Three Interview Questions Reveal If Your New Hire Will Stop For a Hazard

The Situation

One wrong hire on a bobtail costs more than a resume shows. Bryan Wendt, propane operations and safety manager at CHS, lays out a screening plan in LP Gas on Sept. 17 that starts with the job posting itself. Test judgment in the interview with three questions before the next offer goes out.

The Facts

Wendt opens with a sample ad seeking a "results-oriented, self-starting problem solver" to drive a bobtail. A posting that sells speed, independence and results pulls in candidates who think finishing fast is the whole job, he writes in his Sept. 17 column. A posting that sells professionalism, procedure, customer care and accountability pulls in candidates who see safety as the job itself. Driving skill still matters for bobtail and transport drivers. But Wendt says the right service technician, someone setting tanks or running underground piping or replacing regulators, usually brings solid driving habits along. Patience, attention to detail, respect for procedure and the judgment to slow down carry from the field to the road. That logic covers every seat, Wendt writes. A customer service representative may be the first to hear a caller describe a gas odor, and the right response sets the leak response in motion. A salesperson sets expectations on tank placement, access, service needs and delivery timing—conversations that head off confusion. And how a manager reacts when someone stops work over a safety concern shows the crew what gets rewarded. Licenses and experience don't show judgment on their own, so Wendt lists three behavior-based interview questions:

Tell me about a time you stopped or slowed down because something did not seem safe? Describe a time when a customer wanted something done in a way that conflicted with the code or a company procedure. What did you do? How do you handle a full schedule when weather, road conditions or access issues make the work more difficult than normal? The answers show whether a candidate speaks up, follows procedures and uses judgment when the easy choice isn't the safe choice, Wendt writes. Training builds on that base by explaining the why behind each procedure and the real risk it's meant to prevent. Wendt's column draws from his work at CHS. How many retailers already use behavior-based questions, and whether a rewritten ad changes who applies, is still unclear. If you smell gas, leave the area, then call your propane company from a safe place. If you can't reach them, call 911.

Business Impact

Wendt frames hiring as the first safety decision a retailer makes, before a bobtail ever leaves the yard. Get the ad wrong, and training spends its time undoing habits instead of building on them. The second decision comes later, when a manager decides how to treat a worker who stops a job over a hazard. What this means for your business: 1. The job ad works as a screen, so its wording shapes your applicant pool before any interview. 2. Behavior-based questions show judgment that a license or resume can't. 3. A manager's response to a stop-work call sets the standard the rest of the team follows.

Key Takeaways

• Safety habits travel across roles: the patience that makes a technician safe in the field usually shows up behind the wheel, per Wendt.
• How a manager responds when someone stops work over a hazard decides whether the crew speaks up next time.
• Good training explains the real risk each procedure is meant to prevent, Wendt writes.

Action Steps

1. 1.This week, rewrite one open job ad around professionalism, procedure, customer care and accountability.
2. 2.Add Wendt's three questions to your interview script before the next candidate walks in.
3. 3.At your next sales meeting, have each rep walk through the tank placement, access and delivery-timing talk they give every new account.
4. 4.Before the next offer goes out, have two managers score each finalist's three answers, and pass on any candidate who picks speed over the safe call.

Competitive Advantage

Wendt's case is that safety hiring isn't a separate track for CDL holders. The instincts that keep a technician safe on underground piping or a regulator swap are the same ones that show up behind the wheel. So screen for them in every seat.