best practices in screening and assessment

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Best Practices in Screening and Assessment:How Today's Leading Companies Are

Leveraging These Tools

Presented by:Charles A. Handler, PhD,

President/Founder: Rocket-Hire.com

October 16, 2007


Introduction to Rocket-Hire

• Vendor selection specialists and experts in the use of technology to add efficiency and effectiveness to the hiring process. Publish only Buyer’s Guide for this market.

• Focused on helping clients understand the ROI associated with strategic staffing tools.

• Focused on ensuring legal defensibility of selection processes.


Objectives for Today

• Focus on providing useful information about assessment and its value proposition

• Provide info on best practices for use

• Cover the following topics

• Understanding prediction

• Screening vs. Assessment- A process focus

• 3 steps to success

• Questions


FuturePerformance

Job Fit: What do they want to do?Environment Fit: Where do they want to

work?

Personality MeasuresAbility Measures

“What can they do?”

“What do they want to do?”

“What have they done?”

Qualification questionsKnowledge & Skills Tests

Behavioral InterviewsResume Evaluations

What Assessments Tell Us


Informed Decision Making

When you have an important decision to make what do you do?

Do your homework

Consult experts for information

Use information to make predictions

Evaluate the effectiveness of your decisions and learn from the results


Understanding Prediction

• Define performance requirements and desired outcomes

• Measure these requirements in applicants

• Use results to support decision making

• “Close the loop” Evaluate the accuracy of your decisions vs. outcomes


Job Performance

Predictor Content

O Predictive Accuracy

Moderate Predictive Accuracy

Job Performance

Predictor Content

High Predictive Accuracy

Job Performance

Predictor Content

Understanding Predictive Accuracy


Validity

• Synonymous with accuracy• That is, does the test measure what it is

supposed to?• Major types include Content and Criterion• Choice of type depends on contingencies• Is essential for ROI and legal defensibility• Validity is taking on new characteristics as new

assessment models proliferate.


Sourcing

Screening

Testing

Outcomes•Retention

•Performance

•Promotion

Traditional Test

Validation

Modern Best Modern Best PracticesPractices


Best Practice Assessment Methodology

Step 1: Build a solid foundation

Step 2: Measure and evaluate applicants

Step 3: Close the loop- evaluate your decision making


Step 1: Build a Solid Foundation

Accuracy and effectiveness is not possible unless you clearly understand the requirements of the position.

• This requires due diligence to fully understand and document all job requirements and desired outcomes

•Ideally this should be linked to an organizational competency model or set of key performance drivers

•This step is the foundation for both legal defensibility and systematic accuracy

•This step is the one that is most frequently given the least attention


Practical advice: Conduct a Job Analysis

Job analysis is a systematic study of the requirements related to a specific job or position. It can take many forms but all must have the following elements:

•Input from incumbents and supervisors

•A performance model that aligns job duties with key outcomes

•Documentation demonstrating the method used to collect data

•A plan for translating data collected into Predictor measures

•This information can be used to link selection to other key HR functions such as performance management and development


Step 2: Measure and Evaluate Applicants

The goal here is to take job analysis information and use it to create a set of predictors that are designed to measure key performance drivers. In order to be effective these predictors must::

•Be solidly linked to job analysis output or competency requirements

•Be used systematically, treating each applicant the same

•Be used as only 1 part of an overall decision making process

•Be staged so that they create a process

•Provide easy to understand output

•Be applicant friendly


Hiring is a PROCESS

• Effective use of assessments requires multiple measurement tools implemented in correct sequence

• Effective assessment is a process not a “test”

• An integrated, process focus represents the BEST PRACTICE


Think “Process” not “Test” At the end of the day effective selection is not about basing selection decisions on the result of just one test. Instead selection must be looked at using a process focus in which:

•Multiple data points are collected and used by trained decision makers

•Each step in the process has been aligned with key job performance drivers and this can be documented

•A platform can be used to allow decision makers access to full range of candidate information

•Successive steps in the process create value by focusing more deeply on qualified candidates

•The effectiveness of the overall process is evaluated using hard data


Recruitment Advertising

(Providing)

Final Decision Making

Qualifications Screening

(Processing)Unqualified

Predictive Screening

(Predicting)Unqualified

Structured Interview

Screening Out

Screening In

All Applicants

Qualified Applicants


The Players pt. 1

Sourcing Tools-Employment Brand

-Career Site

Screening Tools-Resume review

-Qualifications screens


The Players pt. 2

Testing– Skills/Knowledge testing– Personality testing– Cognitive testing– Values matching/Fit– Biodata– Simulations

Interviewing– HR interview-competency focused– Technical interview

Verification– Reference checking– Background checking


Step 3: Evaluating selection decisions

I refer to this as “closing the loop”. This is the only way to clearly demonstrate the ROI associated with a selection process. It is a critical part of any selection plan because it:

•Documents job relatedness and therefore provides legal defensibility

•Provides a business case for HR to gain credibility

•Provides clear links between predictors used and key organizational outcomes

•Can be used to diagnose key problem areas

•Is part of a broader business intelligence strategy to evaluate the entire recruitment and selection process.


Summary of Evaluation Methods

• Criterion related validation studies• Recruitment process analysis• Meeting key business goals• Business intelligence

•At the end of the day you must ask: “What information is meaningful to us”

•This should be both a strategic and tactical question


Outcomes of Accurate Prediction

Short Term– Better hiring decisions– Achievement of technical goals– Achievement of immediate business objectives– ROI

Long Term– Building an employee brand– Keeping valued assets– Building organizational knowledge base– Leveraging strengths for the long run


Practical Advice: Evaluate Your Process

Closing the loop requires a systematic comparison of predictor scores with data on key organizational outcomes. Steps required include:

•Collecting predictor data for all selection measures of interest

•Comparing this data to clean, objective measures of employee performance

•Documenting the relation between predictor scores and job performance

•Using this information to refine selection criteria and thresholds

•Investigating this relationship on an ongoing basis

•Creating documentation for both legal and business case purposes


Take Aways

•Assessment is not a “no brainer”•It’s worth the effort•Best practices demand attention to 3 key steps•The outcome of an assessment is only as good as the process in which it is used•Process evaluation is essential•Choosing a vendor should be the result of a careful evaluative process


Questions and Discussion

best practices in screening and assessment

Economy & Finance