People are unpredictable and so are the employees we hire! Most business owners and executives would readily agree! It can be hard to accurately predict what people will or won’t do. The biggest challenge is, hiring the right employees when they look the part, say the right things and tell you they have beaucoup experience. Yet, within a very short period of time on the job, the person who is showing up on the job isn’t the person who you interviewed. The problem isn’t that the person has changed, the problem is your hiring process didn’t work. Why?
Infuse Predictability into Your Hiring System
Use qualified assessments for hiring and promotion. Too often, we rely on non-qualified assessments or no assessments at all. These non-qualified assessments, commonly referred to as social indicators, offer face validity — this means they show the results of how job candidates want to be seen and how the interviewer wants to see them. This is rarely a reflection of how the candidate will actually think and behave, or their true work interest on the job. Most of these same tools don’t provide predictive validity or reliability, which are both required by the Department of Labor (DOL) guidelines for pre-employment assessments. For better results, you need better, objective information by using predictable assessment tools! They help you reduce costs, save time, improve retention and sleep better at night!
Stop Relying Solely on Your Intuition
Whenever you are hiring or promoting, you typically rely on your interviewing skills or having worked with the person. This is where the unpredictability of people can cost you a lot of money, time and stress.
While the costs of hiring mistakes are well documented, often overlooked is the biggest unrealized expense: taking a good employee and promoting or moving them into a job function that doesn’t fit. They take the position for many reasons … many take the opportunity for a pay increase, more flexibility (if working remotely), increased credibility with co-workers, or for a variety of other personal and professional motives. The challenge is, when they don’t work out, they usually leave, often taking your good customers with them. What could you have done differently?
Set Up Predictable Systems
There are over 3,000 assessment tools on the market today. Very few are in compliance with the DOL for hiring and promoting purposes. It’s why we lack predictability when hiring, training and coaching employees to be great in their current and future roles within the company. It pays to take the time to select the right assessment so you hire and promote the right employees. Doing so helps you retain and attract great customers, while increasing profitability and performance!
Here is a partial list of guidelines taken from Hire Amazing Employees (www.BizSavvyHire.com) to help you select the right assessment tool for hiring and promoting purposes:
- Technical Manual: get the manual — do not rely solely on a letter from a law firm.
- Reliability and Validity: does it meet the minimum requirements with the Department of Labor guidelines for employment selection purposes?
- Predictive Validity: what is the window for predicting future behaviors: hours, weeks, or years?
- Measures Thinking Style, Core Behaviors and Occupational Interests: interestingly, thinking style is found to be a very important measure.
- Types of Reports Available and Cost for Each One: selection, coaching, leadership, sales, supervisory, team, career fit, succession planning, and workforce planning.
- Distortion Factor: is the person being forthright in answering the questions?
While it can be hard to accurately predict what people will or won’t do, it’s important to infuse your hiring and selection practices with predictability. The best way to do this is to use qualified assessment tools as part of your selection process.
©Jeannette Seibly, 2016
For a complete list of how to improve your hiring practices, contact me or get a copy of Hire Amazing Employees @ www.BizSavvyHire.com
Jeannette Seibly has been a business advisor and facilitator for over 23 years; she is laser sharp at identifying the leverage points that will take a business and its team to the next level of performance and success. Check out her website: www.SeibCo.com or contact Jeannette for a free, confidential conversation at www.SeibCo.com/contact.