Oct 31, 2018 | Blog

A Bad Hire Can Be Expensive. Pre-hire Assessments Can Improve the Bottom Line.

Acquire the Right Talent

Managers, leaders and HR professionals seek candidates who they’re confident are a good fit with the company.

Yet, the cost to the company for hiring the wrong person is one of the top challenges facing organizations today. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average cost for a bad hire can equal 30 percent of that individual’s annual earnings.

When a candidate isn’t a good match, it’s usually because they don’t fit the company culture, position or their team. Conversely, a hire who is a good fit is more productive, stays longer and is happier.

Pre-hire assessments help fill the gap between a resume and an interview and are one of the fastest growing segments in the HR industry. Organizations incorporate assessments throughout the interview process to gain greater insight into candidates, predict job suitability, reveal character traits and measure the fit between a person and the work they will do. These assessments are data driven with predictive analytics addressing issues that are ultimately good for the team, the organization and the bottom line.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), there are more than 200 companies specializing in pre-hire assessments and each offers their own suite of reports and findings. These assessments are an industry best practice and include the following:

  • Behavioral tests provide a holistic view of a candidate helping employers find someone whose character traits are best suited for a specific position. They also measure learning style and interest in job functions.
  • Cognitive ability tests measure a candidate’s general mental capacity including logical, verbal and numerical reasoning and how the applicant’s skills correlate directly to job performance.
  • Emotional intelligence or soft skill assessments measure the ability to understand and manage one’s own and others’ emotions. Emotional intelligence reveals how a candidate deals with stress, overcomes obstacles and inspires. This assessment sheds light on how a new hire might integrate into a new team or lead a company forward.
  • Integrity tests assess risk-management. Companies often conduct background tests during the hiring process, but these tests target those who have a criminal record. Integrity tests assess risk-management by measuring and identifying candidates who have a higher risk of behaviors that are undesirable in the workplace.

And there are many more assessment options. A job fit assessment can be customized to a company’s specific needs. Comparison tools are used to measure the fit between an individual and a position–or even multiple positions within a company. Interview tools help make the interviewing process consistent across an organization and provide questions tailored to the job. And, data can provide the information necessary to replicate a stellar employee.

There’s great value in using pre-hire assessments. Hiring professionals spend dramatically less time reading resumes and conducting interviews. And, with reliable data to identify and predict performance, one can make an informed decision and ultimately hire individuals who are more likely to succeed, be engaged and become an important asset to an organization.

Learn more about hiring a good fit with pre-assessment tools and solutions: Join us for a Webcast: Thursday, November 1, 2018, 1:00 pm-2:00 pm EDT.