For too long, many organisations have failed to ensure that their senior hires have the skills and behavioural competencies to succeed and thrive. Instead, they hire on craft skills or past reputation alone. Traditional interviews have repeatedly proven to be too unreliable a method of selection, yet many organisations continue to threaten their organisational success by risking a failed or less than optimal hire. In this paper, we will show you a better way to improve hiring accuracy and business performance.
Changes to employment laws further exacerbate the risks associated with hiring, especially at senior level. The change to the timeframe before a claim can be made for unfair dismissal from two years to six months is especially concerning for organisations due to the increased risk of tribunal claims arising from the behaviour of senior management or line managers. The legal fees alone in defending such actions, together with the reputational damage caused, can be devastating.
Based on years of research into effective hiring, we have a five-point plan which will enhance your selection methodology without inflicting large costs on the business:
- Always use panel interviews for senior and critical hires. They are shown to be more dependable than one-to-one interviews and can really enhance the process.
- Design and use competency questionnaires which evaluate whether the candidate has the behavioural and business competencies required for the role. We recommend the STAR (Situation, Task, Action and Results) interview technique because it is a practical way of measuring leadership, teamwork and critical thinking skills, amongst other areas.
- When a shortlist has been established, use psychometric assessment to help identify areas for further probing at interview. We recommend a mix of personality and ability/situational judgement tests, which usually help to uncover a candidate’s strengths and potential development needs.
- Provide candidates with feedback pre-interview so that the data can be evaluated and a hypothesis around potential suitability can be established. Professional psychometricians understand how to analyse the data and identify key strengths and development areas for probing at interview. In many cases, the data uncovered would not be identified through interviews alone. MDC Advisory usually prepares detailed feedback interview reports for interview panels so they can assess potential candidate fit. For this reason, we only recommend bespoke reports written around the roles, responsibilities and outcomes.
- Make sure the whole data set is utilised in a ‘wash-up’ pre-decision-making session. There is no point in having objective, scientifically gathered information about a candidate if the panel chooses the final candidate based solely on gut feel.
A better result, almost every time
Whilst no selection process is infallible, you can reduce the risk of a failed or sub-optimal hire by taking a few basic steps. It does not have to be particularly expensive financially but will enhance the selection process for both the organisation and the candidate.
Moreover, there are other benefits to having a strong recruitment process in place:
- We can look beyond the current role to assess whether the candidate is suitable for potential inclusion in the succession plan for more senior appointments.
- The data can be used in personal development planning and leadership development activities.
- It helps identify whether a candidate is culturally aligned, as well as suitable in terms of craft skills and attitude.
- Data can be benchmarked against other hires to assess whether a candidate is truly capable of creating a world-class environment.
Data can be modelled to establish comparison groups for future hires.
Utilising experts
Utilising psychology experts to help assess candidates can add significant value because of the data consultants hold and their experience in understanding both the data and the hidden information that assessment identifies.
Moreover, consultants can also help design the STAR interview using psychometric assessment data if desired. Not only can a consultant advise on appointments, but they can also provide interview training.
Be aware of the consultants’ skills
As many readers will be aware, the interview and assessment space is crowded with recruiters and professional assessment consultants.
MDC Advisory recommends keeping the two functions (recruitment and selection assessment) separate in order to maintain objectivity and independence.
About The Author
Matthew Davis leads MDC Advisory, a full-service business Psychology and leadership consulting practice.
He has over 30 years’ experience of advising clients on all aspects of effective selection having advised clients globally.
He can be contacted via email or on 07974 430021
