Employee interview: 15 ideas for questions to ask

Far from being a simple communication exercise, employee interviews are an opportunity to reinforce the company's image, to give a voice to those who bring it to life on a daily basis, and to offer an insight into the company's DNA, values and assets. Authentic and often inspiring, these captured moments reveal the individuality of each employee while highlighting their essential role within the company. Valuing employees and their career paths thus contributes to building a strong and attractive corporate culture, for partners, customers and future talent alike.

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Why conduct an employee interview?

Conducting an employee interview is first and foremost a strategic move. 

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Humanizing the company's image

It's a direct and engaging way tohumanize your company's image. By highlighting the people who make up your organization, you create a more intimate bond with your audience and a relationship of trust that goes beyond commercial interactions.

Each employee can present his or her story, experiences and learning. By allowing them to tell their story, you reveal the authenticity of your company, enrich your organizational culture and demonstrate your consideration for human capital, a point not to be overlooked when attracting new talent and partners in a recruitment context. 

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Communicating and motivating internally

Employee interviews can also serve as an internal resource. They enable your teams to get to know each other better, and to appreciate the diversity of skills and career paths within their group. The testimonials offered are also a vector of motivation and inspiration for employees, who can reaffirm their commitment and sense of belonging. Interviews are a good format for internal communication, to showcase the work of employees and highlight the synergy between teams.

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Questions to ask

Designing your interview requires asking the right questions to elicit relevant and captivating answers. Here are a few suggestions for structuring a dynamic and revealing interview:

The 5 most important questions to ask

Can you introduce yourself?

This question serves as a natural introduction and lead-in to a general introduction of the employee. By establishing this context, the audience perceives the employee not only as a professional, but also as a person with passions and a unique background, which humanizes the company and establishes an emotional bond with the audience.

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What are your missions?

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Asking an employee about his or her job duties can shed light on specific tasks and responsibilities. This question provides a concrete overview of the employee's job, helping to clarify the position for potential candidates. It also helps to put the employee back at the heart of the company's success.

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How long have you been working here?

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Asking how long an employee has been with the company is crucial in underlining stability and track record within the organization. This lends weight to the employee's testimonial, since a long commitment can mean job satisfaction and a favorable working environment. 

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What qualities are essential for your job?

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This question prompts the employee to reflect on the skills and character traits that are essential for success in his or her role. Who better than the interviewee to talk about what is expected on a day-to-day basis for their position? By sharing this, the interviewee helps to better understand the expectations and challenges associated with his or her position, and offers valuable advice to potential future candidates. 

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Why join the company rather than another?

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By asking this question, the employee is invited to express what distinguishes his or her company from its competitors, whether in terms of culture, values, opportunities or advantages. This testimonial is a key factor in attracting potential candidates. 

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10 other ideas for questions to ask?

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While certain fundamental questions can lay the foundations for a constructive exchange, it's just as essential to vary approaches to enrich interviews, sometimes revealing unsuspected aspects of employees' daily lives. Here are 10 more ideas for questions to ask: 

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• What's your favorite part of your job?
• What advice would you give to a new employee?
• Tell a professional anecdote. 
• What are you working on at the moment?
• Can you describe a typical day?
• Can you describe the atmosphere at work?
• Why did you join the company?
• When you were a child, what was your dream job?
• What are the 3 emojis you use most at work?
• Do you work with or without music?

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Interview formats

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Text, audio or video formats, the choice depends on the image you want to convey, in line with your internal and external communications strategy.

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For a staff interview, video remains a particularly suitable, powerful and powerful support . Video makes it easy to capture the expressions, tone of voice and body language of the interviewee. As part of a communication strategy, videos can be massively distributed across several media: on the company's website, on social networks, in e-mails, on digital screens, and encourage greater interaction and better memorization of messages.

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Digital signage is particularly useful for in-house communication via screens placed in open spaces, workstations chains, meeting rooms, waiting areas, break rooms, etc. With a solution like Cenareo, you can communicate the message you want, depending on the target and screen positioning. 

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Ideas for original video formats

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There are different types of video for employee interviews, both formal and fun. 

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• The mini-documentary/vlog

It offers a broader perspective by incorporating elements of the employee's daily life. Film him in his various interactions, show him at work, but also in moments of office life that reflect his personality and the atmosphere within the organization.

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• Traditional or moving question-and-answer format

Record the interview in a relaxed setting, in a living space on the company's premises or outdoors. This format lends an authentic character to the interview, facilitating spontaneous expression.

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• Interview Fast & Curious

The "Fast and Curious" interview format is an original and dynamic way of conducting interviews. The format is based on a rapid succession of questions and answers, capturing the personality of the interviewee. One of the main advantages of this format is its ability to hold the audience's attention. 

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Once you've defined the tone of the video by choosing the most suitable format and the questions you want to ask, all that's left to do is shoot and edit your employee interview video. 

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To facilitate this in-house work, solutions such as Cenareo Video make it easy to create videos from predefined formats such as interviews, thanks to precise shooting guides. The tool also enables automatic video editing and provides access to various audience statistics, perfect for tracking the performance of your videos once they've been broadcast.

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