How do you evaluate communication skills in new administrative staff?
Communication skills are essential for administrative staff, as they often interact with clients, colleagues, managers, and other stakeholders. They need to be able to communicate clearly, professionally, and respectfully in various situations and formats. But how do you evaluate communication skills in new administrative staff? Here are some tips and methods to help you assess their abilities and potential.
The first step to evaluate communication skills in new administrative staff is to review their resume and cover letter. These documents can give you an idea of how they present themselves, how they structure and organize their information, and how they highlight their achievements and skills. Look for evidence of communication-related tasks, such as writing reports, making presentations, handling correspondence, or managing customer service. Also, pay attention to the tone, style, grammar, and spelling of their writing. Are they concise, clear, and courteous? Do they avoid jargon, slang, and errors?
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Additionally, this research stage is a pivotal opportunity to transition from high-level review to a deeper understanding of your candidate’s talents. Ask for a sample of their communication portfolio and insight in to their end-to-end creative communications process, inclusive of project conception, drafting, editing, and polishing.
The next step to evaluate communication skills in new administrative staff is to conduct a phone or video interview. This can help you gauge how they communicate verbally, how they listen and respond to questions, and how they handle pressure and challenges. Prepare some open-ended and behavioral questions that relate to the role and the communication skills you are looking for. For example, you can ask them to describe a time when they had to communicate a complex or sensitive message, or how they deal with difficult or angry customers. Listen to how they articulate their answers, how they use their voice and body language, and how they show interest and enthusiasm.
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Some have natural and learned communication skills, while others only have learned. With some individuals, you can identify which is which. Before conducting the interview, provide questions or scenarios that will be given for preparedness on the interviewee's end. Between the prompted questions, give a few unprompted ones to identify how they formulate the answer. Once the interview is complete, ask what their strategy was to answer the unprompted ones.
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When it comes to dealing with difficult people, I want to hear how much responsibility they are willing to admit to in any situation, or how they evaluate the situation at the beginning. The first part tells me how responsible they are, the latter how quickly they can identify the issue and take charge of it.
The third step to evaluate communication skills in new administrative staff is to assign a written or oral test. This can help you measure their practical skills and knowledge in a specific context or scenario. For example, you can ask them to write an email, a memo, or a proposal for a given situation, or to deliver a short presentation or speech on a relevant topic. You can use a rubric or a checklist to evaluate their performance based on criteria such as clarity, accuracy, relevance, coherence, and professionalism. You can also provide feedback and ask them to revise or improve their work.
The fourth step to evaluate communication skills in new administrative staff is to observe their interactions with others. This can help you assess how they communicate in a team, how they collaborate and cooperate with others, and how they handle feedback and criticism. You can invite them to a group interview, a meeting, or a simulation exercise where they have to work with other candidates or employees. You can also ask for references from their previous employers or colleagues. Observe how they communicate with different types of people, how they adapt to different situations, and how they resolve conflicts and problems.
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One thing I and others have done when interviewing new people is to see how they engage with others when coming for an in-person interview. How did they speak with and treat security? The receptionist? Did they speak with anyone else on their way in or out? It's also helpful to have others interview and speak with them, too. Perhaps they'll pick up on something you may have missed.
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We often broke interviews into two sessions. One session was with the rest of the admin staff, and the other with superiors. Again, I like to see if they act differently in the two situations. Are they more open with their equals than with their superiors. Do they show the same respect to both, etc.
The final step to evaluate communication skills in new administrative staff is to ask for their self-evaluation. This can help you understand how they perceive their own strengths and weaknesses, how they learn and improve their skills, and how they set goals and expectations for themselves. You can ask them to rate their communication skills on a scale, to provide examples of their achievements and challenges, or to share their feedback and suggestions for improvement. You can also compare their self-evaluation with your own and discuss any gaps or discrepancies.
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I like to know how people see themselves; i.e., are they honest about their strengths and weaknesses? I have interviewed many people who say their weaknesses include working too hard and being too much of perfectionist. These are cliched responses and turn me off immediately. We are all have things we can improve on; just be honest.
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Effective communication is especially relevant in the workplace, where time is money. The more time wasted because of insufficient or inaccurate information being passed between colleagues, the more money a business will lose. For example, a lack of detail in a brief could mean a designer having to redo the whole design, doubling the amount of time needed to complete the task.
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