A mistake made once can be learned from. A mistake made twice is a choice. How many times have you interviewed a candidate you thought walked on water only to have them show up on Monday and sink like a stone? Albert Einstein is credited with saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
The talent shortage is real. What got you here won't get you there, especially when it comes to hiring. Talent retention is an issue as top performers are in short supply and high demand. So how do you select best-fit candidates and retain your difference-makers?
Behavioral interviews have fallen out of fashion and proven not to be predictive of performance. Candidates who are skilled at improvisation tend to ace these types of interviews with questions that begin with, "What would you do if...?"
Competency-based interviews are in vogue and focus on the background, experience, skills and knowledge of the candidate. These types of interviews have questions that begin with, "Tell me about a time when...?" which ask for real stories and experiences. This is better, but it's only predictive of performance 6% of the time.
So how do we move the bar? As an old headhunter, I viewed the selection of best-fit candidates as a mad alchemy of art and science. If the art of selection is a skill acquired over years of experience, where's the science?
Well, when you add a behavioral assessment to the interview, it becomes 23% predictive of performance. And when you add a cognitive assessment in addition to the behavioral assessment, it becomes 51% predictive of performance.
Psychometric Analytics being used in hiring is nothing new. But, like fashion, what's old is new again. And in the case of The Predictive Index © (PI), there's a lot that's new for the 60 year old solution. Millions of dollars have been injected into PI in that last year. Updated software and an easier to use interface make it even more accessible.
With over 500 validation studies, 8000 customers, and more than 2.5 million people taking PI each year, it is one of the most scientifically valid and reliable solutions for hiring.
Data is good, but as a guy who placed over 500 CEOs in my day, I think about the candidate experience. No one wants to spend hours taking a bunch of assessments. PI takes 6 minutes and provides more than just best-fit selection statistics. It also provides information to be used for coaching the employee to increase engagement and help them adapt, grow, and succeed in their role. Cool stuff!
I was certified as a PI Analyst, but when I learned about all the new changes I decided to get re-certified, this time as a full Certified Partner (1 of 68 around the globe). I drove to their brand new office, which is completely modern and includes walls you can write on made of whiteboard material to encourage creativity.
Well... most of the walls... Leave it to me to find the one wall you CAN'T write on while brainstorming the title for this article. Oops...
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About the Author:
David B. Nast owns FocalPoint Business Coaching & Corporate Training based in Cherry Hill, NJ. David is an Award-Winning Certified Business Leadership Coach with over 20 years of experience in Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, Corporate Training, Career Coaching, Executive Search, and Human Resources. He has coached thousands of CEOs, Business Owners and Executives.
For additional insights from David, visit his LinkedIn Pulse Author Page and follow him on Twitter @DavidBNast. You can also email David at dnast@focalpointcoaching.com.