“I can’t do an interview over the phone, I have to see the person.” I hear this so often at our seminars and, while different, it simply is not true (toss in the fact that I dislike the word “can’t”.) As Mike Reddington, CFI with WZ’s Executive Education division has said numerous times, when someone says “can’t” they should always include the word “easily”. Telephone interviewing is something you CAN do and once you try it you will find that is, in fact, done easily.
Here is what Dave Thompson, CFI said on his International Association of Interviewers (IAI) Video tip recently:
“Let’s talks about the advantages of conducting interviews over the phone.
In the last few years, it seems that more and more organizations are conducting interviews remotely, whether that means over the phone or with the use of some type of videoconferencing tool. Much of the reason behind this approach has been to help close out cases more quickly and efficiently without the cost of travel across the country (or sometimes to different countries) that is otherwise necessary to conduct an interview.
A lot of people are apprehensive about a phone interview primarily because they can’t see the person they’re talking to. Although that could be an obstacle when trying to communicate with somebody, I think there are a ton of advantages in conducting interviews over the phone outside of the cost savings.
One of those benefits of not being able to see each other is that it allows the interviewer to have notes, tools, and resources in front of them in case they need to do research while they’re on the phone. It allows the interviewer to avoid presenting evidence and avoid showing the subject any information from the investigation. It minimizes the likelihood of that problem.
Conducting the interview over the phone also allows the interviewer to be perceived however they talk over the phone. Sometimes people feel that they might come across as too intimidating, maybe based on their size or age. Sometimes it’s the opposite. When you talk to someone over the phone, since they can’t see you, they’ll define you based on how you talk with them. It eliminates (or at least minimizes) concerns about appearances and first impressions based on looks, clothing, etc.
There are a ton of advantages when you interview someone over the phone, but it’s really important that we take those extra steps prior to the phone interview to make sure the logistics are set up the right way, the room is still set up in the proper format for an interview, and the subject still has the ability to tell their side of the story even though we’re not there in person.”
As Dave mentions, there are a lot of advantages. We also find phone interviews take less time, usually significantly less. This could be due to case selection. We are not typically phone interviewing a tenured person or an overly complicated case. More likely it is someone caught in the act or a shorter term employee.
For those who have conducted phone interviews, you have probably said something like, “If we thought this was that big of a deal, we would be there in person.” While that’s a nice comment, let’s take it a step further. I was listening to Stefanie Hoover (yes that is my wife) conducting an interview over the phone and sure enough, she said, “If we thought this was that big of a deal, we would be there in person.” But then she added, “Is it that big of a deal? Do I need to fly there?” The person responded with “No, I have not done it that often!” As you can imagine Stefanie’s response was, “Great, from the investigation I didn’t think it was.” And then she moved into development of the admission. I think my jaw hit the floor when I heard that part of the conversation, as I thought what she did was brilliant. She turned a statement we all use into a follow-up question which elicited the person to start telling the truth.
One last benefit of phone interviews that you might want to consider is the liability. In a face to face interview, there is potential for someone to say they were held against their will (even though they were free to leave), thus being custodial in nature. The courts ruled in State vs Mahoney (A995) 80 Wash. App495 that telephone interviews are non-custodial in nature. As you can see, the phone interview removes that from the equation altogether.
So the times, they are a changing! So much for all interviews having to be conducted in a face to face manner. With today’s technology we are able to communicate with the world without leaving our desks. Good luck and give it a try, you will see “can’t” isn’t a word you should be using for conducting phone interviews.
Senior Partner, Truth Advocate, Certified Forensic Interviewer (CFI), & Instructor for Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates. I teach the art of Non-Confrontational Interview & Interrogation techniques to Human Resources, Loss Prevention / Asset Protection, Security Professionals, Auditors, Local Law Enforcement, Federal Government Agencies & Fortune 500 Companies. I help professionals at any level perfect and hone their interviewing abilities to reach truthful resolutions faster.
October 26, 2018, 3:23 pm
Wayne,
Great information that you provided. I had to do a phone interview a few weeks ago. It was a weird deal where my guy in the field (Wash DC) – for whatever reason – told the person he was interviewing that he needed them to talk to me. Two hours later I was forced to make the phone call to our subject. I told him (he was a director with the company and had worked there 10 years) that time was critical due to the facts of the case but that I could fly in that night. He said he agreed that time was critical on this and we should resolve it now. In less than two hours he confessed to $77,000 in theft and in causing an additional $19,000 in losses. He also signed a promissory note for pay back. I have only performed a few of these types of interviews – what you and the others at W-Z have put on-line like this have been extremely helpful. As always thank for all that you guys/gals do.