Recently I had the pleasure of joining Trish McFarlane for an HCMx Radio podcast episode where we talked about how to use simulations in your recruiting and training initiatives.
We start with a bit of my background–if you’re new here that might be interesting for you. Then we leap into some of the work we’re doing at Brandon Hall Group. Finally we get into the meat of the conversation–using simulations to really drive home better recruiting/selection practices and better training/development practices. It was fun and I think you’ll enjoy listening!
Click here to listen to the podcast.
One of the things we talked about was having exercises for different types of jobs. I found this excellent set of examples below (this is partial, click through below for the full listing) to illustrate the point that virtually every job can include some element of this type of tool.
Job Simulation Exercises
| Position | Must-have | Sample Exercise |
| COO | Critical thinking, writing | Observe the organization in action (delivering a training session, staging a rally, holding a hearing, etc.) and propose recommendations for improvement in a 2-3 page memo |
| Manager of programs | Strategic thinking | Read and analyze a set of goals and objectives and come up with recommendations to pursue |
| Director of communications | Public speaking, judgment | Rehearse a press conference or a call with a reporter about a controversial program we support |
| Manager of a small- or medium-sized department | General management, staff supervision | Simulate giving positive and corrective feedback to a supervisee |
Courtesy of the Management Center
 So, what did you think of the topic? Do you like the podcast format? Would you like to see more of those?Â
Love the podcast. How short can we make the interview process and still make the best hire isn’t necessarily my goal, but just because the steps exist does not mean they aren’t in there “just for fun.” My goal is to make the best hire. I have no desire to edit the interview process to make it short and fun, but to make the most of the candidates time and determine if they are a candidate that we should proceed with. I’m not chasing the sake of shortening, but going for the sake of usefulness. If I have 8 people on the interview schedule I do not need 4 of them to ask the candidate to solve the same technical problem. My goal is to get the group to discuss a strategy BEFORE the interview so that kind of mistake doesn’t happen. I’m going to stop myself there, but we should continue this conversation! (you think I listened like I was the recruiter you had a conversation with?)