Review the evidence signals before interviewing. Then use the anchored descriptions—not instinct alone—to choose the score that best matches each answer.
01
Evaluation factor
Record of outcomes
35% weight
Ask which HRIS programmes they took live: Workday, SuccessFactors or Dayforce, headcount migrated, modules deployed, and post go-live metrics like ticket volume or payroll error rates.
Evidence to listen for
Names organisations, budgets, and headcount they were actually accountable for
Gives outcomes with numbers, not initiatives with adjectives
Separates what they drove from what the market or a predecessor did
Can describe something they owned that failed
Five-point scoring guide
1
Poor
Titles and initiatives only; no accountable outcomes.
2
Needs Improvement
Claims results the organisation would have had anyway; no scope clarity.
3
Satisfactory
Real accountability with some numbers; attribution occasionally generous.
4
Very Good
Clear scope and measured outcomes, including an honest failure.
5
Excellent
Names specific go-lives with employee counts, module scope, cutover dates and measurable service improvements they personally owned after stabilisation.
02
Evaluation factor
Strategic judgement
25% weight
Probe how they chose between configuring core HR versus bolting on point solutions, and how they handled data cleansing, integration debt, and phased versus big bang rollouts.
Evidence to listen for
Explains a decision where the options were genuinely close and the information incomplete
Can say what they chose not to do and why
Distinguishes a bet from a certainty
Changes course on evidence rather than defending a position past its life
Five-point scoring guide
1
Poor
Frameworks and slogans; no real decision they can walk through.
2
Needs Improvement
Describes decisions made elsewhere; cannot state the trade-off.
3
Satisfactory
Sound judgement on familiar decisions; less tested on ambiguous ones.
4
Very Good
Walks a genuinely close call, states what they gave up, and changed course on evidence.
5
Excellent
Explains a concrete trade-off, such as deferring a talent module to protect payroll parallel testing, with the reasoning and consequence.
03
Evaluation factor
Building and leading teams
25% weight
Check how they ran blended teams of HR functional leads, systems integrators and internal IT, including how they handled an underperforming SI or missed sprint deliverables.
Evidence to listen for
Has hired, developed, and where necessary removed people
Names someone who grew under them and what they did to cause it
Handles an underperformer directly rather than waiting it out
Builds a team that functions when they are not in the room
Five-point scoring guide
1
Poor
No real people leadership; avoids difficult personnel decisions.
2
Needs Improvement
Managed a team but cannot describe developing or exiting anyone.
3
Satisfactory
Competent manager; development is informal.
4
Very Good
Demonstrable record of growing people and handling underperformance directly.
5
Excellent
Describes structuring workstreams, coaching HR process owners into product ownership, and escalating vendor performance with evidence rather than complaint.
04
Evaluation factor
Influence across the business
15% weight
Test how they carried CHROs, works councils, finance and frontline managers through change: adoption campaigns, GDPR and data residency concerns, union consultation, and business case defence.
Evidence to listen for
Wins support from peers and boards without positional authority
Translates their function into terms the rest of the business cares about
Delivers unwelcome news early
Manages up without either capitulating or stonewalling
Five-point scoring guide
1
Poor
Relies entirely on authority; conceals bad news.
2
Needs Improvement
Struggles to influence peers; communicates in function-specific jargon.
3
Satisfactory
Works adequately with peers and leadership.
4
Very Good
Persuades peers and boards on merit and delivers bad news early.
5
Excellent
Cites named stakeholder resistance they turned around, with the specific mechanism used (design authority, pilot cohort, council consultation) and adoption numbers.
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