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
Check what they owned: ERP migrations, M365 or cloud consolidations, uptime and MTTR figures, helpdesk SLA attainment, and IT budgets they held with headcount numbers.
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 programmes (for example Azure migration, Netsuite rollout) with before and after uptime, ticket volume, and cost figures they personally owned.
02
Evaluation factor
Strategic judgement
25% weight
Probe how they set technology roadmaps: build versus buy calls, licensing renegotiations, technical debt retirement, disaster recovery posture, and their stance on AI or SaaS sprawl.
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 roadmap decision with the rejected alternative, the cost model behind it, and how the outcome was later reviewed.
03
Evaluation factor
Building and leading teams
25% weight
Assess how they built the IT function: hiring sysadmins, security analysts and service desk leads, on-call rotations, retention during outages, and coaching engineers into managers.
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 specific promotions and structural changes, plus how they handled an underperformer or reduced burnout on an on-call rota.
04
Evaluation factor
Influence across the business
15% weight
Look for evidence of influence outside IT: board reporting on cyber risk, SOX or ISO 27001 audits, department heads adopting new systems, and negotiations with vendors like Microsoft or Cisco.
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
Gives concrete examples of winning budget or driving adoption despite resistance, with named stakeholders, audit outcomes, or contract savings.
Put this rubric to work
Score every candidate against the same standard
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