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
Hands-on competence
35% weight
Check which platforms they actually program: Control4, Crestron, Lutron RadioRA, KNX, Home Assistant, Zigbee or Z-Wave meshes, plus network setup, VLANs, PoE switches and rack termination.
Evidence to listen for
Names the equipment, materials, and tolerances they work to
Can describe a job start to finish without hand-waving the hard parts
Holds the tickets, licences, or certifications the work requires, and they are current
Knows what they are not qualified to touch
Five-point scoring guide
1
Poor
Cannot describe the work concretely; lacks required tickets or licences.
2
Needs Improvement
Basic familiarity; needs supervision on routine tasks.
3
Satisfactory
Competent on standard work; slower or unsure on unfamiliar jobs.
4
Very Good
Skilled and independent across the normal range of the role.
5
Excellent
Names specific dealer certifications and walks through a whole-home scene programming job from load schedule to commissioning and client handover.
02
Evaluation factor
Safety discipline
30% weight
Probe mains work boundaries: who signs off dimmer and relay circuits, Part P or local electrical licensing, low-voltage separation, and how they avoid overloading LED drivers.
Evidence to listen for
Treats procedure as protection rather than paperwork
Can describe a time they stopped work and why
Knows the specific hazards of this trade and the controls for each
Reports near misses instead of hiding them
Five-point scoring guide
1
Poor
Casual about safety; describes shortcuts with pride.
2
Needs Improvement
Follows procedure when watched; cannot name the hazards that matter.
3
Satisfactory
Sound safety habits; less certain on unfamiliar hazards.
4
Very Good
Safety is instinctive; can describe stopping work over a real concern.
5
Excellent
States clearly where their licence ends and an electrician takes over; cites load calculations, isolation practice and tested neutral requirements for dimmers.
03
Evaluation factor
Fault finding
20% weight
Test diagnosis of intermittent faults: dropped Zigbee nodes, Wi-Fi congestion on 2.4GHz, HDMI handshake failures, cloud outages breaking voice control, or a stuck occupancy sensor.
Evidence to listen for
Has a method for narrowing a fault rather than swapping parts
Reads schematics, manuals, or error codes and acts on them
Knows when to escalate rather than guess
Can describe a fault that took real work to find
Five-point scoring guide
1
Poor
Parts-swapper; no diagnostic method.
2
Needs Improvement
Fixes symptoms; cannot explain how they found the cause.
3
Satisfactory
Solid on familiar faults; less structured on new ones.
4
Very Good
Clear systematic method with a real hard-fault story.
5
Excellent
Describes an isolate-and-verify sequence using network tools and logs, and recalls a real fault where the obvious suspect was wrong.
04
Evaluation factor
Reliability and conduct
15% weight
Look for evidence of client-facing discipline in occupied homes: dust protection, documented as-built drawings, remote support SLAs, and how they handle scope creep from homeowners mid-install.
Evidence to listen for
Turns up, on time, prepared
Handles shift work, callouts, or travel as the role requires
Documents work so the next person can pick it up
Deals with customers or site staff professionally
Five-point scoring guide
1
Poor
Unreliable attendance; unprofessional on site.
2
Needs Improvement
Inconsistent; documentation is an afterthought.
3
Satisfactory
Dependable; paperwork is adequate.
4
Very Good
Consistently reliable, documents well, professional with customers.
5
Excellent
Cites documented handover packs, follow-up visits after occupancy, and referrals or repeat work from designers, builders or previous homeowners.
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