Workforce PrioritiesHOW TO ATTRACT, HIRE, AND RETAIN THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR TODAY’S BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORLD

Interviewing ToolsPRESENTER:

NAOMI WEINSTEIN, ICL, Inc.

Strategic role of HRInterviewing Tools

Does the organization have systems that ensure:• the right people • with the right skills • do the right things • to get the right results• and will STAY with you

Key Question

Every interview should be guided by a standard set of interview questions that focuses on the primary responsibilities and skillsneeded to be successful in this job.

Typical Questions found on www.Glassdoor.com‣ Generic:

• Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.• How do you handle stress?

‣ Specific to behavioral health• How well do you get along with young people?• What do boundaries mean to you?• Why do you want to work with this population?

‣ Behavioral questions• Provide an example of a stressful situation you had to

resolve, and what you did to handle it properly.• Tell us about a time you had to effectively defuse a

situation so no one got hurt.

Step 1: Develop the Job DescriptionResponsibilities

Key Skills

Desired Qualifications

Step 1: Develop the Job DescriptionResponsibilities

Key Skills

Desired Qualifications

Step 2: Use Job Description to develop

interview questions

Best PracticeInterview Questions‣ Questions link to 5 – 6 essential job responsibilities‣ Questions should target• Soft skills• Knowledge (what would you do…)• Attitudes (what do you think about…)• Skills (tell me about a time you…)® Past behavior predicts future behavior® Avoid questions that can only lead to a success story® Can request different example each time (Do not assume

one-time example = frequent behavior)‣ Follow-up questions for detail, and for sense of how

common‣ Seeking out high performers• Job “fit” (is this kind of work a passion?)• “Can do” attitude and self-motivation (response to obstacles)

Selected Behavioral HealthSoft Skills‣ Teamwork‣ Responsibility‣ Problem-solving‣ Crisis management‣ Organization‣ Decision Making‣ Empathy‣ Communication‣ Initiative

‣ Conflict resolution‣ Trustworthiness‣ Emotional intelligence‣ Openness to change‣ Commitment to learning‣ Independence‣ Customer service‣ Handling pressure‣ Reliability/dependability

Questions that Target Soft SkillsTarget needed specific skills‣ Talk about a change that happened recently in your

organization. Did you agree or disagree with the change? How did you deal with the change - for yourself and others? (openness to change)

‣ How do you stay on top of what is happening in the behavioral health field? (commitment to learning)

‣ Tell me about a situation when you were faced with a tough problem. What did you do? (problem solving)

‣ Describe some of the strategies you use to show clients you are trustworthy. (trustworthiness)

Critical soft skill: Emotional Intelligenceself-awareness • self-regulation • self-motivation • empathy • social skills

Probing for Emotional Intelligenceself-awareness • self-regulation • self-motivation • empathy • social skills

‣ Tell me about a time someone criticized your work.

‣ Tell me about the last client you saw before coming here. What was that person’s mood? Why do you think that they felt that way?

‣ Tell me about how you responded to a colleague’s success?

Exploring Skills + Attitude (combination questions)‣ O-SAE model (Motivation Based Interviewing)

® Obstacle + Situation (1 obstacle/1 situation at a time)® Action taken (don’t direct towards success or failure, insist on

specifics)® End result

‣ Examples® Tell me about a specific time when a colleague was rude to you.® Tell me about a specific time when you were meeting with a client who

was very angry.® Tell me about a specific time you were working with a young person

who was very aggressive.® Tell me about a specific time you felt defeated. How did you respond?

Derived from Motivation-Based Interviewing, by Carol Quinn

Exploring Skills + Attitude (combination questions)‣ O-SAE model (Motivation Based Interviewing)

® Obstacle + Situation (1 obstacle/1 situation at a time)® Action taken (don’t direct towards success or failure, insist on

specifics)® End result

‣ Examples® Tell me about a specific time when a colleague was rude to you.® Tell me about a specific time when you were meeting with a client who

was very angry.® Tell me about a specific time you were working with a young person

who was very aggressive.® Tell me about a specific time you felt defeated. How did you respond?

Derived from Motivation-Based Interviewing, by Carol Quinn

Tell me about a time you had to deal with X situation given X obstacle. What did you do? What happened as a result.

Exploring Skills + Attitude (combination questions)‣ O-SAE model (Motivation Based Interviewing)

® Obstacle + Situation (1 obstacle/1 situation at a time)® Action taken (don’t direct towards success or failure, insist on

specifics)® End result

‣ Examples® Tell me about a time a colleague was rude to you.® Tell me about a time you were working with a young

person who was very aggressive.® Tell me about a time you felt defeated.

Derived from Motivation-Based Interviewing, by Carol Quinn

Passion (+)‣Out of all the jobs you have held, which was your

favorite? ‣Out of all the jobs you have held, which was your

least favorite? ‣What would you consider your Most Significant

Achievement in your career so far?

Recommended Interview Questions: an overviewaddressing attitudes, knowledge, and practices

• Recovery-focused approaches• Trauma-informed care• Integrated/Whole health perspective

RECOVERY

Selected Soft Skills

‣ Collaboration‣ Continuous learning‣ Empathy‣ Patience‣ Strengths-based

approaches‣ Non-judgmental listening‣ Power sharing‣ Unconditional support for

others

Recovery-Focused Approaches

Recommended Interview QuestionsRecovery‣ Understanding of recovery and person-centered care

principles® What do you do in your work with clients that would

demonstrate to an observer that your approach is recovery-based?

‣ Attitudes about recovery and person-centered care® From your experience, what kinds of goals are appropriate

for clients to work towards? What goals would you consider inappropriate?

‣ Openness to client participation in treatment planning®How do you respond when a client shares a goal that you

think is not achievable or reasonable?

‣ Recovery outcomes® Tell me about how you work with clients who want to work.

(Probe: how support employment if there are symptoms)

‣ Being a recovery-focused practitioner® Tell me about a situation working with a client that made

you lose hope.

‣ Recovery orientation in the workplace® If you were in charge of the physical environment of your

program, what would you do to make a recovery philosophy stand out?

Recommended Interview QuestionsRecovery (continued)

TRAUMA

Selected Soft Skills

‣ Empathy‣ Non-judgmental listening‣ De-escalation‣ Empowering others‣ Trustworthiness‣ Dependability and

reliability‣ Strengths-based‣ Problem solving

Trauma-Informed Care

Recommended interview questionsTrauma‣ Support and compassion

® Describe the things you do to create an environment that is trauma-informed.

‣ Dealing with crisis situations® Tell me about a time when you had to respond quickly in a

crisis.

‣ Creating safety® Talk about your work with a client with a trauma history.

What coping skills did you work on with this person and what was the outcome?

‣ Working with children, youth, and families® Please share any ideas you have for building resilience in

youth who have experienced trauma.

‣ For candidates for Supervisory and Leadership positions® Describe ways you both model and encourage trauma-

informed care and practice for your team.® What strategies have you built into your work to build

resilience on your team, and address secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma and burnout?

Recommended interview questionsTrauma (continued)

INTEGRATED HEALTH

Selected Soft Skills

‣ Collaboration‣ Communication‣ Continuous learning‣ Empathy‣ Non-judgmental listening‣ Observation and

awareness

Integrated Health Perspective

‣ Scope of practice® What do you think is meant by the term “whole health” and

what is the role of behavioral health in addressing “whole health”?

‣ Information sharing and teamwork® Share how you have used technology to help you focus on

the well-being of a client. What tool did you use and how did you use it?

‣ Knowledge, understanding, and attitudes towards health®Which health topics do you find challenging to discuss with

clients? Share with us an example of how you have brought up a challenging topic with a client.

Recommended Interview QuestionsIntegrated Health

‣ Supporting individuals® You make a home visit to a client who has been showing

signs of increased isolation because of a lingering cough. While at the home, you notice a window that doesn’t close properly and some mold in the bathroom. What do you do?

® Talk about your work with a client who was not “taking good care” of his health.

‣ For candidates for Supervisory and Leadership positions® As a leader, how do you encourage your staff to think about

the connection between physical and behavioral health challenges?

Recommended Interview QuestionsIntegrated Health (continued)

Coming up…‣ Managing performance (September 17)

‣ Employee engagement (October 1)

‣ Pre-employment screening tool package (October 15)

‣ + resources