Just think about it, how often have you been disappointed by someone who had all the right credentials and looked great on paper? The reality is that the content in résumés is at best an exercise in creative writing. All we can learn from a résumé is a person’s education level, skills and experience – the least reliable predictors of success in a job. And research supports this – consistently showing that we hire candidates on the basis of their credentials and experience, and then fire them because they “didn’t fit” or couldn’t be effective in the organization’s culture. The truth is that resumes miss the mark completely on what we need to know in order to hire the right person for our company.
Start measuring what matters
So how do we measure what matters? Instead of spending so much time trying to capture the “WHAT” of the candidate (WHAT work experience they have, WHAT education they completed, and WHAT their accomplishments are) we need to be capturing the “WHO” and “HOW” of the candidate.
We need to understand more about WHO the candidate really is (the attitudes, values and beliefs they live by) and HOW they interact with others (including HOW they perform in a team environment, HOW they deal with customers, and HOW they problem solve). These are the factors that determine fit within a company and that determine job success.
Change your results
So how do we get better results from the people we hire? For starters we need to change the way we attract and select candidates.
One of my client companies recently adopted a revolutionary résumé-free, on-line hiring process that helps companies understand “who” they’re hiring and “how” the candidate will perform, so they can learn to better predict “fit” with their organization. The system was developed by HiringSmart. Their unique online application makes is easy for candidates to apply and even easier for companies to assess whether the candidates may be right for the job. As companies learn how to hire better people, they also learn how to weed out poor performers, ultimately changing the way people work together in their organization. And the impact can be dramatic – reduced turnover, increased retention and productivity, more satisfied customers and better financial results.
Give me a call if you'd like to learn more about the specific benefits our clients are achieving with the HiringSmart approach
...it's just plain Smart!
(The above post is excerpted from www.hiringsmart.ca HiringSmart is a Development by Design alliance partner. We are proud to recommend the HiringSmart system to our valued clients.) |
