Hiring: Hunch Based versus Computer Modeling

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal ( Sept. 20th, 2012 article link is below), talks about how algorithms and computer modeling are now used to hire personnel. It does not mention interviews and validation of assessment (or test) results which are critical components to a final job offer and/or promotion, and implies that resumes, education and experience are not considered or not weighted very heavily.

Algorithms Run the Workplace - Companies Trade In Hunch-Based Hiring for Computer Modeling

The companies that we worked with, many of them large BPO/Call Center companies, as well as the training we conducted, emphasized the importance of assessments in better defining "job fit" through Benchmarking, which has been proven over many years to significantly increase employee retention and heightened job performance. However, equally important is observing the distortion value (a measure of how consistently a candidate answers the questions during the assessment/test) and validating the results by asking Behavior Event Interview (BEI) questions and conducting background checks!

The reason for using assessments is to consistently evaluate candidates in a time-sensitive manner, and in an unbiased way. This is critical as it has been proven that people decide on a candidate within the first 4.3 minutes of an interview, which means that the interviewer is strictly going by "gut" instinct unless he/she is well trained to overlook first impressions.

Most of the large BPO/Call Center companies generally desire to test, interview and make a job offer within 8-10 hours. The reason, especially at the height of mass hiring and new client ramp-ups, is to quickly identify good candidates, make an offer, and get an acceptance within one day, so that these candidates are not lost to other companies. These methods are employed by many industries, large and small and who may not be needing to meet such strict time requirements.

Good assessments should take into account: Learning Index (IQ), Behavioral Index (EQ) and Areas of Interest that the candidate has. If there is good alignment with the position and the company, this good "job fit" will greatly enhance success, both for the candidate and the hiring company.

ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) are used to manage large numbers of applicants, help identify those who do not meet the minimum requirements and filter them out, while keeping track of those who move on through the hiring process, and also help prevent the same candidate from applying multiple times within a given time frame to the same company for multiple positions.

In the above article there is mention about commuting time being a criteria. However, especially for overseas operations, many times candidates learn of this "select-out" criteria, and merely list a relative's address that is nearby the facility. An interview and especially a background check will quickly help to identify if the candidate does indeed live within the prescribed radius of work.

A couple of scenarios which are used are:

So, while assessments are excellent in evaluating candidates, they should only be weighted at 1/3 of the total value in the hiring process, as validation of the results through a BEI interviews and good background checks, are critical.

Are you following these key principles?

BEI (Behavioral Event Interview) Training - Public Seminar Sept. 6, and Private training Sept. 22, 2011

On these two dates, I held Behavioral Event Interview training.

Interviewing has been around since 1911, or even well before then. However, from this date, it was the start of more structured interviews and then arose psychological studies about people to help develop more systematic interviews. Before and during WWII, psychology began to be used in many different applications, from production line layouts and employee encouragement, to actual theories about people. In the 1960's Theory X and then Theory Y were developed, culminating in Theory X&Y...the beginning of structured motivation in the workplace. Career ladders were more refined and developed during this time.

In the 1980's with advent of matrixed organizations and the rise of many more diversified conglomerates, the rise of Human Resource Departments had a need for more sophisticated methods, tools and employee training programs for advancement. By the 1990's it started becoming evident that people/employees could drastically affect the success of a corporation, and it was the start of a recognition that employees were truly a company asset and that there was need to better manage this portion of the company. Global management began to significantly emerge as a necessary component, within many companies. In selected instances, HR personnel held a position on the Board or in the C-Suite, at least they participated in ManCom and Strategic Planning meetings.

Behavior was identified as being a key to success and there was a need to better determine behavior in the workplace to predict success and to build more cooperative and effective teams. Therefore, BEI emerged to become the best interview method for pre-hire. Past behavior is a good indicator to present and future behavior and performance.

More recently, "Critical Incident" Interviewing, a sub-set of BEI, has significantly come to help in providing a win-win view of the candidate and for the candidate. It helps the candidate "experience" in one form or another, what the challenges she/he will face in the position, and for the interviewer to gain a much better understanding about the candidate in how they may perform in the position, based on similar past experiences the candidate may have had, or how they handle the simulated situation. This also helps in validating assessment data and predicting success.

As a result of BEI, turnover decreases, which reduces the cost of attrition which ranges from a minimum of 3 months of a new hired's salary and benefits, to as much as 2.5 years of longer employed individuals. These are good rules of thumb for Return On Investment (ROI) calculations.

Of course BEI can also be used for promotion selection and advancement, in certain cases. If your recruiting department or people do not use BEI, they should seriously consider taking training or learning the techniques, as this is a much more effective interview technique, compared to the traditional interview.

Please feel free to contact me for more information if interested.

Interpersonal skills, Adaptability, Team leadership and bottom-line results drive personal success

The attached article does a nice job of summarizing middle management and senior management required skills, and needs for personal success.

Adjusting to change, which each and every person, company and organization faces regularly, especially if they are looking to grow and remain dynamic in the ever changing economic climates within countries and even local regional economies, is a key component to organizational and personal success. The reference to Organizational Culture in the article, indirectly relates to Pre-Hire competencies before On-Boarding, and Competencies for a specific position, especially as it relates to "Job Fit and Company Fit." If assessments and succession planning tools and systems do not have the ability to identify competencies for good job fit, then filling positions and promotion, is mostly based on "gut instinct," some past performance criteria, and arbitrary factors,which are not necessarily the strongest ways to build a business in today's world.

As has been well documented in the past couple of decades, about 90% of a person's Thinking Style, Behaviors and Interests are hidden from immediate view and only become partially visible over time. Today's assessments can help to identify this "submerged/hidden" portion, subject of course to validation, making it much easier to identify competencies of success along with "Benchmarking/Job Pattern/Competency Models" for that position and thus people who are more likely to succeed in a given position. Why place a person in a situation with a high probability of failure because they may lack the correct interpersonal skills or adaptability that may be needed? Normally there are many other opportunities within an organization, regardless of size, where the person can thrive and contribute, but the right tools are needed to help HR, management and organizations to identify the right Job Fit or Job Match and to establish a good succession plan.

Leadership and Communication skills can also be identified through 360 Reviews and assessments, and should be used at least yearly if not more often. 360 Reviews properly done, can clearly target competencies and skills, while identifying developmental areas for individuals, as well as for organizations. These skills can be learned, hence training can be effective where and when needed.

All of this leads to bottom-line results; and, where proper KRA's are established, these results can be tracked to individual performance and personal success.
Wall Street Journal Article:
Interpersonal skills, Adaptability, Team Leadership and bottom-line results.