You already know which applicant will be most successful
Think about it – if you look at your current team, are you able to identify who does well, and who struggles to fit in or deliver? Most likely, you are, but when considering many applicants for a vacant position, you are trying to predict which applicant will fit the team, will thrive, and will perform well.
This may seem to be close to impossible, or at least a decision with some risk attached, given that you probably have just a CV and maybe a one hour meeting to rely on. And statistics tell us that often the decisions turn out to be a costly mistake. The interesting part is that you did this process before, maybe several times, and your current team, I hope, is the proof that you are able to do it well.
Learning from mistakes and success
In most areas of life, experience is what makes it possible for us to learn, and eventually to do things right consistently, and every time. So how can you connect the successful recruitments you have already made, with the potential of each of the candidates for your next vacant position? Given the company I represent, you probably guessed that my first suggestion would be testing.
Making abilities and traits measurable
Tests give you valuable insights into the abilities and personality traits of both employees and candidates, and make it possible to objectively measure the qualities that are crucial for success in the job. There are many ways of testing, and many test providers, and a few of them are quite good, too. But the thing is, tests are not enough. Measuring loses its value if you do not know what you are looking for, or what results will maximize the chance of success in the job. So my next suggestion for you, in order to use your past successful recruitments to ensure future success, is evidence-based criteria. Look at the best employees on your current team – the key employees, the star performers, the most valued colleagues and contributors. Based on your testing tools, what do these people have in common? What measurable qualities seem to be the bearers of the success these employees have in your organization? When you can reliably answer this question, you also know what to look for when testing your new applicants for a vacant position, and you know that when you find exactly this, the probability of future success for your new employee is the highest possible.
Let the test platform do the hard work
Master’s assessment platform Metis will help you create evidence-based criteria for use in future recruitments. Providing access to high-quality recruitment tests with proven effect in international organizations, you get immediate benefit from the insights and ready-to-use reports in your recruitment process. But on top of that, you get top-of-the-line analysis options, screening functionality and automated creation of evidence-based criteria, because this is where your experience, and the things you already know about your past recruitments, gets measurable and helps you identify the right candidate.
