Measuring Employee Work Motivation Through Job Interviews

For recruiters, the interview is a crucial thing in the recruitment process. In addition to knowing how the ability and knowledge of the candidates about the job being applied for, but also to measure their motivation.

Motivation is the main thing that forms the characteristics that must be possessed by employees. When they are motivated, work performance will exceed expectations than you can imagine. Therefore, the company's success in achieving its goals is indirectly influenced by the motivation of its employees.

How do recruiters interview candidates about their motivations? What do interviewers hear when candidates answer their job interview questions about motivation? Here's what to learn while listening to your candidate's interview questions answered to gauge their motivation.

Interview Questions About Motivation

You will assess several factors and consider the motivation of the answers candidates give during the interview. Understand what can motivate candidates, such as how the work environment or company culture they think can increase performance motivation. These factors will affect the consistency of motivation that your candidate has.

You are trying to identify what motivates the individual being interviewed. The motivation of a candidate must match the job they have chosen. For example, you should hire a candidate who enjoys interacting with people to fill a business development position.

Plan the recruitment process carefully because this moment plays a significant role in identifying the characteristics and abilities of prospective employees. This allows you to direct your interview questions to identify suitable candidates.

Sample Questions to Measure Candidate Motivation

The following are examples of questions you can ask candidates to measure how motivated they are at work, including:

1. Work Experience

The motivation of a candidate can be seen from work experience. From these factors, it is clear that the importance of motivation for prospective employees in the work environment is clear. Have they had promotions in the office before? How long did they stay with their old company job or how often did they change offices?

2. Interests Outside the Work Environment

In addition to asking about the purpose of applying for a job, ask about activities outside the world of work. Examples include hobbies or interests they have. Motivated people are not only struggling with work, but have a side for self-development other than in the office.

Many people have a tendency to have other activities such as joining a marathon running community or learning a foreign language. Another thing to do is start a community initiative that matches their hobbies so they can keep someone motivated.

3. Questions About Failure

Motivated people will be more resilient in dealing with all situations. Motivation will help a person stay focused and positive, even when faced with challenges or problems that barrage.

In the interview, ask questions about how to deal with failure and how to overcome obstacles or challenges. Know their lowest point and pay attention to the response to the awareness of their failure.

4. Work Environment Factors

What do candidates believe to motivate themselves and their co-workers? How to motivate in the work environment? This view will tell you about the candidate's priorities and how they view their performance motivation.

You will learn what is needed in the work environment to keep the candidate motivated. If the candidate's environmental preferences do not match your company's culture and environment, then the candidate will not be a good fit to work there.

5. Gestures During Interview

The content of the candidate's answer is very important to assess his motivation. However, you should also pay attention to nonverbal communication because it is just as important. Look for the enthusiasm of the prospective employee in the way he talks and the sense of engagement in his body language.

Usually this can be seen from the way a person leans forward, stares with confidence, and the ability to improvise during the interview. This gesture is a sign of the candidate's high enthusiasm.

To measure personal attributes that help identify how a person will behave in a particular role, you can adapt CALIPER Profiling. This is an Online Potential Assessment that can be learned through On Demand Assessment Program training for employees in your company.