What are the best practices for conducting group interview scenarios and role-plays?

Creating engaging and productive group interview scenarios involves setting clear objectives, fostering collaboration, offering precise instructions, incorporating diverse scenarios, and concluding with constructive feedback. These practices not only enhance the assessment process but also contribute to a dynamic and interesting experience for both participants and evaluators.

Before you set out on any sort of interview/assessment process, you must first be aligned with your stakeholder's needs. Talk with them as thoroughly as possible in understanding not only the core competencies the person needs to have but also focus on what type of person would benefit the team the best. For me, the framework that works really well Is being (who your ideal candidate is as a person), knowing (What your ideal candidate should have learned for them to be a part of the process), doing (the experiences your ideal candidate should have)... In Spanish sounds better: "Ser, saber, hacer".

Be creative but mindful on what you’re looking for. Once you know your needs. Plan and execute whatever format you thought of. Be wary of diversions and of impacting negatively your candidates. There is no one size fits all solution so make the format adjust to what you and the company is looking for.

Choosing format, type, time duration and what questions to ask and what not to is the key to success. HR needs to get out of the traditional questioning of Where do you see yourself in the coming years? Tell us about your Strength and Weakness? What is your last salary? They need to focus on Values - Cultural alignment, person's ability to learn, adopt and lead etc.

Ideally automate as much of this as possible. In terms of scenarios, scoring and feedback, if you can use automated assessments you can get more objective comparisons between candidates. As long as you have chosen ones which measure the actual competencies needed for the role in an objective manner you can then design out bias in process and identify those most likely to succeed.

In conducting group interviews and role-plays, it's crucial to prepare clear objectives and diverse scenarios that reflect real job challenges. Encourage balanced participation, ensuring all candidates have the opportunity to contribute. Observe interactions carefully, focusing on skills like teamwork and problem-solving, and provide constructive feedback. Facilitate discussions without dominating, allowing candidates to showcase their abilities and self-awareness. Finally, maintain a respectful and inclusive environment, avoiding overly stressful situations.

Iteration is key. Reviewing not only how the candidates do but also how the assessments correctly vetted your pipeline is ideal. Triangúlate your findings with the other evaluators to check what to improve and what to take out.

Best Practices are as follows: Clearly define the objectives & desired outcomes of group interview or role-play activity. Provide clear guidelines to participants regarding scenario, roles & expectations. Create a supportive & inclusive environment that encourages active participation & collaboration among participants. Assign roles & responsibilities to ensure equal participation. Use structured evaluation criteria to assess participants performance & provide constructive feedback. Facilitate open & effective communication for expressing their ideas & perspectives. Encourage participants to reflect on their experiences & learnings from activity. Provide opportunities for debriefing & discussion to further enhance learning & understanding.