Should HR Interview A Programmer?

There are a lot of controversies and discussions on the Internet about who should interview a developer. Should it be Human Resources or should it be a Technical Manager?

The Dilemma

Just because an HR manager is competent in his or her field and has a good understanding of technologies, does not mean that they possess the experience to fully determine the best professional skills of a programmer. HR managers do not develop or write code, so many are concerned that they are inadequate to hire someone for that position.

Technical Managers are better equipped to spot the good versus the bad in their specific line of work. While interviewing a candidate, a developer can tell when someone knows what they’re talking about versus someone who doesn’t. However, Technical Managers may not possess all of the skills needed to conduct a thorough interview of candidates either.

The Hiring Process is Important

At Swan, we believe the answer is in the hiring process itself. Most would agree that a poor hiring process is costly to the company in both time and money. Additionally, turnover can have a negative impact on morale, culture, productivity and success. With the following hiring process we strike a great balance between HR  and Technical Managers while not adding too many layers to the process.

1) The Technical Manager forms the requirements for the candidate

The head of the tech department provides a list of the necessary prerequisites including things such as job duties that the candidate will perform, the project the candidate will work on, experience needed, and skill set requirements

2) Human Resources writes and posts a job vacancy

3) The Technical Manager chooses who to interview

The Technical Manager chooses the most suitable candidates to reach out to.

4) Human Resources conducts a screening interview

The HR manager talks to the candidates about the company, the working conditions, and other administrative details. During these conversations, the HR manager ascertains soft skills.

5) The Technical Manager interviews the candidate

The head of the development department conducts a technical interview and allows the candidate to demonstrate their technical skills

6) After the interview, the HR manager and Technical Manager share their observations and make a final determination.

The Best of Both Worlds

By creating a process that utilizes the strengths of both the HR Manager and the Technical Manager we have increased the overall quality, productivity and success of our team. 

The next time you need to hire a programmer you might consider trying our approach, or better yet contact us. We would love to talk about how we can help you and your team!