subject: Perfman HR: Checking Candidates' Background and Academic Record [print this page] Perfman HR: Checking Candidates' Background and Academic Record
In recent years, it's become common practiceto run criminal checks on potential employeesespecially since technology has made thesechecks easier and less expensive to perform.In fact, 80 percent of companies surveyed fora recent Society for Human Resources Managementreport said they run a criminal check onapplicants. In the US, out of 8 million criminal checks runby the data firm ChoicePoint, which providesonline and offline services to many large companies,9 percent turned up felony convictionsnot disclosed by applicants. Nearly half of thosesurveyed also check motor vehicle records, andmore than half verify education records. Anapplicant's claim to possess a degree from a particularuniversity can easily be verifi ed with aphone call to the school.
Credit Checks
According to the Society for Human Resource Management report, 35 percent of employersnow run credit checks on potential hires, a sizableincrease from the 19 percent reported in1996. Some companies regard credit checks as a fast, efficient way to narrow the range of applicants,since people who earn good credit areassumed to have a strong sense of responsibility.If the credit report is poor, you might want to move on to the next candidate.
Personality Tests
Studies have indicated that assessment or"profile" tests can be a far more reliable predictorof employee performance than interviewsand resumes alone. Yet for years these testsremained out of favor after their misuse led todiscriminatory complaints and subsequent legislationto restrict them.
Today they are definitely making a comeback;as a hiring tool that can indicate level ofperformance, and in many cases employeelongevity, they are growing in popularity.Larger corporations have been giving assessmenttests to applicants for more than adecade, and now smaller companies, schools,and other institutions are also starting to viewthem as a valuable screening mechanism.Financial advisory firms often use psychometricassessments, personality profiling, andintelligence tests when hiring new employees.Although the concept has generated some controversy,personality testing has become a $400million industry in the United States.There are a number of types of tests availablethat each serve a slightly different function, butthey all offer employers a more comprehensiveview of a candidate's abilities. In simplistic terms,I.Q. tests measure what you can do, personalitytests gauge what you like to do, and psychometrictests determine what you will or won't do.The most popular tests feature questionnairesthat classify candidates into generalpersonality types. The questions in the widelyused Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test measurean individual's traits and tendencies on fourscales: introversion and extroversion, senseand intuition, thinking and feeling, judgingand perceiving. The test categorizes peopleaccording to their combination of traits. Forexample, those who rate as highly "extroverted,sensing, thinking, and judging" are identifiedas natural leaders who excel at directing actionand organizing projects.
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventorytest is widely used to spot substance abuseand other symptoms of social maladjustment.About 60 percent of U.S. police departments usethe test, as do banks and retailers.These tests can cost as little as $300 peremployee, including consultancy fees. Not abad bargain for something that, if properlyused, can cut costs and improve the quality ofnew hires.As with interview questions, some testsmight be considered unlawful if not specificallydesigned as a hiring tool. Before administeringany tests, check your state laws.And if it happens that you've nailed downthe perfect candidate for your job opening, andhe or she fl ubs the required assessment test,consider the words of Dr. Wendell Williams ofscientifi cselection.com, the guru of corporatepsychological testing: "The only test that is trulycredible, is one that tests critical aspects of ajob, such as driving a car. Such tests are reliable64% of the time." So bear in mind that assessmenttests should be regarded as an indicator forscreening purposes, not a foolproof guarantee oftalent or ability.
OUT OF THE BOX
IDENTIFYING "A" PLAYERS
How do you separate the wheat fromthe chaff during the hiring process?Industrial psychologist Bradford Smartuses a process he calls "topgrading"to weed out underachieversor C playersand to identify superstarsthetop 10 percent of talent available fora particular position in an industry.Smart advises his clients to hire onlyAs and Bs, willing and able workerswho can be coached to achieve higherlevels. To determine strengths, weaknesses,and job expectations, and thuspredict future performance, Smartpores over a candidate's career lookingfor patterns, asking hundreds of questionscovering every job, every success,and every failure. For instance, he asksthem about every boss they've had andinforms them that all their bosses fromthe past decade will be contacted andthen he does just that. The A playerstake it in stride.
SOURCE: Topgrading by Bradford Smart (Portfolio, 2005).
In recent years, it's become common practice to run criminal checks on potential employees especially since technology has made these checks easier and less expensive to perform.
