McCann

Eighty percent of employee turnover is avoidable. Hiring the right people for the right job and keeping top performers with the company is critical to doing business today.

Human resource experts estimate that every time an employee leaves a company, it can cost that business up to two-and-a-half-times the salary of that worker.

Therefore, it is critically important to have a means of hiring the best candidate for a given job and keeping top performers.

Peter Drucker, an internationally known management consultant and author, says, “Chances are good that up to 66 percent of your company hiring decisions will prove to be mistakes in the first twelve months.”

How do we hire the kinds of people our organizations need in today’s highly competitive market? There are several processes and many hiring tools being used by companies today, but with some mixed results.

There are numerous companies that specialize in helping job applicants put “their best face forward” when interviewing for a job. Most of us would agree that resume writing has risen to an art form for many job applicants. The best-written resume may not always tell what companies need to know about their prospective employees.

First impression pitfalls

If hiring decisions are being made based just on first impressions developed during a job interview, companies are only going to realize a good hiring decision with about one in seven applicants.

However, if companies also conduct background checks on applicants, their success rate almost doubles. While this approach represents a great improvement in hiring results, this is still not a high enough winning percentage in the recruiting and hiring process for most companies. Sadly, many companies do not even do this much to check out the people they hire to represent their businesses. When companies incorporate the use of abilities testing with the above hiring process, the success rate in their hiring process increases to better than 50 percent.

However, selecting the right person for the right job is easier when companies conduct the above hiring procedures and add to that list the use of a people assessment tool that also measures a candidate's 'job match.'

According to the Harvard Business Review, job match is the single most accurate predictor of job success. In fact, some companies report numbers approaching or surpassing 75 percent success in their hiring decisions when including job matching in their hiring process.

Hiring mistakes today can cost businesses large sums of money and disrupt operations as well.

Bad attitudes

Companies must check out job applicants as much as possible. A recent Texas Employment Commission survey of employers found that more than 60 percent of people that were dismissed were let go because of behaviors caused by bad attitudes – absenteeism, tardiness, poor work ethic, dishonesty and misconduct.

Other statistics reflect that people who leave their jobs do so not because they can’t do the job, but because they won’t do the job. They leave not because of a lack of skill, but because of some personality or attitude conflict or problem.

The U.S. Department of Labor says: "The appropriate use of professionally developed assessment tools on average enables organizations to make more effective employment-related decisions than the use of simple observation or random decision making."

Some companies use surveys to test a job applicant’s attitude toward four main areas that are critical to business, including attitude toward work ethic, reliability, integrity and substance abuse.

By knowing an applicant’s attitude toward substance abuse, for example, many companies are saving money by not having to conduct drug testing. With tests such as the “Step One Survey” companies are hiring a better quality of person and an employee that best fits the hiring company’s overall company culture.

Asking the right question

When asked, many job interviewers admit that their interviewing skills are not very good. They further state that they don’t often ask the right questions. Some companies have looked at their hiring processes and past results and have made changes.

Many have hired consultants who have suggested using a list of questions to ask while ensuring that those questions are proper in light of today’s government regulations. The problem with this approach of asking the same “approved” questions of all applicants is that no two applicants are alike.

Most interviewers are nervous about asking the kinds of questions that would be required in order to dig out sensitive information like a history of theft.Knowing how each person answers a question like “How would you feel about having to work overtime?” is not going to provide a company the information it needs.

During the interview, applicants sometimes answer questions in a manner that may be less than completely forthcoming.

In his book "Smart Staffing," author Wayne Outlaw says, “job applicants lie, fudge, or make misstatements to conceal a shortcoming or problem or to gain a perceived advantage.

They may lack experience in a particular area or experience in a specific discipline and want to 'get their foot in the door.' They may lie to cover up periods of unemployment, performance problems or the fact that they left the position under less than desirable circumstances.

Applicants rationalize the inaccuracies by stating that they help to ‘open the door’ or compete with others who do the same thing.

By using an assessment like the “Step One Survey” in an organized hiring process, managers and human resource personnel are provided with EEOC and ADA compliant questions for each job applicant based upon their specific responses to questions on the test.

McCann’s Plan Job Match: The value of assessing prospective employees By John McCann
Selecting an employee assessment company Here are some guidelines to consider when choosing an employee assessment company to help with hiring. Select a company that has been in business for several years with a client base that reflects both large and small companies. Ask if the company can support your needs with a competent and knowledgeable sales staff, as well as on-staff psychologists in a fully functioning research and development department. Look for a company that has a customer service department that is easy to contact with any questions that you may have or for handling any problems. Find a company that can offer you a variety of testing and scoring methods. Assessments should be administered in many different as well as convenient ways to offer complete flexibility to your team. Some examples of possible test application methods include the following: Assessments taken onscreen via the Internet – automatically scored and returned. Taken onscreen – automatically scored by a computer, Taken Paper and Pencil (test booklet) – scored on the Internet, Paper and Pencil – scored on a computer.	Eighty percent of employee turnover is avoidable. Hiring the right people for the right job and keeping top performers with the company is critical to doing business today. Human resource experts estimate that every time an employee leaves a company, it can cost that business up to two-and-a-half-times the salary of that worker. Therefore, it is critically important to have a means of hiring the best candidate for a given job and keeping top performers. Peter Drucker, an internationally known management consultant and author, says, “Chances are good that up to 66 percent of your company hiring decisions will prove to be mistakes in the first twelve months.” How do we hire the kinds of people our organizations need in today’s highly competitive market? There are several processes and many hiring tools being used by companies today, but with some mixed results. There are numerous companies that specialize in helping job applicants put “their best face forward” when interviewing for a job. Most of us would agree that resume writing has risen to an art form for many job applicants. The best-written resume may not always tell what companies need to know about their prospective employees. First impression pitfalls If hiring decisions are being made based just on first impressions developed during a job interview, companies are only going to realize a good hiring decision with about one in seven applicants. However, if companies also conduct background checks on applicants, their success rate almost doubles. While this approach represents a great improvement in hiring results, this is still not a high enough winning percentage in the recruiting and hiring process for most companies. Sadly, many companies do not even do this much to check out the people they hire to represent their businesses. When companies incorporate the use of abilities testing with the above hiring process, the success rate in their hiring process increases to better than 50 percent. However, selecting the right person for the right job is easier when companies conduct the above hiring procedures and add to that list the use of a people assessment tool that also measures a candidate's 'job match.' According to the Harvard Business Review, job match is the single most accurate predictor of job success. In fact, some companies report numbers approaching or surpassing 75 percent success in their hiring decisions when including job matching in their hiring process. Hiring mistakes today can cost businesses large sums of money and disrupt operations as well. Bad attitudes Companies must check out job applicants as much as possible. A recent Texas Employment Commission survey of employers found that more than 60 percent of people that were dismissed were let go because of behaviors caused by bad attitudes – absenteeism, tardiness, poor work ethic, dishonesty and misconduct. Other statistics reflect that people who leave their jobs do so not because they can’t do the job, but because they won’t do the job. They leave not because of a lack of skill, but because of some personality or attitude conflict or problem. The U.S. Department of Labor says: "The appropriate use of professionally developed assessment tools on average enables organizations to make more effective employment-related decisions than the use of simple observation or random decision making." Some companies use surveys to test a job applicant’s attitude toward four main areas that are critical to business, including attitude toward work ethic, reliability, integrity and substance abuse. By knowing an applicant’s attitude toward substance abuse, for example, many companies are saving money by not having to conduct drug testing. With tests such as the “Step One Survey” companies are hiring a better quality of person and an employee that best fits the hiring company’s overall company culture. Asking the right question When asked, many job interviewers admit that their interviewing skills are not very good. They further state that they don’t often ask the right questions. Some companies have looked at their hiring processes and past results and have made changes. Many have hired consultants who have suggested using a list of questions to ask while ensuring that those questions are proper in light of today’s government regulations. The problem with this approach of asking the same “approved” questions of all applicants is that no two applicants are alike. Most interviewers are nervous about asking the kinds of questions that would be required in order to dig out sensitive information like a history of theft.Knowing how each person answers a question like “How would you feel about having to work overtime?” is not going to provide a company the information it needs. During the interview, applicants sometimes answer questions in a manner that may be less than completely forthcoming. In his book "Smart Staffing," author Wayne Outlaw says, “job applicants lie, fudge, or make misstatements to conceal a shortcoming or problem or to gain a perceived advantage. They may lack experience in a particular area or experience in a specific discipline and want to 'get their foot in the door.' They may lie to cover up periods of unemployment, performance problems or the fact that they left the position under less than desirable circumstances. Applicants rationalize the inaccuracies by stating that they help to ‘open the door’ or compete with others who do the same thing. By using an assessment like the “Step One Survey” in an organized hiring process, managers and human resource personnel are provided with EEOC and ADA compliant questions for each job applicant based upon their specific responses to questions on the test.	Benefits of employee assessments Using assessments improves hiring, managing, productivity, and retention. Spending the time and money up front in the hiring process yields enormous benefits including:> Increased productivity> Reduced turnover Improved communications More effective training Fewer people problems Reduced stress and tension, and Enhanced profits.