As you look back at previous hires, you may be wondering how you could have better predicted how well some of the employees’ performance was tied to their personal behaviors? Employees are mysterious creatures, capable of either making a company successful, or creating havoc on the job. Oftentimes, its HR managers who are left to clean up the mess and find replacements when an employee chooses the wrong behaviors. What is there was a way to see into the future with candidates?

The good news is that there are resources available that can help hiring professionals make better decisions in choosing suitable candidates. Behavior is a significant factor that can cause a business to succeed or fail, so it’s up to human resources pros to get it right. That’s why behavioral fit assessments should be in every HR department’s arsenal of tools.

What are Behavioral Fit Assessments?

In a nutshell, behavioral assessments evaluate how candidates may react to certain case scenarios on the job. This is based on their individual personality type and compared to those of the most successful employees for specific job types. Candidates are asked to answer a series of questions and choose from a list of available personality traits. These are then measured according to scientifically generated charts, which show each candidate’s unique personality type.

Are Behavioral Fit Assessments Accurate?

When behavioral fit assessments are done properly, they can be amazingly accurate. How well a candidate matches a specific job type can be an indication of how well he or she will be suited for a certain kind of job. For example, candidates who function well under stress may do better in high-pressure management roles, while those who do not could “snap” when pushed to their limits. The candidate reports demonstrate how closely matched a candidate is to certain jobs, so that hiring managers can decide who is a good fit and who should be considered for alternate assignments.

Candidates are generally wise to the use of personality tests so they try to answer questions the “right” way in an attempt to fool assessments. However, when you use a high quality Kenexa behavioral fit assessment test, which uses a series of confirmation questions and choices, you won’t get skewed results. This stumps most candidates, which makes behavioral fit assessments a great way to update your current pre-hire screening tests.

You want to hire the best possible candidates for the job, so why not include behavioral fit assessments into your recruiting strategy? The tools are easy to use, the assessments are non-threatening and quick to complete, and the results are excellent. Use behavioral fit assessments from Stanley Staffing to better manage your recruiting duties, and enhance the performance of candidates you choose to work for your company.

You’ve found the “perfect” candidate for the job, but you’ve noticed there’s been a lot of turnover in this particular assignment. Could it be because you have a different work culture that makes it challenging for new hires to fit in? Or perhaps you are just not picking the right candidates in the first place, because you don’t know enough about them?

There could be a million reasons why someone may not be suitable for your company, and cultural fit assessments do an amazing job helping you hire people who will last in your company culture. Let’s take a look at how cultural fit assessments may help you reduce employee turnover.

An Inside Look at Cultural Fit Assessments

Cultural fit assessments look at each candidate from the standpoint of whether or not the person has the ability to blend in with others in a work setting. Instead of just evaluating skills and experience, a cultural fit assessment looks at the candidate’s values and past behaviors as indicators of success or failure in your corporate culture. Fitting in with peers is an important aspect of longevity in a work environment.

Because each company has a unique mission statement and values, candidates may not always fit in, even if they have great personalities and work skills. Very often, work environments can become burdensome to employees who do not know how to handle the little quirks that come with them. For example, some companies have CEO’s who interact with employees at all levels, while others have a hierarchy of managers that can make things difficult. Not all employees can fit into workplaces like these all the time.

Cultural fit assessments also look at things that are in a candidate’s background, such as the kinds of work environments in which they’ve thrived in the past. There are many employees who do well in casual environments, or work well with all age groups. There are also many who fit in better with a mature crowd, with steadfast rules for every aspect of work. How a candidate has been able to work the best in previous assignments is a part of every cultural fit test.

The values that a candidate has can also affect the type of work he or she is best suited for. We cannot all be managers, nor can we all be subordinates. Some employees do better in work environments where they can advance quickly up the ranks, while others prefer to stay in one type of job for a longer period of time. Either way, the cultural fit assessment can help shed more light on what makes some candidates better suited for specific company assignments and work teams.

Overall, cultural fit assessments can be a powerful recruiting tool to use that can decrease employee turnover, and increase successful placement of candidates. It can help to predict employee satisfaction and performance, which can improve the bottom line. Contact Stanley Staffing to find out more about using cultural fit assessments when placing new employees to work for your company.

Prior to hiring a candidate, it pays to learn more about them than what their applicant says. Candidates that have all of the right training, experience and education may still be missing some of the most important skills to be successful in your position. Soft skills are one of the most important skills to have and they do not transfer well on applications. Characteristics like these, though, are essential to investigate prior to hiring anyone.

Key Characteristics to Focus On

Job fit assessments are tests hiring managers can provide to prospective individuals to determine if they have the right skills for the job. Things like the applicant’s thinking style and behavioral traits can make a big impact on the individual’s success within the company. Applications do not translate details such as a person’s occupational interests well, but these job fit assessments can do a fantastic job of doing just that.

What Is a Job Fit Test?

A job fit assessment does not take a lot of time or effort on behalf of the employer. The test is a tool that helps to understand the soft skills of the applicant. There is no real way for the applicant to prepare for such a test – the ultimate goal is to learn if the applicant has the ability to fit into your job. These tests can measure the following types of skills.

• How well does the applicant follow the rules? Is he or she willing to deal with change easily? How much structure does the applicant require within the job’s daily tasks?
• Is the applicant a team player? Does he or she collaborate well with others? How competitive is the applicant?
• The assertiveness of the applicant is also vital to understand. How does he or she handle making decisions? How willing is the applicant to take direction and criticism from others? Can he or she close the sale?
• How is the individual’s communication? Does he or she have the ability to communicate well – in both listening and speaking skills?
• Some tests will also measure the cognitive skills of the individual to ensure this is a fit for the company.
• Does the individual have good time management stills? Can he or she manage details effectively? How organized of the individual?

Job fit assessment tools help the hiring manager better to understand the whole applicant. By understanding what the applicant truly has to offer to the business, it helps cut down on turnover and increases productivity. As an HR professional selecting the right employee is essential to your job. However, there is more to consider than just what the paper application has to say. With a job fit assessment, this information becomes clear. You can clearly see who is a better fit for the position and who may be lacking the soft skills necessary to perform well.

Learn more about job fit testing when you call on the candidate recruitment experts at Stanley Staffing.

Wouldn’t it be helpful if you could tell in advance what kind of performance an employee may have, before making a hiring decision? Well, in the world of HR, it is possible! This is thanks to assessment tests, which are administered during the candidate interviewing and screening process. These assessment tests are designed with one thing in mind – to help hiring managers make better, more informed decisions about the candidates being offered employment, based on their unique qualities.

While assessment tests have been around for a few years, none are as effective as those found today. We will review the most common types of assessment tests, so that you can make the best decisions about the folks you may be hiring this year.

Job Fit Assessment Tests

This assessment test is based on each candidate’s skills as they relate to specific tasks for certain job types. For example, if you wanted to hire a mechanic, you would be looking for skills pertaining to the use of hand-eye coordination, reasoning ability and physical strength. Job fit assessments are often used by staffing agencies to determine suitability for specific assignments. The job fit assessment model can quickly and accurately maximize any hiring manager’s ability to choose candidates with skills that are closely aligned to job tasks.

Cultural Fit Assessment Tests

Employee success in specific work cultures is also an important determining factor when placing candidates for employment. Cultural fit assessment tests help hiring managers determine if candidate values match those of the company mission statement and values as a whole. This can help to predict if employees will quit early on, or fit in well with the company culture and other staff members for a longer period of time. This is critical to know because employee turnover can become expensive to manage.

Behavioral Based Tests

How an employee may behave in specific situations that can and will arise on a job is also important to know in advance. Behavioral assessment tests measure this based on case scenarios that are presented to candidates. Use behavioral assessments to find out how an employee may perform under certain job stresses. This can also be a valuable tool to identify areas for improvement in candidates, who may show potential for growth in a specific industry.

Knowledge Based Testing

Having staff onboard that are knowledgeable about the subject matter at hand can help your organization stay ahead of competitors. Knowledge based assessment testing allows you to peek into the brains of your candidates, quizzing them on topics as they pertain to technical skills. Use these tests to find out if candidates are telling the truth about their GPA, and avoid hiring people who don’t have what it takes to work at higher levels.

Personality Assessment Tests

Much like behavioral assessment tests, personality assessments allow you to see how candidates may react and cope with specific challenges on the job, in advance of hiring them. Personality is an important factor and can often determine how well as person may get along with others, perform work tasks, and accept responsibility for work habits. Personality can also be a key indicator of leadership ability.

As with any type of candidate assessment tests, you decide to use in your recruiting activities, never use them as the sole source of information in your hiring decisions. Instead, use assessments to supplement other recruiting activities, such as checking references and running background screening tests. Tryst the experts at Stanley Staffing to conduct the right assessments so that you have access to suitable candidates for upcoming assignments.

Need a way to get smarter in terms of your hiring and recruiting efforts? One of the best tools available to HR recruiters is that of the “Super 7” employee personality system. Stanley Staffing’s “Super 7″ assessment strategy is based on research by Kenexa, a leading HR consulting and employment software company. When you use this innovative performance assessment tool, you can improve the way you select employees so that they are a better fit.

This week, we are talking about the #4 Key: Self Control

Having a strong sense of self-control is a positive personality type for candidates, especially those who lean towards management roles. Candidates who show a disposition towards self-control are generally good at dealing with high levels of pressure and stress on the job, because they are used to taking responsibility for their actions. This means being pro-active and taking initiative to get the job done right to avoid conflict.

Candidates who have self-control are generally those who like following a specific set of rules. These folks can cope with the many demands of work, especially in high pressure assignments that are time sensitive or client facing. Self-control is a positive quality for those who work directly with the public or have a great deal of contact with the public as a rule. Those who cannot handle stress well end up in less demanding assignments, or work behind the scenes.

Typically, you will encounter candidates who have a desire to serve the public or whom have been in the military service, in this personality category. This is due to exposure to being put into positions of having to have self-control under difficult conditions. Look for candidates in this personality type if you need someone reliable and steady about the way he or she works.

One word of caution when placing candidates with strong self-control is that they very often have trouble shifting gears from one task to another. Candidates in this range of the Super 7 tend to like work that is based on a clear set of rules or guidelines, in which they flourish in any environment. Want more tips on how the Super 7 performance model can help you make smarter hiring decisions…and greater productivity in the workplace? Come back next week as we discuss Key #5: Biodata!