Phone Surveys

Technology from Database Systems Corp. lets you develop IVR survey applications using our interactive voice response IVR solutions. Surveys can be initiated by outbound phone calls or can be a response to callers. Using our PACER and WIZARD phone systems with the Smart Message Dialer and survey software, we can call your survey prospects and play a highly focused and custom greeting. We then can give your survey audience the option to take your survey or even talk with a representative, leave a voice message, hear additional information, or simply decline to participate in the survey. The survey can accept touchphone response or can record each question response for later analysis. To view more information regarding our automated phone applications, please visit our Automatic Phone Survey solution web page.

The following is an article relating to call survey techniques and products and services in our business.

From: Robert Half International
NEHRA, www.nehra.com

You've collected resumes, selected candidates and are ready to begin talking to top contenders. What's your first step? It could be a telephone interview. With competition for talent at its peak, hiring managers are investing more time in preparing for and conducting phone interviews to maximize the effectiveness of face-to-face meetings.

In fact, in a recent survey conducted by Robert Half International, 58 percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) polled said that screening prospective employees by telephone prior to meeting them was very important relative to other stages in the hiring process. Additionally, with overwhelming constraints placed upon hiring managers, phone interviews can be an effective time-saver. Here are some guidelines to help prepare you for the screening process:

Timing is everything.

Estimate how long you'll need to effectively conduct an interview with job applicants. Without a guideline, you may either spend too much time or not enough on the process. Additionally, if the candidate isn't available and you need to leave a message, set a time for when he or she should return your call the next day. This can be a good test of initiative - candidates who fail to return the call at the designated time or don't offer an explanation for why they can't could be demonstrating either a lack of interest in the job or a lack of commitment.

Have a candidate's resume on hand.

You'll want to have both the applicant's cover letter and resume with you while you're on the phone so you can ask relevant questions. Review the resume carefully before your call and make notes so that you can incorporate these thoughts into your conversation.

Develop a list of questions.

For comparison purposes, ask the same or similar questions of each candidate. You'll more than likely see a pattern among the applicants who are a good fit for your company, and those that lack the necessary skills, experience or enthusiasm. Here are a few good questions to ask:

• "Tell me a little about yourself and your work history."
• "What interests you about this job?"
• "What skills can you bring to the job?"
• "Can you tell me about your current job?"
• "What sort of work environment brings out your best performance?"

Don't "oversell" the job.

Offer anyone you interview an accurate description of the position and the company culture. Even if you think a candidate may be a great addition to your staff, you also want the position to be a good fit for him or her. If you over-exaggerate the benefits of working for your company or provide misleading information, the applicant won't be able to make an informed decision. Look for candidates who are sincerely interested in the job.

Don't screen arbitrarily.

Tailor your selection criteria to the position you're trying to fill. For example, you might have different expectations for a potential sales professional during a phone interview than you would for someone applying for a position as an engineer.

While phone screening is no replacement for an in-person interview, it can be the ideal vehicle for narrowing the field of possible candidates for job openings at your firm. The key is to be consistent and maximize the time you spend with each job hopeful.

Robert Half International is a staffing services firm specializing in the accounting, finance and information technology fields. For more information, call (800) 803-8367 or visit our website at www.rhii.com.