experiences, beliefs, and practices of successful individuals in specific organizational roles.  We first identify qualities that can be measured.  Once the qualities have been defined, questions are developed and tested that will extract the beliefs and behaviors of the interviewee. Ken Cardinal has been conducting this type of research for nearly thirty years.  David Brobeck’s dissertation (1998) tested the validity of interview questions from one selection instrument and conducted an experimental study of the effect of interventions on our process.  

The Qualities Qualities for each identified role reflect what a successful employee would believe.  No individual can or should be expected to be a master of all qualities.  Rather, individuals will have strengths in certain areas and can be vulnerable in others.  At StaffExcel, we believe employees can increase their strengths and limit vulnerabilities with proper coaching or training.  Over time, all areas of the employee’s work can be expected to improve through growth and development.  

The Interview Each structured interview is designed to discover what an individual believes in response to specifically designed questions that align with the qualities.  Many questions are multi-part and are open ended.  The interview responses are not evaluated as right or wrong, but in a degree relationship to a benchmark response.  A certified interviewer determines if the response clearly aligns with the benchmark, is somewhat vague or general to the benchmark, is absent of the benchmark, or is counter to the benchmark.  These data are used to determine if the candidate matches the needs of the organization.  Further, if the candidate is selected (or the interview is used with a current employee), the responses are the basis for providing a written narrative detailing how the individuals demonstrates his or her beliefs and actions in relationship to the questions asked and the qualities used in the design of the instrument. 

The Profile The profile is the narrative developed from the benchmark standards of the interview.  The employee (or position finalist) has the opportunity to review the profile with a supervisor/coach.  An important part of the profile review is for both parties to clean up any areas that were not made clear during the interview.  One important concept learned from this process is that one only knows what the interviewee reveals.  Sometimes, an individual can provide evidence of strategies or methods that were not mentioned during the interview. Those data are simply added to the profile.  Conceptually, the profile is a foundational tool to an initial growth plan.  If the interview is used with an existing employee, the profile is a critical component for developing a growth or improvement plan. 

Growth Planning We believe that the discovery process of employee selection should lead management to fairly clear picture of where a candidate (or employee) has strengths or may be vulnerable.  Therefore, a growth plan that is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-framed will enable the employee to improve and better serve the organization.

Assisting Inspired Leaders to Create Extraordinary Staff