Interviewing for practice staff can be a tricky job. GP partner roles aside, you’re likely to have the tough job of choosing between several equally-matched candidates. The answer, therefore, could be to use interview scorecards during the interview process, which allow interviewers to take notes about candidates’ answers during the interview and build up an overall picture using rating scales.

However, before you rush out and download a scorecard – you can download examples (see below for links) – there are pros and cons to the use of scorecards that you need to be aware of, according to HR professionals. Let’s start with the criticisms.

The negatives

The use of scorecards is often criticised for two key reasons – they lead to a formulaic interview and they make the discussion less natural, with less eye contact.

Both of these points are valid. Following a strict scoring process – defined by asking specific questions – you can limit discussions and mean that you miss something more important about a candidate (who could also feel frustrated at being unable to express their strengths fully). Constant note-taking can also disrupt the natural flow of an interview.

Likewise, a lack of eye contact as the interviewer focuses on the scorecard/matrix can lead to an awkward environment where candidates feel they can’t express themselves properly. This can mean interviewers miss the all-important body language of candidates. This is hugely important for practice recruitment – after all, you’re generally going to be interviewing for public-facing roles.

The positives

Despite the negatives listed above, there are numerous arguments in favour of interview scorecards.

They provide structure and focus: While too much structure can hinder the interview process, as mentioned above, they can keep interviews on track and focused on the required job specification. If you’re interviewing a high number of candidates, it also ensures you stay within time constraints.

They focus thinking: This is a key benefit. Scorecards make you think about your candidate requirements before you start interviewing and allow you to identify and evaluate the real strengths that you’re after – and not the things that don’t matter. Some interviewers like to have a list of ‘must-haves’ and ‘nice-to-haves’ on their scorecards.

They drive consistency and fairness: On a similar note, scorecards and the structure they bring ensure fair and consistent interviews where all candidates are scored on the same questions. They reduce the problems of subjectivity and bias and ensure post-interview discussions can be based on consistent fact and fair comparison.

They enable post-mortems: We’ve all been there – you think you’ve found the most brilliant candidate that will be your practice’s saviour – only to find a need to get rid of them before they’ve passed their probation. If you’ve used a scorecard/matrix during the interview process you can go back and identify mistakes. It’s human nature to have biases – scorecards enable you to identify them if something goes wrong. It also allows future interview processes to be reviewed.

They enable review and collaboration: Interviewing multiple candidates can become a blur. Scorecards allow you to go back and remind yourself of who said what, especially when scorecards are combined with notes. It takes away any ambiguity.

They also allow a collaborative recruitment process as notes and scoresheets can be discussed with colleagues and GP partners in plenty of detail.

They can protect you: Scorecards and notes are essential documents if you’re ever challenged over discrimination – they can prove hiring decisions weren’t discriminatory and instead based on evidence. Without interview scorecards, companies might find it difficult to explain why they rejected certain candidates.

Boost effectiveness

It’s clear from the above that the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to scorecards. Even so, there are some things you can do to ensure their effectiveness is enhanced. Here are three top tips:

1. Explain in advance – let candidates know, ideally in advance of the interview, that you will be using a scorecard and how it will work. HR experts say this, as well as helping candidates to prepare, highlights to the interviewer how candidates think about tasks and adapt to them accordingly – flexibility and rapid understanding of tasks is an essential element of working in a GP practice!
2. Learn to take notes quickly – This allows you to maximise eye contact and help the interviews run as naturally as possible.
3. Standardise scorecards – If you hire often for the same position, you’ll only have to create scorecards once. You can also use the same scorecards to assess traits that all employees should share, like culture fit or technological savviness.

Overall, interview scorecards can be a useful tool for practice managers. They add structure to your interview process and ensure focus – both of which should result in better recruitment. And, given the time and money recruitment drains out of your role and budgets, that can only be a good thing.

Handy resources

Practice Index PLUS offers a wealth of handy information and downloadable resources to help with the interview process, including a number of scorecards and matrices. These include:

• Interview shortlist criteria for GP partners, practice managers and receptionists [PLUS]
• Interview questions with expected responses for management roles [PLUS]
• A prioritisation exercise for management interviews [PLUS]

Do you use scorecards and/or a recruitment matrix? What are the pros and cons? How have you made them work for you? Share your thoughts with your fellow Practice Managers below or take them to the Practice Index Forum?

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