Predictive Validity of a Behavioral Interview Technique

Abstract

Several scholars suggest that academic researchers thoroughly review interviewing techniques practitioners use to determine their reliability and validity in predicting job performance. The present study examines an interviewing technique used by the Gallup Organization to predict a sales candidate’s eventual performance and retention. Results of the study indicate that the customized, structured-behavioral interviewing technique offers substantiated predictive validity and appears to be an effective selection tool for predicting sales success and improving salesperson retention. Furthermore the interview represented a nontraditional method. It was administered by telephone and offered similar results of traditional methods (i.e., face to face interviews). Thus, these findings of generalizable validity could save firms a substantial amount of interviewing costs by utilizing the telephone interview. The study offers four advantages to those interested in practices involved in hiring sales representatives: (a) Real behavioral interview data were used to classify new hires; (b) post-hire performance data were used to evaluate performance and retention of applicants from each behavioral group; (c) proprietary information regarding development of behavioral interviewing techniques was shared; And (d) several performance measures, multiple indicators, were used.