Insight: Improve Hiring with 3 Critical Steps
Using key performance criteria to avoid costly hiring mistakes
Thinking carefully about key performance criteria for
different roles is critical in order to avoid costly hiring mistakes at scale. Read
more about McKinsey’s take on how becoming more thoughtful and data-driven
about hiring is sure to increase the quality of hires in total.
When the
goal is to improve the quality of hires, many organizations often find it
quickest, and easiest, to simply add more assessments to their hiring
processes. Starting with the end
state in mind - a clear definition of job performance - before adding more
assessments may go against instincts to make quick and decisive talent
decisions. However, a more objective and data-driven approach is critical to
avoid costly hiring mistakes. These are the three specific steps you should
take to become more thoughtful about hiring:
1. Defining
the ‘what’s and ‘how’s of performance
For many roles, defining and measuring job performance can
be surprisingly hard. To help frame the discussion, consider the ‘what’s and
‘how’s of performance. The ‘what’s captures the core technical aspects of a
role and the ‘how’s should refer to the fashion in which technical work is
executed. For an HR professional for example, resolving employee relations
issues would be considered a ‘what’, while volunteering for non-role tasks and
maintaining a positive attitude would be considered a ‘how’.
It’s
important to consider a holistic view of performance that accounts for both
‘what’s and ‘how’s that drive distinctive value for the organization. For
instance, maybe the HR professional in our example above has a great
track-record of resolving employee relations issues (‘what’s), but if this
person also tends to not maintain a positive attitude (‘how’s) it might not be
the best fit for your organization. Considering the trade-offs that may exist
between the ‘what’s and ‘how’s is therefore key to getting more concrete about
performance.
2. Finding the
right performance data
Today, the challenge is rarely finding performance data, but
rather in identifying the “right data”. Data
that will accurately capture the unique contribution from a given role to the
achievement of organizational goals. As any single measure of performance is
likely to be flawed in some way, try to acquire and combine several different
data sources. Several different data sources combined is more likely to prove
if someone is a high performer.
For salespeople for example, sales revenue numbers can be
significantly impacted by assigned region. Overreliance on revenue numbers
alone could therefore create a flawed view of who the best salesperson is. However,
combining revenue numbers with data showing the effort needed to generate each
lead per region can in this example solidify our view of the level of
performance per salesperson.
3. Connecting performance and assessment results
As we all know; what works today will not necessarily work
one year from now. For that reason, to continually track and measure all new
hires’ performance alongside their hiring assessment results is crucial. All to
ensure that the criteria that predicted performance last year continues to
predict performance accurately this year. If not, it may be time to start back
at step one. Adding this third step does not only add a deeper understanding of
high performance to your hiring approach, but it also adds a data and analytics
infrastructure that allows for ongoing monitoring and optimization post
hire.
Read the full article here:
Avollon is a
platform for better recruiting on all levels. Avollon allocates recruiters from
leading firms with the right expertise to solve every assignment you may have -
local and global. Our data and insight enable you to hire better, while saving
both time and costs. Faster. Safer. Global.
Great
companies need great people.
For
more information, please contact:
Henning
von Borcke, COO at Avollon
Tel:+47 452
90 020
Email: hb@avollon.com
Henning von Borcke
COO
