How many times have you been impressed with someone’s resume and interview ‘performance’ only to learn that they don’t ‘fit’ in your department or organisation? In some cases, they have been hired for skill and industry knowledge, only to be fired for personality attributes and fit. Unfortunately, by the time you realise this, your organisation has already invested a great deal of effort and money in hiring and training.
hired for skill and industry knowledge, fired for personality attributes and fit
Research has shown that 46% of newly hired employees fail within 18 months. One of the reasons bad hires occur over and over again is because of a lack of interpersonal skills, that hiring managers missed during the interview process. Research has found that:
- 26% of new hires fail because they are unable to accept feedback
- 23% of new hires fail because they’re unable to understand and manage emotions
- 17% of new hires fail because they lack the necessary motivation to excel
- 15% of new hires fail because they have the wrong temperament for the job, and
- Only 11% of new hires fail because they lack the necessary technical skills
While employers tend to be good at screening candidates for industry and technical expertise, they tend to fall short at identifying and assessing candidates for the crucial emotional/behavioural variables that can identify potential and contribute to job success, and retention. Candidates may ‘look right’ but are wrong or, as importantly, they may ‘look wrong’ but are right.
employers tend to fall short at identifying and assessing candidates for the crucial emotional/behavioural variables that can identify potential and contribute to job success
The Case for Psychological Assessment
Psychological assessment provides important information about the capability of an individual to perform a job. Research has consistently found it to be one of the best predictors of an employee’s potential to perform. Psychological assessments evaluate and assess mental abilities, behaviour, personality, aptitudes, interests, attitudes, emotions and motivation, and can identify natural tendencies within the individual that are likely to be congruent, neutral or incongruent with the demands of the role. The candidates’ ‘fit’ should be considered not just in regard to the role, but also in regard to the team and the organisation.
psychological assessments evaluate and assess mental abilities, behaviour, personality, aptitudes, interests, attitudes, emotions and motivation..
Benefits
- Cost savings: hire the right person for the first time
- Time savings: screen out unsuitable applicants at an earlier stage in the process
- Ensures objectivity: evaluate candidates using objective information
- Identifies strengths and development needs: initiate development and training plans for your staff
- Predicts behaviour: discover the work preferences and true potential of prospective employees
Psychological assessments should be used within the context of an overall assessment process. While they provide accurate analysis of individual characteristics, they do not provide context. Importantly, it is not wise to make hiring decisions based solely on the results of a psychological assessment. These results should be measured against a range of data including interview results, historical information, references etc.
Like to know more?
deliberatepractice delivers highly robust ‘predictive performance’ pre-employment assessments across the whole spectrum of job categories and seniority levels for a wide range of organisations.
For more information on how pre-employment psychological assessment can enhance your selection decisions and business performance, call 1300 deliberate (1300 335 423).