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Job interviews are a crucial step in the hiring process, allowing companies to assess candidates’ skills and determine whether they are a good fit for the organization. Traditionally, job interviews have been conducted as one-on-one conversations between candidates and key decision-makers. However, in today’s collaborative work environments, a team interviewing process may be a more effective approach.

Team interviews provide decision-makers with the opportunity to observe candidates in a group setting and assess their ability to work well with others. This article explores the benefits of team interviews and why companies should consider incorporating them into their hiring processes. By doing so, they can expedite the recruitment process, gain deeper insight into candidates’ interpersonal skills, and avoid making costly hiring mistakes.

Typically, companies conduct job interviews through one-on-one conversations between pre-screened candidates and key decision makers to gain more details about the candidate’s skills and assess if they are a good fit for the role and company culture. However, this method may not be efficient for companies operating through a collaborative team approach. Instead, a team interviewing process may be a better approach to ensure a good hire.

Nancy Halverson, vice president of global operations for MRINetwork, explains that team interviews provide an opportunity for companies to conduct routine business exercises, such as brainstorming or planning sessions, where candidates are asked to contribute to the group’s discussion. The team interview operates under the premise that top candidates typically excel during one-on-one interviews because they know all the right things to say. But when put in a group setting, only individuals who can work well in a team will excel, providing the company an opportunity to assess the candidate’s collaboration skills.

Unlike panel interviews, team interviews do not focus on rapid-fire questions from multiple stakeholders that can create a stressful situation for candidates. Instead, team interviews let decision makers subtly observe candidates in a seemingly more casual environment.

Halverson advises employers to consider bringing in the team to evaluate candidates as it helps employers quickly weed out candidates who are not a good fit. This scenario provides more objectivity during the interviewing process, and the sharing, cooperative aspect of team interviews caters to the work environment that many Millennials seek. Additionally, team interviews can help companies avoid wasting time and money on a bad hire.

As the labor market becomes increasingly candidate-driven, companies have to look for every way possible to shorten their hiring processes and keep their top picks from accepting other job offers. Team interviews expedite the recruitment process by replacing several individual meetings with key decision makers and condensing them into one group meeting.

Overall, a team interview is a great way to gain deeper insight about candidates’ collaborative and interpersonal skills while also giving them a glimpse of the company’s culture and approach to work. Job interviews should be a two-way exchange. If played well, this experience could be the thing that makes “A players” want the job opportunity as much as your organization wants them.