Individual Interview

An individual interview is an annual appraisal interview. It is an appointment between an employee and his employer that makes it possible to take stock of his skills and his results in relation to the set objectives.

What is individual interview?

An individual interview is a meeting between an employer and an employee during which are mainly evaluated:

* the skills developed by the employee;

* the achievement of the objectives set in the last individual interview.

Good to know: the individual interview is also called "evaluation interview".

The power of direction

An individual interview is a right derived from the employer's management power. It is not a legal obligation.

Attention: the individual interview should not be confused with the compulsory professional interview, which takes place every two years and which concerns only the professional evolutions of the employee and his training needs.

The only obligation: warning employees

An employer can not summon an employee to an individual "surprise" interview. It is a process that must be notified to all employees.

The employee is expressly informed, prior to their implementation, the methods and techniques of professional evaluation applied to him.

An employee can not refuse to participate in an individual interview if his direction has warned him of this practice in the company. A refusal may be related to insubordination.

Individual interview: what is going on?

Frequency

No law requires an individual interview to evaluate an employee. The frequency of these individual interviews is therefore free and chosen by the employer. It can be:

* every six months in very small dynamic companies;

* every year, which is the most observed case;

* every two years in large companies.

The interlocutors

In small companies, the individual interview can be conducted directly by the employer. In large companies, it is the line managers who ensure these interviews.

Example: managers pass the individual interviews of employees under their responsibility, they are then evaluated by their hierarchy.

Individual interviews can also be set up by the Human Resources Department.

The contents

The content of an individual interview is at the discretion of the employer. However, the methods and techniques for evaluating employees must be relevant to the pursued purpose.

Good to know: many companies use evaluation grids.

At the same time, the employee is required to respond to this evaluation interview.

Follow-up

At the end of an individual interview, there is no obligation for the employer to notify the employee about the obtained results. Nevertheless, the results obtained are confidential.

Good to know: if the personal data collected during this individual interview are stored in computerized format, the employer must declare it to the national commission of informatics and liberties.

Individual interview: what objectives?

Objectives for the employee

The individual interview must not be experienced by an employee as a sanction but as a space for dialogue with his direction. The individual interview is the time to:

* carry out a self-assessment of the used skills;

* understand and integrate the objectives set by the direction;

* identify strengths and points for improvement;

* have performance recognized by the hierarchy;

* share with hierarchy about the desires for evolution, ambitions.

Objectives for the employer

The individual interview is a privileged moment for the employer. It allows a free dialogue with each of his employees.

The individual interview is the framework that promotes:

* the explanation and the good integration by the employees;

* enhancing the skills of employees;

* the identification of the difficulties of motivation, involvement, performance of employees;

* a better vision of the company's future.