8 min read

Streamline Your Process: How to Plan and Conduct a Panel Interview

Panel interviews help reduce bias by bringing multiple perspectives into the hiring process, ensuring fairer and more consistent decisions. With clear goals, structured roles, and shared evaluation criteria, businesses in Australia can run efficient and collaborative interviews that strengthen team alignment.

When it comes to hiring, there is no shortage of methods that claim to be the best. But if you are seeking a way to balance fairness, efficiency, and collaboration, panel interviews are a strong choice. As someone responsible for selecting the right talent—whether you are an HR Manager, Talent Acquisition Specialist, Production Manager, or a Small Business Owner in Australia—you need a process that cuts through bias and brings clarity. That is where planning a panel interview properly makes all the difference.

In this guide, you will learn how to plan a panel interview, manage the panel interview process, and run effective group interviews that support collaborative hiring.

Why Panel Interviews Matter

Think of hiring like building a house. You would not ask just one person to inspect the foundation, wiring, and plumbing all on their own. You would gather experts from different areas to get a clearer picture. The same logic applies to panel interviews.

When you bring together multiple decision-makers, you create a setting where candidates are assessed from different angles. This reduces the risk of one person’s opinion holding too much weight. It also helps you build stronger alignment across your team.

In Australia, where businesses need to move quickly to stay competitive, panel interviews give you a structured way to evaluate candidates fairly and efficiently.

Step One: Define Your Goal

Before you plan a panel interview, you need to know exactly what you want to achieve. Ask yourself:

What skills or qualities must this candidate demonstrate?
Who on your team is best equipped to evaluate these areas?
How will success in this role be measured?

Without clear goals, a panel interview can feel like a ship without a compass. Everyone may be asking questions, but the direction is unclear.

Step Two: Choose the Right Panel Members

Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth. The same goes for panel interviews. If you invite everyone in your department, the candidate will feel overwhelmed and the process will drag on.

Instead, aim for three to five panel members. Each person should represent a unique perspective, such as:

Technical expertise (to assess job-specific knowledge).
Leadership or management (to consider cultural alignment and long-term fit).
HR or recruitment (to assess values alignment and process consistency).

This mix allows you to balance technical needs with organisational goals.

Step Three: Structure the Panel Interview Process

A successful panel interview process is like a well-rehearsed play. Each member should know their role, when to speak, and what questions to ask. This prevents overlap and keeps the candidate at ease.

Here is how you can structure it:

Introduction – Welcome the candidate and explain how the interview will run.
Role-Specific Questions – Each panel member asks targeted questions.
Situational or Behavioural Questions – Test how the candidate responds to real-world challenges.
Wrap-Up – Allow the candidate to ask questions and explain next steps.

By sticking to a structure, you avoid the awkward moments when two people talk at once or when the conversation wanders.

Step Four: Agree on Evaluation Criteria

If every panel member uses a different scoring system, your group interview will feel like comparing apples to oranges. To avoid this, create a shared evaluation framework.

You might use a scoring scale for qualities such as:

Communication skills
Problem-solving ability
Technical knowledge
Cultural alignment

Having a common framework helps your team discuss the candidate objectively, rather than arguing over vague impressions.

Step Five: Communicate With the Candidate

Remember, panel interviews can be intimidating. To put candidates at ease, let them know in advance:

How many people will be on the panel.
What format the interview will follow.
Whether there will be tasks or case questions involved.

Transparency reduces stress and allows candidates to prepare properly. In the end, you want to see their best performance, not their most nervous one.

Managing Group Interviews

Group interviews are sometimes confused with panel interviews, but they are different. A panel interview is one candidate facing multiple interviewers. A group interview is multiple candidates interviewed together.

In Australia, group interviews are often used in manufacturing, retail, and hospitality where you need to assess teamwork and communication quickly.

To run a successful group interview:

Give candidates a task that requires collaboration.
Observe not only what they say but how they interact.
Assign each panel member a specific focus area, such as leadership, creativity, or teamwork.

This method saves time and shows you how candidates behave in real group settings.

The Role of Collaborative Hiring

When you embrace collaborative hiring, you are not just filling a position—you are strengthening your entire business. Collaborative hiring means your team has a say in who joins them, which builds accountability and buy-in.

It also reduces turnover because the chosen candidate has already been vetted by the people they will work with daily. Think of it as a shared handshake before the offer letter is even signed.

Tips to Keep Things Running Smoothly

Set time limits. Long interviews can drain both the panel and the candidate.
Avoid jargon. Use plain language so the candidate clearly understands.
Assign a chairperson. This person keeps the conversation on track.
Take notes individually. Avoid whispering discussions during the interview itself.

The RefHub Advantage

Planning and conducting interviews can feel like juggling too many balls at once. That is where RefHub comes in. With free resources, guides, and templates designed for Australian businesses, you can simplify the way you hire.

RefHub provides you with ready-made tools to plan structured interviews, score candidates consistently, and manage the entire process fairly. For example, you can access practical tools here: RefHub Hiring Guides and Templates.

When you have the right resources at your fingertips, planning a panel interview becomes less stressful and more effective.

Final Thoughts

Planning and running a panel interview is not about adding complexity—it is about creating fairness and structure. When you define your goals, choose the right panel, and stick to a clear process, you create a hiring experience that benefits both your business and your candidates.

If you want support to make the process easier, RefHub has guides and templates ready for you. Take the guesswork out of planning and start building stronger teams today.

👉 Get your free resources here: RefHub Hiring Guides and Templates