Tough economic times necessitate tough economic decisions. Economic conditions that would have been disregarded or brushed under the carpet when the going was good assume much greater importance when cost cutting becomes the norm in order to ensure continued growth and in some cases survival. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Human Resource hiring process.

It is often noticed that organizations have a number of systems, standards, procedures and policies in place that are geared to optimize the work environment, but the hiring process is not necessarily always that scientific and systematic.

Although things are beginning to change, more often than not, many organizations still depend on only traditional guides like résumés, references, interviews and background checks to get all the required information about potential employees. Although these procedures are important as part of the selection process, unfortunately, time and again, these methods have proved less effective than when assessments are added to the above hiring processes.

According to Harvard Business Online, “The cost of replacing a “misfit” far exceeds the dollars in salary. Replacing an employee typically impacts morale, ongoing workload, and possibly re-training other employees. Be aware that the cost of replacing an employee could be two to three times the person’s salary in hours and recruiting.”

Making use of hiring assessments is vital to increasing the odds of making the right hiring choices. In fact, assessments become more of a necessity during tough economic times, as you don’t have the same luxury of making bad, or potentially weak, hiring decisions. The costs may be the same in good or in bad times, but the business implications in down times are much more devastating to the financial health of the organization. Using hiring assessments gives you a significant edge in your hiring process.

Assessments can provide you with a critical advantage so that you can hire top notch people and stay profitable during tough economic times and be well prepared to take advantage of the changing market conditions when the business cycle turns around. Assessments are the most scientific (and also economical) method for obtaining required information about an applicant, which can help you predict a candidate’s probability of success in any job role.

Using hiring assessments will ensure that you are able to correctly identify and evaluate a candidate’s behavioral work styles and competencies that are most useful and desirable for your workplace. You will be able to pinpoint and match how a candidate would fit into his/ her position, even before recruiting the person.

Recruiting on the basis of hiring assessments considerably maximizes the potential for productivity improvement in an organization over the long term. Also, when you consistently hire people who are a well matched to their jobs, there are various other possible advantages – increased productivity, less turnover, good employee relations, reduced stress, higher job satisfaction, fewer conflicts and substantial reduction in hiring expenses, all of which helps your organization succeed during both good and bad economies.

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Filed under: Employee Selection • Human Resources

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