{"id":5287,"date":"2024-03-14T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-14T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.talogy.com\/?p=5287"},"modified":"2025-09-17T16:06:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T16:06:18","slug":"past-behavior-is-the-best-predictor-of-future-behavior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/talogy.com\/en\/blog\/past-behavior-is-the-best-predictor-of-future-behavior\/","title":{"rendered":"Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\nMost employers and hiring managers have conducted interviews for years and believe in their effectiveness. However, many are not using them well. Over fifty years of research shows that pleasant and articulate candidates often score high in traditional interviews, even if they\u2019re a poor fit for the job. This highlights the importance of interviews<\/a>; it\u2019s critical for organizations to learn how to conduct accurate, efficient, and legally defensible interviews<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The power of past behavioral interview questions for informed candidate assessment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A critical part of any valid, reliable, and efficient interview involves the interviewer asking past behavior questions. The key here is that your best predictor of future behavior is past behavior or past performance in a similar situation. If you\u2019ve always done something a certain way, you\u2019re likely to do that same thing in the same manner in the future. The same goes for on-the-job performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you\u2019re interacting with a candidate, you\u2019re essentially trying to determine whether that candidate is going to be a good performer for your organization. The best way to do that is to ask specific, open-ended behavioral interview questions that are designed to elicit what behaviors he or she has exhibited in the past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, a good past behavior question could be, \u201cTell me about a time when you had to work on a team. What was your input into that team and what were the outcomes?\u201d This type of behavioral interview question allows you to uncover valuable details about a candidate, while simultaneously empowering him or her to give you specific examples of past behaviors that might indicate a future problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unveiling the B-A-R (Background, Action, Result)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After asking a past behavior question, it\u2019s important for the interviewer to ask follow-up probing questions to better understand the situation surrounding the candidate\u2019s answer. The goal of the interviewer\u2019s probing questions should be to learn relevant information about the interviewee and collect three key pieces of information about that question, what is commonly referred to as a \u2018B-A-R:\u2019 Background, Action, and Result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the background of the situation? For instance, let\u2019s use the example above. In response to asking about a candidate\u2019s experience working on a team, relevant probing questions for the interviewer to ask could be, \u201cWhat type of team were you on?\u201d or \u201cWhy was the team created in the first place?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their answer should reveal what action(s) the candidate actually took as they worked on a team, which can be a future predictor of how they\u2019ll work within your team. Therefore, it\u2019s especially important to get specific details of the situation to learn as much as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was the result of that situation? For instance, \u201cWas the supervisor or the manager happy about the outcomes?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By asking detailed past behavior questions and follow-up probing questions in a structured interview, you gain valuable insight into the candidate and how he or she may perform on the job and in your organization. Remember, it\u2019s easy to stretch the truth in general, but it\u2019s hard to do so in detail. Someone who is answering honestly can easily recall details, while someone who is answering untruthfully cannot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encourage candidates to get specific. Have them tell you a story about a time when they were able to satisfy a customer. Ask about the background of the situation, what they did, how the customer reacted and how the situation ultimately turned out. Make sure you ask questions and get all of the details you need to get a specific past behavior example for each question you ask. It is your job as the interviewer to ask the right probing questions to get the complete story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, does past behavior predict future behavior?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\nNo matter what job you are hiring for or which competencies you are measuring, utilizing behavioral interview questions is your best option to get an accurate picture of how the candidate\u2019s past experience will play a role in the future at your company. Asking these types of questions can help you predict which candidates are going to be successful. Following a structured and consistent selection process<\/a> will help you become more effective in hiring great employees. And yes, past behavior does<\/em> predict future behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The continuing importance of competencies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Make better talent decisions now and for the future.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\n\nToday\u2019s world of work is marked by continuous change, presenting a significant challenge for organizations when hiring and managing their most important resource: their people. Competencies provide a simple, clear, and observable way to measure performance and determine what good looks like in a job.\n \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n