effectively represent thoughts through your choice of words, tone of voice, facial
expressions and gestures; to arrive at quick results and – not least of all – to form
positive relationships with other people.
The personal interview is particularly well-suited to building trust, without
which close cooperation is unthinkable. However, talking and discussing take time.
Executives are constantly under time pressure and thus often try to replace meetings
with employees with less time-consuming communications (letters, telephone calls,
faxes and emails). If the distance between headquarters and the workplace of the
employee is very great (a long road trip), the broad use of these means of telecom-
munication cannot be avoided for economic reasons. However, these technological
alternatives must not lead us to neglect personal communication.
As important as the employee interview is, it can actually become counterpro-
ductive if it is not properly prepared for and implemented. Specifically, the follow-
ing recommendations for a successful employee interview can be helpful:
Choose the right time and the right place. An interview shortly before the end of the
working day is ill-advised.
Inform the employee well in advance about the purpose of the conversation.
Set the goal at the beginning of the conversation.
Put yourself in the employee’s situation.
Take every employee seriously – especially if you feel superior to them.
Make sure that you give the employee sustained attention (not only at the beginning).
Involve the employee in the conversation and shape it like a dialog (ask open
questions, explore opinions, solicit proposals, take expressed feelings seriously,
listen).
Provide information in the correct “dosage” and with a view to the needs of your
counterpart.
Present the most important issues very clearly, and place them well (e.g., at the
beginning or end of a message).
Write down the results of the conversation, in particular the measures agreed upon.
Before concluding the conversation, ask the employee for their opinion and final
assessment.
4.2.1.1 A Question of Preparation
After these introductory remarks I would like to take a look at the different stages
of an employee interview: it starts with the preparation; after that the initial
conversation follows, then the actual interview, the close, and as the last step, the
summary and follow-up work.
What must be considered in order to prepare an employee interview? A good
leader cares about inviting the employees ahead of time. Surprise dates should be
taboo. If necessary and available, a conversation manual and/or an assessment scheme
should be handed to the employee at the same time. In addition, the manager should
inform the employee of the date, the content and purpose of the meeting and ask
4.2 Tools as Means to an End 205