Performanceconsultinggroup.biz

Hiring By Design, Not By Chemistry
the extent to which theycan be taught. Contentknowledge andbehavioral skills areeasiest to teach. Every new hire will ultimately contribute either to moving your business forward or to holding it back. The acquisition of “intellectual capital” is fast becoming the primary values is harder. Whilechanging motives and competitive advantage as we move toward the new millennium. So, why handicap your organization’s competition for human resources by not exploiting the most advanced process is lengthy,difficult and expensive. technology available for selecting the strongest candidates and for avoiding costly effectiveness standpoint,the rule is “hire for coremotivation and trait The Facts
characteristics, anddevelop knowledge andskills.” Most 50,000 organizations in the U.S. use testing to help them make decisions about organizations do thereverse: they hire on credentials (MBAs fromgood schools) and Turnover, replacements, and retraining costs for a mid-level manager average $320,000 (TRW Corporation study, 1991).
come with or can beindoctrinated with the The cost spiral that results from poor hires: salary, benefits, recruitment,
traits. It is more cost-effective to hire people training, medical claims, opportunity loss, impact on morale, customer ill-will, legal exposure; and productivity, quality, and profits all decrease.
and trait) stuff” andtrain them in knowledge The worst candidates are typically screened out, but it’s the marginal ones who specific jobs. Or, in thewords of one personnel slip through and who adversely impact your organization’s productivity and morale (and it’s hard to terminate them).
teach a turkey to climba tree, but it’s easier to EEO guidelines state: “… tests, when used in conjunction with other tools of
- Competency
personnel assessment … aid in the development and maintenance of an efficient Assessment
work force and … aid in the utilization and conservation of human resources.” Methods
- Spencer, McClelland,
& Spencer

The Benefits

It’s objective, cost-effective, legal, and it works.
years. And, nearly 80%of turnover is due to Candidates are uniformly impressed that the organization takes its mission so seriously that it uses such a systematic and thorough approach to the acquisition - Harvard University
“Poor hiring shows upnot merely in poordecisions but also in Testing significantly reduces turnover and the high costs associated with it.
poor morale. When theless competentemployees reach critical When the best-fit applicants are hired, they settle into the new position more quickly and travel the learning curve faster.
The hiring evaluation report becomes a working document for the individual and their manager. With the evaluation report in hand, the manager has a much employees who are wellequipped for the job clearer understanding of how to motivate, develop, and coach the new hire.
abandon their old highstandards and conformto the new, lower ones.” When correctly matched to a job, individuals perform for the satisfaction of - Frank Schmidt,
Ph.D.
University of Iowa
The Process
averages $70,000 andaverages $200,000 for Job analysis
The job in question is evaluated with that job’s immediate boss. We identify the job’s critical success factors and understand who succeeds and who fails in this likely to be hired whentesting is not used. are no “bad” or“good” employees. Interview
who end up in thewrong job, which does The candidate spends two to three hours in a structured interview with a Computerized testing: Cognitive abilities
The candidate is administered a battery of tests, tailored for the job in question.
Tests used assess numeracy, verbal skills, critical thinking abilities, and mental assessment to beextremely reliable in alertness. Norms used by our expert systems are specific to the job class.
Computerized testing: Personality and vocational inventories
expert system is atremendous tool for The other portion of the tailored assessment battery generates insights into goodness-of-fit issues such as thinking style, motivators, emotional maturity, work style, interpersonal orientation, and influence style. Norms used by our wouldn’t make a hiringdecision without it.” expert system are specific to the job class.
- Vice President of
Human Resources
Financial Services
Corporation
The Information You’ll Have About The Candidate

v
Career outlook: evaluation of career history, personal mission, and job
motivators and de-motivators.
Cognitive abilities: in-depth description of critical analytic skills, reasoning
abilities, verbal and numeric skills, and mental quickness.
positions, we feel it isabsolutely essential –for the best results for Use of cognitive abilities: receptivity to ideas, problem-solving aptitude, and
our company and thehighest probability of practicality/creativity of thought process.
– to use all availableinformation, including Work style: energy, pace, approach to planning and thinking, need for
recognition, need for organizational freedom, attention to detail, orientation to (ASSESS), which is anin-depth psychological action, work ethic and conscientiousness.
is also a tool that’s beeninvaluable as a Emotional style: optimism, restraint over feelings, objectivity about feedback,
handling stress, management of strong emotions, resilience and composure.
Interpersonal factors: sociability, assertiveness, first and lasting impressions,
perceptiveness, competitiveness, agreeableness, acceptance of diversity, andservice orientation.
- Chief Executive
Officer,
National retail
Management and leadership style: desire to persuade and influence, approach
organization
to persuasion and influence, approach to managing relationships and conflict,communication style, and adverse factors that could impact relationships.
And more: a graphic profile of 21 personality traits plus selected cognitive
ability measures; topics for special consideration and their implications;
management advice; specific follow-up interview probes to pose to the
candidate and another set of questions to ask of references; and the ability to
reanalyze the same data set and produce an in-depth developmental report.
Hire by design. Improve the odds.
2003 The Performance Consulting Group, LLC

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