Organizations of all types are becoming more data-driven, using a variety of metrics to gauge their success at sales, productivity, operational efficiency and much more. However, many business leaders and managers still rely on subjective factors, such as a “gut feeling,” to make one of their most consequential decisions: whom to hire. It’s up to HR professionals to give them better tools and make the business case for a more effective hiring strategy.
Leaders of small to mid-sized companies might be concerned about the costs associated with a more data-driven hiring process. But the fact is, excellent metrics are readily available online and as a component of a hiring platform that can help companies hire more objectively. Here are four tools that companies of any size can access:
Personality testing
One of the most widely used personality tests is the DISC model, which measures productivity, teamwork and communication. “D” stands for “dominance” and measures how well employees overcome opposition to achieve results. “I” stands for “influence,” which measures how employees persuade others to shape their environment. “S” stands for “steadiness” and measures how well employees cooperate with others. “C” stands for “compliance” and measures employees’ ability related to structure and organization. The DISC model helps employers understand behaviour, temperament and personality – and measures a potential hire’s compatibility with coworkers.
Skills assessment
Many hiring platforms offer skills assessment testing that can help companies measure abilities that are relevant to specific positions. The information gathered can help employers generate data that allows them to hire with confidence. For example, a candidate for a job that requires data entry should be proficient with Microsoft Excel. Skills assessments take the mystery out of the hiring process.
Values assessment
It’s important to make sure employee values are aligned with a prospective employer’s. A values assessment tool can give a hiring manager insight into what employees value the most. It can reveal a candidate’s interests and aptitude to determine how well an employee will fit with an organization. For example, data on interests can indicate whether or not the potential staffer shares interests with future colleagues, and an aptitude test can determine whether or not the desired occupation is suitable for the individual. Both are important metrics for predicting new hire success on the job.
Cultural testing
HR professionals are increasingly using cultural testing to get a read on a candidate’s ability to fit into the workplace environment. Cultural tests examine values, beliefs, outlook and behaviour in the context of the company culture. Cultural tests also frequently explore how candidates view work situations and examine the implications for cultural fit. For example, a cultural test can indicate an employee’s capacity for teamwork, which is important for workplaces that value collaboration. A job candidate who shows a preference for solo work might not be a good fit for that particular company, whereas a person who shows a strong preference for working with others might be a poor fit for a job that requires extensive independent work with little human contact.
These four tools can help businesses assess potential new hires’ ability to succeed in the role they are pursuing. Each type of assessment tool offers a different view of the candidate, providing insight on personality, skills, values and culture, so it makes sense to use a combination of the tools to generate a set of objective metrics.
Variations of these assessment solutions are available online and on many popular hiring platforms, so it’s now possible for companies that currently leave one of their most important business decisions to potentially unreliable methods to take a more data-driven approach instead. Metrics matter, which is why companies are relying heavily on data to drive decision-making across business units. Now it’s time to hire by the numbers, too.
Tonya Lanthier is CEO of DentalPost.