Recognise Behavioural Questions and Be Prepared for Them.

A common interview technique is the use of behavioural interviewing. The basis for this type of interviewing is that past behaviour is an accurate indicator of future behaviour and behaviour is closely linked to performance.

The behavioural questions asked will relate to the selection criteria for the role you are being interviewed for, so if you have an understanding of the selection criteria then you will be able to prepare for some behavioural questions.

Recognising a behavioural question.
Behavioural questions are different from hypothetical questions, which focus on what you would do in a certain situation.

The often start with, "Tell me about a specific situation when… ". or, "Give me an example of when you had to……".

The interviewer will be looking for four elements to be present in your answer. These elements can be most easily remembered as the STAR format:-

Situation – Identifying a specific situation which you were faced with (preferably but not necessarily in the work environment)

Task – Outline the task which you were required to achieve

Action – Describe the action you took

Result – Explain the outcome from your actions

The key to providing a good answer to a behavioural question is to come up with a credible example with a positive outcome resulting from your actions or at least it being a valuable learning experience. If the example doesn't result in a "happy ending" then you should choose another example.

To practise answering behavioural questions, make a list of the selection criteria for the job and reflect on examples of your past achievements which demonstrate your capability in each criteria.

Examples of Behavioural Questions


Describe a time when you were under pressure of meeting multiple deadlines.

What did you do to get organised and achieve what was required of you? (Selection criteria – time management)

Give me an example of a time when you saw the opportunity to make a work process better or more efficient.

What did you do and what was the outcome? (Selection criteria – demonstrating initiative).

Tell me about a time when you were let down in a group or team.

What did you do and what was the outcome? (Selection criteria – teamwork).

What is Best Practice in Employee Turnover Rates?

Many companies have concerns about the availability of skilled labour to meet their projected demands. While hiring new and qualified employees is critical to meeting future demands, retaining existing employees and their skills is equally critical.

One way to track how effective a company is at retaining current employees is to look at its employee turnover ratio and compare individual performances to industry benchmarks.

Employee turnover is generally calculated as the number of employees who were terminated, quit or retired during a given period (typically quarterly or annually) divided by the average number of employees, multiplied by 100. Such calculations generally exclude probationary, part-time and temporary workers.

Rate of employee turnover can be influenced by a number of factors:-

• Type of Industry – What are considered normal turnover varies between industries

• State of the Economy – employees will be less inclined to voluntarily change employment under difficult economic conditions.

• Company Factors – size of company, level of engagement with employees, strategic factors.

Reported employee turnover rates most commonly range anywhere from 2% to 30% per annum. It is not surprising that most benchmarking reports suggests that having a lower-than-average employee turnover ratio is better than having a higher-than-average ratio.

From a profitability standpoint, research suggests that it’s important to be better than average in turnover ratio but it is also worth stressing that achieving best-in-class performance should not be a company’s sole objective. Other important strategic initiatives in a company can have a positive or a negative impact on turnover ratio. The real message is that balance is extremely important. You want to retain your key people and strong performers but you also want to have new people entering the organisation who can bring new skills, provide a fresh perspective and ideas for improvement.

One of the major concerns associated with having a higher than average staff turnover rate is the cost to the organisation in two areas:-

• The high direct cost of hiring new talent. This can be exacerbated by the shortage of skilled personnel which is currently common in many industry sectAgPeople rs.

• The loss in organisational efficiency associated with the constant loss of skilled and experienced people.

It is generally accepted that staff turnover is an important KPI to be measured and benchmarked in and between companies. Six percent turnover is often cited as a healthy balance between retention of existing skills. Concern may be warranted if turnover is found to be 15% or higher. Under such circumstances analysis of quality of leadership and employee satisfaction and engagement may well be justified to determine the root cause and to enable the development of tactics to reduce it to a level in line with existing company strategy.