By Terry Haynes
What
is a test or, more specifically, what is a pre-employment
test? The 1978 Uniform Guidelines
for Employee Selection states that ANYTHING USED IN THE PRE-EMPLOYMENT PROCESS
IS CONSIDERED A "TEST.”
If you use an application form, that is a test. How about an interview; that’s a test. What about some of the more subjective tests
that we all use; how they look, how they talk.
Will they fit into our organization? These are all considered tests by the federal government and fall
within those written rules concerning validation.
How
many of you give a typing test to a prospective secretary? How about a tax exam to a potential tax
preparer, or how about a driving test to a truck driver? The reason why we all give these types of
tests is to help us select the best person for the job. With these tests, you may well identify the
most technically proficient applicant for the position.
For a moment let’s imagine that you have found two people who are equal in their technical knowledge. You make the decision to hire both of the candidates because you don’t want to lose either. After about a month you come to the amazing realization that one of the new employees is twice as productive as the other. During the hiring process, they both came across very well. Their job experience and skills are the same, so why the difference in performance? I will bet you dollars to doughnuts that it has something to do with the personalities of the individuals involved.
For example: if you hire a person to be
an outside sales rep and this person must meet and greet new and different
people on a daily basis, wouldn’t it make sense to hire someone who really
enjoys that side of the job, a real “people person?” This type of person is a high gregarious. How well do you think a person who is a
highly gregarious, is going to do in a job where they have no people contact
all day long? Most likely, not very
well in the long run.
On the market at this time there are a
number of different tools that will help you determine the basic personality of
an individual you are considering to hire.
Most of these tools will help you determine what this person’s “zones of
comfort” are. Equipped with this
knowledge and a good job description, you are better able to put the “Round Peg
in a Round Hole.” The further out of
the job norm a person is, the harder it is for them to do a good job. Maybe that is part of the reason why three
out of four people in this country are not happy with their jobs and overall
national productivity is down.
Besides
personality, the other critical factor to look at when hiring is the mental
abilities of the candidate. How slowly
or quickly a person learns can have as great an impact on job tenure and
satisfaction as personality can. Not
every job that you have in your organization requires a rocket scientist. As matter of fact, if you put a rocket
scientist in some positions you are asking for turnover. These people will be great in the beginning,
easy to train, quick and bright. But
after a while you will find that they become bored, listless and can create
problems for their managers and co-workers.
By
using a pre-employment test that can give you the personality structure and the
mental aptitudes of the job candidate, you will greatly improve your chances of
success when hiring. When you have made
the right choices, you will find that the employees likely to leave your
company.
ANY OLE ROCKET SCIENTIST UNDERSTANDS
THAT!
ATLANTA SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY
Please close out of this window to return to the main page.