There’s even more to learn if you pay close attention

“Personnel Assessments” of all kinds are very much in the forefront today during the hiring process in both large and small companies. They measure everything from IQ to personality to behavior to how well the job candidates will work with others.

Utilizing profiles and assessments can be most beneficial in making the final hiring decision when the results are interpreted properly and understood fully. My questions to those of you that include such measuring tools are:

Do you feel you use these materials properly?

And

Do you take full advantage of the valuable information that can be extracted from such surveys?

You may be surprised to learn that there could be some additional hidden bits of information that you are missing.

Over the course of many years I have utilized and find great value in behavioral assessments. To me, they are often strong indicators of current and future performance, and can help you either move on with a candidate or choose to not pursue them.

Administering evaluation tools and then compiling and assessing the results are only a small piece of the value that they can deliver. I first developed an interest in such profiles back when I worked as a Practice Advisor, then later during my tenure as owner/developer of a dental placement agency franchise system. Disc Profiles were part of our interview protocols, which we administered to every job candidate that interviewed in each of our agency locations.

They worked well for a time until the pricing began to escalate and I felt that the cost to my franchisees was becoming prohibitive. Subsequently over time I created my own behavioral profile assessment that I call SELF. It has worked very well for me and my clients. It measures similarly to Disc Profiles, yet it “speaks” to the industry of dentistry and is not generic. I administer it via the internet by giving the job candidate an access code along with written directions.

Back in the day when I worked up close and personal with job seekers, I would be sure to make the most of the process and how I observed the applicant as he/she took the assessment. Did they ask additional questions even after I thoroughly explained the process to them? Did their body language indicate stress or show signs of being somewhat uncomfortable or uneasy? Were they fast at completing it or were they slow and methodical?

Today I have successfully managed to place many personnel remotely, and although I continue to administer my SELF Profiles, I have had to be creative with how I observe them as they complete the process. Because I am unable to visibly see them in action, I had to create a way of continuing to monitor this activity.

I call this one of my “check points”, and I have established many that I use throughout the remote hiring process. When it comes to moving them forward and setting them up for the SELF Profile, I will first let them know that I will “verbally” give them the directions over the phone and then as soon as we get off I will “send” them the written directions. Some that take my call are prepared with pad and pen in front of them ready for our phone interview and begin to frantically jot down the directions, even though I assured them I would be emailing them.

How do I know this? Well, I will ask if they are writing it down and many will say “yes”. Some will say “oh, let me get a pen and paper”, and other’s will say “I’m waiting for the directions from you”, still others will say “No, since I’ll remember what you’ve said.” Of course you know that the pro-active job candidate always wins! At least in my eyes this is the case.

I follow this up by asking them to roughly let me know when it will be completed and make note of it. I also ask that they email me that they are complete as soon as they have finished. So here I am in many cases 1,000 miles away from the job candidate, and I have already been able to assess whether they are proactive, if they follow directions, and if they are motivated (some will say “can it wait until next week?”).

Before I’ve even extracted the results, I observe the worthwhile information that I have already discovered.

So to those of you that are utilizing any type of assessment model, give some thought to what you might add to the process that will offer you some additional feedback and by all means, understand the purpose and value in whatever profile you choose to give. Also, keep in mind that this is just the tip of the iceberg as to what this person may or may not have to offer. Don’t ever base the hiring decision solely on an assessment!