Avoiding the Duds: Making the Right Hire

In these hard economic times, the need to make a “good” hire is more critical than ever. There is a lot riding on the investment an organization makes in a new employee-- for both public and private employers. Whether the position is entry- level or senior in nature, belt tightening makes it more difficult than ever for a hiring manager to justify opening a position. While it’s never a good time to make a mistake, the consequences are magnified because it is doubly hard to replace a dud in times like these.

There is some interesting research that shows that the screening traditionally used to select employees is pretty ineffective. An article in the June/July 2009 Community College Journal cites a 1999 study by Bain & Mabey that indicated the traditional reference checking is one of the most ineffective means in predicting the success of a new hire. Reference checking rates only 0.1 on a validity scale of with a max of 1.0 (think of standard deviation). The unstructured interview doesn’t do much better, with a rating of 0.25. Better are structured interview, (0.35) Personality Questionnaires ( 0.40), Work Sample Tests (0.46) and Assessment Center scores (0.60).

Even though no single assessment score is absolutely fool-proof in predicting success, many organizations continue to rely upon the least effective methods.

Consider using personality and work style assessments that are designed to uncover a candidate’s preferred style in the workplace. Many can be completed online and take about 45 minutes. Check out the Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ) from the human resources consulting firm SHL.

Such an assessment can typically cost below $400 per person to screen 5 to 10 finalists. Organizations often engage in a consulting relationship that costs about $3,500 for a day to assist in interpretation.

-Dave