INTERVIEWS
Distance interview considerations
There are several things to take into consideration when you execute a phone or video interview versus face to face. If your subject has been caught red-handed you may think they’ll know exactly what the conversation is about. This comes down to your approach to the interview and maintaining non-confrontational rather than addressing the single issue directly. The phone call and non-confrontational practices can diffuse any initial resistance.
Also consider the tenure and the position of the employee. If your subject has been employed by you for an extended period of time, or has great availability to resources, the likelihood of them being involved in additional incidents may be higher. Take their tenure into consideration as the development stage could be extensive and it may warrant a face-to-face conversation.
Another thing would be the level of evidence, or the type of evidence, that you have. If you have a significant amount of direct evidence, your confidence and comfort level of leveraging and relying on that evidence is going to be much higher. With only circumstantial evidence, you may be more comfortable vetting out those details in a face-to-face environment.
Last thing to consider is the type of case. Your subject may feel more comfortable discussing a sensitive issue over the phone and avoid staring at you throughout the conversation. These sensitive conversations, whether it’s HR or loss prevention related, could be beneficial for you to conduct over the phone versus an uncomfortable exchange face-to-face.
WZ is hosting a series of 'Tackling Telephone Interviewing' live webinar training sessions during the coming weeks.
If you are interested in attending one of these sessions and would like further information, please contact info@wz-europe.com
