KeenHire Blog by Margaret Graziano

Do You Want to Profile Performance or Predict It?

A Commentary from Previsor on the Risks of Profiling in the use of Pre-Employment Psychometric Assessment Tools in building a Conscious Hiring Process. 

Overview
This commentary describes the profiling approach to using pre-employment psychometric assessments, compares it to the predictive approach to using assessments, and then contrasts these two very different approaches. It then describes the dramatically different results derived from an analysis in which the two methods were compared side-by-side in the selection process for a given organization. At KeenHire, we use both approaches in tandem to deliver the best hiring process to our customers. The Key is in the Role Analysis (referred to as job analysis in this article).

What is Profiling and How Does it Compare to the Predictive Model?
The profiling approach involves assessing a small group of employees that have been identified by the organization as high-performers, and using the resulting test scores to determine how to evaluate job candidates. Candidates whose assessment scores more closely resemble the scores obtained by the high-performers are judged to be better “fits” for the role, and are forecasted to be better hires. A predictive approach, by contrast, involves identifying job-relevant traits based on an in-depth job analysis, and selecting those candidates who earn higher scores on measures of those traits.

Seven Problems with the Profiling Approach to Assessment
Most assessment experts do not advocate using a profiling approach, even though it would be easy for them to implement, due to seven major problems with profiling. These are summarized below.

#1: The "Ceiling Effect" Problem
The scores obtained by the high-performing employees asked to complete the assessment define the ceiling—the maximum possible score that can be obtained on the assessment. This means that it is actually impossible to identify a candidate who is a better fit for the position than current high-performers. The high performers used to develop the model don’t just represent “desirable,” they represent “the best imaginable. ”The profiling model has no answer for the question, “If a candidate came along who was an even better fit for the position than your current high performers, how would you know?”

#2: The Not Enough Data Problem
The profiling approach relies on a large number of conclusions and decisions made on the basis of a very small amount of data. Profiling assumes that the test scores obtained from a handful of employees produces information that will be consistent with and generalizable to job candidates. But the unfortunate reality is that small data samples are very rarely conclusive. Models built on the basis of test scores from five people, or even fifteen people, are very unlikely to be accurate. They may not even be close, and can even lead to false conclusions. At KeenHire, we measure the actual on the job performance of every participant in the job benchmark study. If the on the job results are not exceptional, we encourage our customers to exclude that participant from the study.

#3: The (Non)Essential Trait Problem
Profiling is more likely to incorrectly identify unimportant traits as job-relevant, or overlook traits that are essential to job success. This is because the profiling approach is based on a few individuals and their traits, not on how relevant those traits are to the job demands or requirements. Maybe the handful of assessed employees just happen to share traits that are not actually job relevant. Maybe they differ on traits that are job relevant because one or two of them have learned to compensate for a limitation in one area with particular strengths in others. Maybe the traits common to the top-performers who were tested are the same traits possessed by weaker performers—but since weaker performers were not assessed as part of the approach, there is no way to know. Any of these possibilities would result in a profiling model that has no value in identifying future high performers.

#4: The “Over-Cloning” Problem
Profiling emphasizes similarities without any regard to whether or not they are important similarities. For example, if the profile is created based on a ten-scale personality instrument, but only four of those scales are actually relevant for success in the position, the organization is needlessly forcing consistency and uniformity in six areas. Good, high-potential candidates may be passed over because they are not sufficiently similar to current employees in areas that have no bearing on their likelihood of success. At KeenHire, our process begins with an Organizational Development approach. We work diligently to build a balanced organization by first digging deep into who the organization is, we seek to understand the current corporate culture, the desired culture, the strategic objectives and goals as well as the barriers to achievement.  We then assess and evaluate the Executive team,the mission critical and key contributors. We look for what is working, what is not and what is missing, the presence of which would make a difference. Only after we have a full picture of the current state and the desired future state do we make recommendations.  No one with any level of discernment or sanity really wants the "Stepford" culture. Most companies simply do not understand how to build a high performance culture. That is where we come in and make the difference.

Conscious Interviewing-Bring Science And Precision To Your Hiring Process

Behavioral Interviewing Certification Training

 

The Premise

Turnover cost the US economy over a billion dollars last year. What is it costing your organization? The estimated costs of a poor hire runs 3-7 x's of a roles salary.

 

No matter what type of organization you run the competition for mission critical high quality people is heating up. With costs rising and margins shrinking, no organization can afford unwanted employee turnover and money pouring out the door due to poor hires. When we say costs of a mis-hire, we don’t only mean in the wrong hires’ salary, we are talking about the management and training hours wasted, the unsatisfied customers, the compromised processes and employee morale issues - it all adds up.

 

Let’s face it in the world right now, your internal people resources is one of your only differentiating competitive advantages. For your company to sustain growth and be profitable it is critical that you hire effective difference makers who have the capacity to achieve your company's goals and objectives.

 

In KeenHire's Conscious Interviewing program you learn a proven, effective methodology and a process to attract and select the right people, for the right roles all the time.

 

 Click Here to register
 
The Program

The KeenHire™ Conscious Interviewing course trains and empowers recruitment professionals and hiring managers to learn interviewing strategies that help your company succeed.  At KeenHire we bring science and precision to the recruitment and hiring process® and we teach you how to do it too.  We train you to implement a Conscious interviewing process that saves your company time, money and effort while causing early engagement from your high potential candidates.

 

Join us for this hands on training workshop that encompasses every aspect of correctly utilizing targeted selection, behavioral interviewing and Role analysis in your employee selection process. You walk away with a thorough understanding of when to look for what types of behaviors, competencies and motivators and which types of questions to ask to hone in on specific behaviors as well as what answers to listen for and when to probe and when not to probe. In our full Conscious Interviewing course you actually have the opportunity to create 2 behavioral interview benchmarks that you can use immediatley. With each course registration you get a FREE 90 day subscription to KeenView - KeenHire's on line behavioral, values and competency based interviewing software.
 

The Take Aways
1. Develop a fundamental understanding and appreciation for why most bad hiring decisions are made in the first ten minutes of the interview. Learn interviewing strategies that help your company succeed.

2. Learn the foundation behind behavioral, competency and value based interviewing and why it is so important to utilize this diligent conscious interviewing process when hiring for high impact roles.
3. Gain faculty in uncovering the key performance indicators for each role.

4. Delve into all facets of what drives peak performance -motivations, ways of being, ways of thinking, and modes of interacting.

5. Improve your prowess in creating astute behavioral interviewing models that target the right fit.
6. Receive your Certification in Conscious Interviewing which includes; role analysis, top talent benchmarking, behavioral selection, behavioral interviewing and behavioral interviewing interpretation.

 

The Expert

Dr. Stephanie Marberry, Interviewing Strategies Consultant received her Ph.D. in Industrial Organizational and Social Psychology from Northern Illinois University.  As an originating partner at KeenHire Talent Management, Stephanie has consulted with small to mid-sized companies in High Touch and High Tech markets to improve their hiring efficiency and effectiveness through the implementation of customized selection systems. Dr. Marberry has a passion for educating others on current HR best practices by utilizing the appropriate scientific tools and methods to identify, select, develop, and retain top talent. Her facilitative training style encourages discussion and application, allowing her participants to gain a clear understanding on how to implement the techniques into their own business processes.

  

Want to Bring a KeenHire Consultant In-house?

Call Today! 1-888-533-6447

 

Registration

Virtual Courses consist of 8 weekly 90 minute sessions and begin on Friday afternoons June 18, August 9, September 17 at 12:00 p.m. pst and costs $499.00 per person. Save 30% overall when you register 3 or more participants. Click Here to register.

 

Can't make time for training, visit the KeenHire on line store and purchase tools, workbooks, scripts, manuals, assessments, CD's, DVD's, books and more.

 

Conscious Hiring-Maximize Your Hiring Effectiveness!

An Effective & Operationally Efficient Talent Delivery Model for Astute Employers

 

The Premise

Fundamental to building an organization with the best resources is implementing a hiring process that attracts the right people, screens and assesses that those people have the right stuff to do the job in the right way and engages the right people to come on board ready to hit the ground running! KeenHire Conscious Hiring training enables you to learn interviewing strategies and helps your company succeed.

 

Companies with a very specific purpose and mission require a strategic Talent Acquisition plan and a carefully defined new employee selection process to get them where they are going. Business leaders of these organizations know that the success of their organization depends on the quality of the people inside. A Conscious Hiring process takes into account the purpose and result base for each employment position in the company, then it looks to your business philosophies, company mission, vision and core values. Only after the core business objectives are considered is an astute employee screening, selection process and interview strategy implemented.  KeenHire Talent Management’s Conscious-Hiring process trains and enables you to identify the right people for the right roles while causing early engagement of the right people throughout the hiring process.

A fundamental aspect of a Conscious-Hiring process is systematically integrating and on boarding each new hire into your organization.

One of your only competitive advantages is the how your mission critical, key contributor and next level leaders solve your company's business issues, execute your companies mission, run the operations and interact with your customers.  In a nutshell the success of your company hinges on its ability to recruit, interview, hire and retain its employee talent base wisely.

Make no mistake about it, your hiring decisions make or break your business. What you don’t know will cost you: training time, management time and workforce productivity losses, company morale and employee productivity, new sales and customers. The bottom line is if you want a healthy EBITA you must run an organization with the right profit minded, effective and 'can do' people. KeenHire Conscious Hiring training enables you to learn interviewing strategies and helps your company succeed.

A holistic Conscious Hiring process empowers you to hire right the first time, every time.

The Program
•Change the way you think about your employees' impact on your business

•Raise the level of influence and span of control your Recruitment and Employee Selection process  

  has on your company's overall organizational effectiveness

•Learn how to avoid common interviewing traps & mitigate hiring risk

•Hone in on the key elements of building a systematic results based Conscious-Hiring process

•Hire right the first time and increase your employee ROI

 

 The Takeaways

1. Walk away with a blueprint for creating a highly effective Conscious-Hiring process
2. Learn to conduct Role Analysis, the organizational development approach to scoping the role
3. Study a step-by-step process for Choosing Your Talent Wisely and hiring with your head
4. Understand how to use, select and administer psychometric assessment tools
5. Review Behavioral Interviewing techniques; the when, why and hows

The Expert

Dr. Stephanie Marberry, Interviewing Strategies Consultant, received her Ph.D. in Industrial Organizational and Social Psychology from Northern Illinois University.  As an originating partner at KeenHire Talent Management, Stephanie has consulted with small to mid-sized companies in High Touch and High Tech markets to improve their hiring efficiency and effectiveness through the implementation of customized selection systems. Dr. Marberry has a passion for educating others on current HR best practices by utilizing the appropriate scientific tools and methods to identify, select, develop, and retain top talent. Her facilitative training style encourages discussion and application, allowing her participants to gain a clear understanding on how to implement the techniques into their own business processes.

 

Want to Bring a KeenHire Interview Strategies Consultant In-house? Call Today! 1-888-533-6447

 

Registration

Virtual Courses consist of 4 weekly 2 hour sessions on Fridays at 12:00 p.m. pacific and begin on June 18, August 9, September 17 and costs $399.00 per person. Save 30% overall when you register 3 or more participants. Click here to register for Conscious Hiring.

 

Can't make time for training, visit the KeenHire on line store and purchase tools, workbooks, scripts, manuals, assessments, CD's, DVD's, books and more.

KeenHire Management Recruitment Consulting And More

KeenHire™ Talent Management partners with top executives, international business leaders and strategic HR management of customer facing enterprises committed to making their mark socially, environmentally & fiscally.

Our expert Human Resources Management consulting specialists develop the foundation for organizationally effective, stakeholder aligned, high performance operations. Once the systemic work is done we create Recruitment and Employee Retention programs that leverage your company’s ability to compete for Mission Critical, `Go To`, Key Contributors and next level Leadership resources.  

We provide strategic minded Organizational Development, Workforce Planning & Design, Talent Acquisition, Employee Retention and Human Resource Management consulting professionals to companies committed to building with the best.

We train Leading Practices in O.D., Strategic HR Management Consulting, Workforce Planning, Recruitment, Hiring, On-Boarding, Performance Management, Employee Retention and Employee Development. We maximize your organizational effectiveness.

We save you money and time by implementing world-class consulting in HR Management, Recruitment, Employee Retention and Talent Management process technology & systems within your organizations.

We support your Recruitment, Human Resources Management and Employee Retention efforts while you grow with our RPI, TMPI and A la Carte service offerings.    

KeenHire™ Talent Management

We deliver world-class HR management consulting, Technical Recruitment solutions, Employee Retention strategies and highly skilled people for Start Up, Socially Responsible and High growth companies where the vitality and success of the company depends on the people inside.   Our ideal customers are in need of strategies for implementing best practices in Engineering Recruitment, Technical Recruiting, Management Recruitment Consulting, Corporate Recruitment in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C.

Assessments-Know What You Are Buying Going In

 Media from the Wall Street Journal to CNN, and CEOs with whom I’ve spoken, agree that one of the top strategic initiatives of many companies is hiring not only new talent, but also the right talent. It is forecast that by 2012, we will be fully engaged in a high-level leadership and knowledge worker talent shortage.

Given the diminishing available talent pool, and the compelling messages about offshore, lower-skilled labor and processes, I predict that the pendulum will swing and companies will re-recognize the need to invest in hiring and retaining key people. This will allow companies to leverage their opportunities to innovate, compete and achieve their corporate objectives. But where will this talent come from?

 The impetus for this talent “shortage” is that growth-oriented companies are demanding more of their workforce, and are unwavering in their desire to attract and hire “difference makers.” Companies committed to winning the war for talent will not only have to create an environment that fosters growth, development and challenge, but will also need to implement systems and operating practices that maximize their ability to attract and retain the best. 

Given the amount of effort and money that will be budgeted to create extraordinary retention programs, these same companies will need to evaluate and improve their internal hiring practices so that only winners get in the door. In today’s competitive talent market, with candidates demanding top salaries, companies have the right to know what they are getting, and have the right to expect a return on investment with each hire. That’s where assessments can have a huge impact.

Another major consideration affecting the use of assessments, or assessment service companies, is the need to analyze the cost of a bad hire. Besides salary, taxes and benefits, there are an immense number of hidden costs when a company hires someone who does not succeed. 

 COMPARING COST OF TURNOVER TO COST OF ASSESSMENT PROGRAMS

 Company XYZ has 200 employees, of which 40 are sales/execs and 160 are hourly. They are planning to expand by 10%, or 20 people, during the upcoming year.

EXECUTIVE/PROFESSIONAL SALES If turnover for the sales/execs is 15%, then XYZ Co has turned over 6 people (40 x 15%). If the average sales/exec earns $80K, then based on DOL figures, the turnover cost for that group is 6 x $100K ($80K x 125% = $100K).	TOTAL COST OF TURNOVER                 $600,000	TOTAL COST OF ASSESSMENTS
With an average test cost of $300, the cost for assessing all new exec/sales candidates would be $300 x 6 tests.		$1800
HOURLY EMPLOYEES If turnover for the hourlies is 30%, then XYZ Co turnover is 48 jobs. With the average turnover cost at $6500 for an hourly, the turnover cost for this group is 48 x $6500.	$312,000
With an average test cost of $180, the cost for testing all new hourly hires would be 48 x $180.		$8640
PROJECTED EXPANSION Projected 10% or 4 exec/sales positions		$1440
Projected 10% or 16 hourly positions		$3456
	$912,000	LESS THAN $15,400

 

 

 

Employment Retention begins with Effective Recruitment & Selection

It however does not end there.

 

When I started the KeenHire recruitment process in sourcing adventure it was my mission to transform the Recruiting and Staffing industry, to raise our industry's level of influence, contribution and effectiveness. I was quite surprised by the high volume of recruiters, mostly 3^rd party and contract, that met KeenHire’s mission with a strong resistance and in some cases an outright defiance. 

With hindsight being 2020, I understand the concern that Recruitment professionals would have for being held accountable for the employee retention of people as they have no power or control once the offer is accepted.  Furthermore, I get the frustration one feels when the recruitment function has no influence over new hire on boarding and 1^st year performance management.

Innovative companies are aware and awake to the fact that employee retention certainly begins with appropriate recruitment and new hire selection, what’s new is that they are integrating specific retention based talent management functions with the recruitment process and impacting the whole talent life cycle.  Progressive talent mindset companies are implementing customized on boarding programs, tailored employee development models, succession planning and laser focused performance management systems into the picture. The best companies educate and train their recruiters, including the 3^rd party and contract recruitment resources to work inside their long-term talent strategy.  In these leading companies, the Recruitment and Employee selection process is built and managed with the end in mind.

At KeenHire we experience just as many customers that hire us to implement employee retention strategies as for recruitment process in sourcing. The most common call to action we receive is everyone comes to us to impact their ability to attract and select the right people for their organization.  

What most emerging and start up companies are surprised by is that selecting the right hires is only the beginning. When a company works hard to get the right people on the bus they must understand that great people expect to work for great organizations and great managers.  If you hire an A player and surround them with C and D employment and talent management practices you are asking for unwanted turn over. 

When your management team does not posses effective employee engagement knowledge and does not fundamentally understand how to get the best out of people and leverage their strengths, you experience unwanted turnover. When your management team believes that their employees need to focus on their current role and not where they can go in the future, the employees, specifically the high performers, slowly loose their passion and engagement in the role and the firm, and hence the result is unwanted turnover.

When a company wants to impact their ability to hire the best people, they must also consider the needed improvements they need to make on their management team, in specific functions and processes within the talent management life cycle.

As the employment marketplace heats up, particularly for high impact knowledge workers such as Sales and Engineers, companies choosing to compete through

the quality of their workforce must learn to dance with and appeal to their employees’ motivations from day one.  Leading companies competing for mission critical, key contributor and next level leadership talent need to get in the hearts and heads of their people, understand what make them tick, match them with the right manager, create a vision of the future from day one, have systems and structures in place to cause on going engagement and build effective, customized performance management and employee development programs that maximize their people’s strengths. 

Yes, this is a tall order, which is why companies like KeenHire Talent Management exist. We help our customers maximize their return on their people investments by installing customized world-class hiring and employment selection processes and by implementing leading talent management systems, processes and people. 

 

 

 

 

What Really Grinds My Gears? Recruitment Versus Selection

 

Composed by: Stephanie Marberry, PhD 

You know what really grinds my gears?…Lindsay Lohan….just kidding!The focus of this discussion is on the difference in the distinction between recruitment and selection. Some of you may say there is no difference, some of you may say that they are completely different processes, and the rest of you may say who the heck cares!

 

The truth is that some terminology resonates better with business professionals than others. Certain words, like recruiter, carry a particular stigma because there is a certain perception that the recruitment industry does not add value. In my world this is not always the case, some of my best clients are recruiters and my partner for the past 2.5 years owned her own staffing firm and was a recruiter! Where the distinction exists is when recruiters incorporate selection into the hiring process. However, I have witnessed that no one really understands what the term selection means and why it is different from the recruiting process.

There is a distinct difference between the way companies define recruitment. What I have heard from senior executives, and hiring managers is that recruitment by a 3rd party is a process where people or resumes are thrown at them without any regard to quality or fit. This is not always the case but somehow this is the perception that exists. I have even heard the term head hunters, which creates even more of a negative connotation implying that anyone is fair game!!!! When we talk about 3^rd party recruiters I do think one bad apple has spoiled the bunch. The 3^rd party recruiters that I have been working with are actively looking to incorporate selection into their process in order to become a true partner with their clients.

So what’s the real difference between recruitment and selection besides the fact that one word carries bad rap? When I teach on the topic of Industrial-Organizational Psychology there is not much emphasis placed on the science or strategy behind recruitment. In fact there are only a few pages dedicated to a discussion on recruitment in most textbooks. Recruitment is defined as a process to increase the pool of job applicants that meet the organization’s legal and social obligations thereby also increasing the success rate of the selection process. In the classroom I discuss various ways to source candidates and the effect that specific messages or people might have on the candidate’s first impression of the company. So the strategy surrounds different ways to find and attract the most candidates for the job and company.

What is emphasized in the world of Industrial Psychology is the idea of personnel or human resource selection. Human Resource selection involves a scientific process that begins with the development of a selection program which includes a full job analysis where the tasks, resources, work environment, and performance measures that characterize the job are defined.  The creation of a selection program also involves the identification of worker characteristics required (i.e., knowledge, skills, and abilities), the development of various assessment devices (e.g., tests, interviews, personality and behavioral measures), and the validation of these devices (e.g., does the measure predict performance on the job). In the end the selection process should allow a company to systematically collect and combine information from valid selection instruments to make hiring decisions that result in top performers to drive the company’s efficiency and effectiveness. Companies can even take this one step further by evaluating and monitoring their selection process through a utility analysis or with other ROI forms of measurement (i.e., turnover, profitability, satisfaction, engagement).

As a consultant for KeenHire I find myself involved in both recruitment and selection and I see that they are highly inter-related (you can’t have one without the other!). So why does this gap have to exist where recruitment is offered separately from selection? These are distinct terms but they should not be offered independently. Further, selection is the necessary piece in making the right hire and if is not conducted appropriately it can lead to negative outcomes. Both corporations and recruiters who are not incorporating a selection system into their hiring process need to look at what it is costing them. For corporations it might be wasted time, money and resources hiring and developing an employee who is not the right fit and does not make any impact on the job. For recruiters it might be lost business due to less expensive alternatives that deliver the same results because they do not offer anything different than the competition.

So is it truly a lack of awareness about the distinction between recruitment and selection or is there some other reason why selection is under-utilized? I am still struggling to find the appropriate answer to this question but in any event, it grinds my gears!!!

21st Century Hiring Effectiveness. Times Are Changing. Are You?

90 Minute Webinar Offered By KeenHire Talent Management

This 3 part, 90 minute webinar will cover what you need to know about hiring to avoid legal pitfalls and maximize your return on your people investment.  We have brought together a diverse panel of subject matter experts to discuss one of the hottest topics in the workplace today.

 

Join Diana Maier, Lawyer, Workplace Investigator and Employment Counsel, Dr. Stephanie Marberry, Selection Consultant and Margaret Graziano, a 25 year veteran in Recruitment and Staffing. 

 

 

When: April 20th 1:30pm-3:00pm CST

Cost: $35 per person

To Register: Click Here

 

 

Segment 1: Contractor vs. employees: What you need to know about the legal issues behind having a direct hire vs contingent workforce

 

Diana Maier, Workplace Investigator and Employment Counsel, will cover the legalities of working with a direct hire vs. contingent workforce.  Specifically, Diana will address when/how to classify someone who provides services as an employee or a contractor.  Not knowing the difference between contracting with an independent contractor or worker and hiring an employee is increasingly risky. The government assumes that virtually all workers are employees, and imposes stiff penalties or stop work orders on employers who cannot justify paying someone for services without providing benefits, paying unemployment taxes, and incurring a range of other expenses.  Yet, there are enormous benefits to using contractors instead of employees.

This portion of the seminar will teach you how to use independent contractors or part-time employees while minimizing legal exposure. 

The Presentation

• Learn how and why California agencies are cracking down on individuals and small businesses
• Assess your vulnerability to the rash of wage and hour lawsuits for seemingly innocent small jobs and your exposure to civil and criminal penalties
• Understand the differences between employees and independent contractors, risks & benefits and strategies for using both, and how to justify often subjective distinctions between the two
• Determine your risk of being audited by state agencies enforcing worker-related laws
• Explore actual cases and real-life scenarios of attendees-submit your questions! 

 

Segment 2: Conscious Hiring: The 7 steps to implement a hiring process

 

Margaret Graziano, a 25 year veteran in Recruitment and Staffing, will discuss the importance of maximizing the return on your people investment. One of the only competitive advantages your company has is the how your mission critical, key contributor and next level leaders solve business issues, carry out the company mission, run the operation and interact with your customers.  What companies all too often painfully uncover is that the right systems housing the wrong people always fail and that wrong systems housing the right people often fail.

A holistic conscious-hiring empowers you hire right the first time, every time.

The Presentation

• Learn how to avoid common interviewing traps & mitigate hiring risk
• A process for conscious hiring
• Hire right the first time and increase your people ROI

The Takeaways

• Insight into the value setting up an internal hiring process—and how to do it.
• Specific holistic hiring techniques that save your company thousands
• Learn the power of the 3-pronged selection approach
• A step-by-step process for Choosing Your Talent Wisely
• Role Analysis, why it matters  

 

Segment 3: Choose your Assessments Wisely: The dos and don’ts in utilizing assessments in the hiring process.

 

Did you know that there are some assessments that you cannot legally use to select a new employee? With hundreds of assessments in the marketplace how will you know if you are using a quality tool?

 

Dr. Stephanie Marberry, Selection Consultant with KeenHire, discusses some of the important features to look for when evaluating what assessment to add in your hiring process. Growth oriented companies are demanding more of their workforce, and are unwavering in their expectations to attract and hire 'difference makers.' In today’s competitive talent market, with candidates demanding top salaries, companies have the right to know what they are getting, and have the right to expect a return on investment with each hire.

 

Whether you are looking at utilizing assessments in your placement process, looking to re-sell assessments or you just want to keep abreast of the on-going developments surrounding our industry – it is paramount that you attend this session!

 

The presentation

• Learn the types of Assessments on the market today
• Understand Validation and what it means
• Be Aware of the 4/5th rule and how it applies.

 

The takeaways

• An in-depth easy to follow introduction into the complex world of personality
• A look into the BIG 10, BIG 5 personality index measurements
• An overview of different Assessment and their features
• A realistic view of what it will take to implement assessments in your company

 

Workforce Performance Management - A Must For Progressive Companies!

Workforce Performance Management, how does a company maximize their return on their people investments?  If you read my blog you know my first rule of thumb is to hire people who can naturally produce the results you expect with minimal coaching. Trying to fix a performance problem with a person who is not engaged, under-qualified, or whom lacks the inspiration and motivation to do the work is an utter waste of time and gives managers an ulcer just thinking about it. If you want a high performing team, I recommend follow these guidelines.

1. Define Your Role by Expected Outcomes

2. Hire people who are RIGHT for the job, the company and who want to produce the results

3. Clarify Expectations early and often -during the recruitment process, in the on-boarding process and quarterly. Integrate individual performance with company performance so people can see and feel how what they do or do not do impacts the organization.

4. Have the Employee Measure, Track and Report results to the Manager (take the monkey off the Managers back- Ken Blanchard, One Minute Manger)

5. Create Awareness and Consciousness in the employee's mind

6. Communicate and Give Feedback-Recognize Positive Behaviors, Steps, Milestones, Effort and Execution towards Outcomes

7. Correct the Opposite and Remember to Separate the 'Person's Identity' from their Performance

Often, Workforce Performance Management conversations are dreaded by Managers, after interviewing and coaching several hundred people who hold the responsibility of managing others I have discovered that the issue is lack of training in this area. Utilizing a comprehensive software that tracks performance, teaches the Mangers to have empowering conversations and coaches the employee on how to accept responsibility for their performance without making it mean they are broken or wrong makes a world of difference.

Dr. Stephanie Marberry teaches Industrial organizational psychology at Argosy University and Workforce Performance Management is a major component of her curriculum. In 2009 Stephanie conducted an all industry software evaluation of performance management providers, the results were incredible, educational and inspiring. The good news is there are several programs to choose from, the bad news is it takes TIME, KNOWLEDGE and RESOURCES.

If you would like to ask Stephanie questions about her research LinkIn to her, email her or give her a call @ 312-618-3252.

What's The Impact of Unwanted Turn Over?

Well, well, well that is a deep subject. 

When I first realized that unwanted turn over was a breaking point for my staffing business it was 1995. Growing up in the staffing and recruitment business and continually hearing my peers complain, "This is just what you get when you're in this difficult, stressful business, constant turnover is the name of the game." 

While I grappled with the thought of how could an industry that is supposed to cure the staffing and retention problem have such a crippling track record of their own, I defended my situation with the best and the worst of them.

I actually believed this limiting paradigm until I met and witnessed some fabulous leaders and mentors in and outside of the staffing industry. 

Certain CEO's and Business leaders had top performers work with them, not in an equity position and not earning humongous commissions for five, ten or more years.  Who would have thought that my strong need to succeed, my tenacity and my competitive nature that had me take on mastering the fundamentals of Talent Management would lead to an entire expansion of my career and a whole new service offering for KeenHire Talent Management.

If unwanted turnover, the limited supply of peak performers, mitigating the risk of a mishire or managing an unproductive or disengaged workforce has ever kept you up at night; you will want to read on.  Your interest in learning the reasons why turnover happens as well as your ability to put systems into place that reduce these issues could be the most important facet of your Talent Strategy.

It is important to know, in 2007 & 2008, before the dip in the economy, unwanted turnover cost US companies over 3 trillion dollars. This number is astronomical and is a major cause of companies not feeling they are getting their return on their hiring investment.  Besides the raw cost of unwanted turnover, there are other hidden costs, like: loss of Stakeholder & Shareholder value, loss of customers and relationships, loss of Intellectual property, lowered employee morale and mistrust in the organization's leaders. 

I could keep going, however I think you are starting to get the picture.

Turnover is caused by several reasons, I will highlight the top 11 for you now.

1. Employee lacks passion for the company's mission, vision and purpose

2. Employee is not challenged in the position

3. Employee feels unwanted, under valued and replaceable

4. Employee feels no sense of security

5. Company hired the right resume but the wrong person for the wrong job

6. Employee took the job for the wrong reasons (i.e. it's a paycheck)

7. Employee feels there is no place to go

8. Company treats people like cogs in a wheel

9. Employee does not feel a sense of belonging

10. Employer is under-whelmed by the employees’ performance

11. Circumstances change, role changes and employee cannot adapt

 

If you want to impact retention, first know who you are. What is your Employee Value Proposition?

Why would someone, someone with great talent, great ability and a great track record choose to work for your company? Why would they choose to stay? Why will they ignore a headhunters attempt to woo them away when the deal sounds amazingly stimulating?

Second, know what the role requires. Define who the person in the role needs to be, do and produce on a daily, monthly and quarterly basis. In other words, know what the intended outcomes are and what great performance looks like. Know how that great performance is achieved and the basics for how the right person will achieve excellence in the role. Winners want to know in advance how to win the games they play. And for winners, work is another game to play and win. 

Third, train your front line people managers to treat people as people. Train them to get into their employees heads and hearts, to find out what makes them tick and what gets them going. Teach them to exploit their employees’ strengths and acknowledge their employees unique contributions to the team and the company.

Forth, talk to leadership. Ensure that the company’s top leaders are aware and awake to what is going on in the trenches. Blanchard's book Raving Fans does a fabulous job of creating awareness amongst business leaders. Employee engagement and empowerment begins with leadership awareness and continues through a deep commitment to team contribution in the accomplishing the mission. 

The bottom line is if you want to impact unwanted turnover and mitigate the risk of great people leaving, you'll want to be conscious in the development and deployment of your Talent Management business processes. Create a hiring and selection processes that brings forth the right people, for the right roles, for the right reasons. Implement an early engagement program (on-boarding) that solidifies the sale.

And lastly, employ retention strategies that honor the company mission and vision while creating alignment and demonstrate an on-going commitment to employee fulfillment. 

Nothing mentioned in this article takes an extreme capital investment, what it takes is a commitment to adopt a Talent Mindset and a commitment to make your people your competitive advantage. In all actuality not following these guidelines and not making the most of your people is a much larger risk and a much greater cost.

Some Great Books on the Subject

The War for Talent, Ed Michaels

The Impending Crisis, Hermann, Goya

The Truth About Managing People, Stephen Robbins

Top Grading, Bradford Smart