Simplify With Pre-hire Assessments
Despite wintry conditions, hiring freezes are expected to end early next year
. The talent currently available to businesses is more diverse than it has been in decades. Job seekers range from recent college grads to experienced executives. With 10 percent of the country unemployed and seeking jobs, businesses should take the time to consider the effectiveness of their current hiring process and what can be done to improve.Assessments are a valuable tool that provides insight to hiring managers, especially when used in the pre-hiring process. Pre-hire assessments can determine how an individual will fit in a specific job, their thinking and reasoning style, and relevant behavioral traits.
Managers can use these results to:
-Match employees to the work culture
-Place employees in appropriate jobs
-Create fact patterns for people in similar positions for future hiring practices
Work cultures are easy to establish, but difficult to change. This is important for hiring managers to remember as they select new employees. If they strive for innovative ideas and productive employees, balancing the workplace is in the best interest of managers . However, certain personalities and behavior styles will not be productive together.
Managers can use assessments to determine what unique traits new hires bring to the team, and where differences in individual's may cause conflict. When hiring new employees it is important to choose someone that will easily mesh with the existing team members. Pre-hire assessments can help managers hire the best fit for the group and the position.
Research has shown that the majority of resumes are not as accurate as one would hope. The market is extremely competitive, and people are trying to find advantages wherever possible. Assessments can help hiring managers look beyond the resume, and discover deeper traits of each interviewee.
Managers also have a tendency to hire people similar to themselves, but this is not always the best option for the team. Using employee assessments can help managers determine who has the knowledge, skills and natural inclinations for a position. A shining resume can often mask someone who is not an adequate fit for the job or the team. Assessments can uncover the person behind the resume to give managers a clear picture of each potential employee.
A final benefit of using employee assessments during the pre-hire phase is the ability to create fact patterns. Assessments can be used to chart who has been successful in each position, and what traits enabled them to excel. Building a fact pattern involves using the results of previous top performers to create a model of where future applicants should fit if they are going to be successful at the job.
Specific positions require certain innate skills and behaviors. Fact patterns can make those attributes more obvious to hiring managers, and help to set a standard for future employees seeking that job.
The available talent pool is plentiful and extremely diverse. This is cause for businesses to reconstruct their hiring practices. Using advanced tools, such as pre-hire assessments, can easily distinguish who has a true aptitude for the open position, and who will fit with the team.
Assessments merely enhance the hiring process. They can add quantitative data to a typically unquantifiable practice. Every hiring manager should strive to match employees to the culture of the company, place employees in appropriate positions, and forecast for future employees. Assessments are helpful in the pre-hire phase, and offer the opportunity to continually simplify hiring practices.
by: Jim Sirbasku