Navigating the Current Landscape: Admin and Office Support Recruitment in Today’s Climate
27th November 2023
Picture the scene. You’ve hired a new member of staff and two weeks into the role it’s apparent that they’re a poor fit culturally. A third of companies believe a wrong hire doesn’t cost a business anything – actually, it can cost you thousands of pounds. In fact, a report from REC (Recruitment & Employment Confederation) found that a poor hire on a salary of £42,000 can cost a business more than £132,000 in retraining and lost productivity.
You may have come across the term ‘Psychometric Profiling’ – this is something that’s being increasingly used by savvy employers to assess potential candidates. But what is it and how can it save you time and money?
Through psychometrics we can match personality characteristics and aptitude to specific job requirements.
This usually takes the form of a questionnaire and measures an individual’s personality, reasoning skills and behavioural style. This allows you to identify hidden aspects of the candidate’s suitability that may be hard to assess through a standard discussion or interview.
There are multiple personality tests available; generally, the candidates are presented with statements describing various ways of feeling or acting, and record how much they agree on a two, five or seven-point scale. This should only take between 15 and 30 minutes with the results being instantaneous, detailing the individual’s priorities and preferences as well as strategies for effective behaviour.
The traditional recruitment model relies on a system of paper CVs, cover letters and interviews. This is a lengthy process, and in a situation where the wrong hire has been made, can exacerbate the required urgency.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that in an interview situation, a candidate may unknowingly hide key strengths. At the same time, candidates will hold back on negative traits (naturally) as they want to tell you what you want to hear.
By being able to assess underlying working style it means that you can factor in characteristics such as whether the individual is a risk taker or cautious, shy or outgoing, and if they’d be a good culture fit.
This style of profiling goes beyond the paper CV and interview. It is proven to be a way to predict a range of factors, so you have a candidate that excels. It can also improve employee retention and have a knock-on effect on team morale.
Psychometrics give a key insight into behavioural and motivational traits and identify what makes someone successful in their job.
This includes future performance, the likelihood and timescale of promotion as well as tenure in the role.
Psychometric profiling doesn’t solely benefit you as an employer. It also aids individuals to help them understand the type of job they’d thrive in.
Another factor to consider is that unless a candidate has a strong understanding of how the scoring system works, it’s extremely difficult to ‘cheat the system’ so you are guaranteed reliable results time and time again.
Let us help make your life easier when it comes to recruitment. Contact us today.
27th November 2023
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