Behavioral assessment gives critical insight into people
November 6, 2023
Recruiters and hiring managers are presented with dozens of resumes and cover letters for positions they are trying to fill. Their mission is to find the one person who will be the best choice for the job: the individual who fits best with the organization, will work best with the team, and has the greatest likelihood of succeeding in the role. Yet all the applications begin to look similar. Each resume advertises the candidate is an “innovative self-starter” with “a proven track record of success”. Each response to the interview question asking about their greatest weakness predictably spins a seemingly negative trait into a positive. So how do you sift through your candidates and identify the ones who truly show the most potential?
Organizations looking to improve accuracy and efficiency while reducing subjective bias are increasingly considering the use of behavioral assessments, and rightfully so. A rigorously designed and validated behavioral assessment can effectively narrow down the candidate pool, improve the interview process, remove bias from the selection system, and promote a deeper understanding of candidates. This is important when selecting for higher level positions, such as management or executive level positions, as the stakes for hiring the right person become higher, the search for the best candidate can be longer, and the risk of bringing on someone who isn’t the right fit becomes a costly and time-consuming error.
It is also important for high-volume entry-level hiring, where time with individual candidates is limited, so bias and poor decision quality can lead to systematic challenges.
At Infor Talent Science, we have found that it’s individual behavioral preferences that drive behavior on the job. By using a predictive behavioral assessment, you can replace guesswork with objective and predictive data. This enables recruiters and hiring managers to quickly and easily identify top talent as soon as candidates apply, increase the consistency with which you hire top performers, improve diversity, reduce the time to hire, reshape the business culture, and drive key business metrics.
Learning who people truly are
The selection process is an employer's opportunity to get to know candidates and try to predict how successful they would be on the job before making the decision to hire or not hire. Making the best use of candidate, recruiter, and hiring manager time through accurate measurement and prediction of candidate job success is critical. There are a variety of ways to learn about your candidate, and organizations use a combination of strategies to efficiently and accurately gain the most comprehensive picture of the individual as possible. Interviews, phone screens, and reference checks top the list of the most common selection techniques used to assess candidates, along with reviewing resumes for relevant work or educational experience. While these techniques are useful, they can give a limited or biased view of the candidate.Organizations looking to improve accuracy and efficiency while reducing subjective bias are increasingly considering the use of behavioral assessments, and rightfully so. A rigorously designed and validated behavioral assessment can effectively narrow down the candidate pool, improve the interview process, remove bias from the selection system, and promote a deeper understanding of candidates. This is important when selecting for higher level positions, such as management or executive level positions, as the stakes for hiring the right person become higher, the search for the best candidate can be longer, and the risk of bringing on someone who isn’t the right fit becomes a costly and time-consuming error.
It is also important for high-volume entry-level hiring, where time with individual candidates is limited, so bias and poor decision quality can lead to systematic challenges.
Predicting job success
The importance of using a behavioral assessment goes beyond just learning more about candidates. Decades of scientific research provide evidence for the validity of properly designed and utilized assessments in predicting job performance. Cognitive ability tests are among the most predictive of all psychological tests. However, assessments which combine both a behavioral and a cognitive component, such as the Infor Talent Science assessment tool, have been shown to be even more predictive than cognitive tests alone, out-performing other common predictors of performance, such as previous work experience or specific skill sets and aptitudes.Realizing value beyond the hiring process
The benefits of using a behavioral assessment do not end at the hiring decision. They can provide valuable information about how a new hire is likely to behave on the job under pressure, interact with their team, and respond to developmental feedback from their supervisor. Being armed with this information can help managers better coach and develop their employees, proactively prevent performance issues, and position employees within the organization to be the most effective in their roles.At Infor Talent Science, we have found that it’s individual behavioral preferences that drive behavior on the job. By using a predictive behavioral assessment, you can replace guesswork with objective and predictive data. This enables recruiters and hiring managers to quickly and easily identify top talent as soon as candidates apply, increase the consistency with which you hire top performers, improve diversity, reduce the time to hire, reshape the business culture, and drive key business metrics.
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