Hiring Decisions are Critical Decisions

Experts estimate the cost of a bad hiring or promotion decision ranges from 20% to 200% of a year's salary, depending on the position. Considering that an employee who stays only a few years can cost in excess of $500,000, hiring decisions are among the most important decisions an organization makes.

In terms of their ability to predict success, simple, unstructured interviews have been shown to be the equivalent of throwing darts on a dartboard. Is this really the way you want to make such a critical decision?

Assessments Provide Key Information and Structure

Assessments cannot make your hiring decisions for you. However, they can provide needed information to help you answer key questions:

• Can they do the work?
• Does their past work history indicate a terrific employee or potential problems?
• Do they need training or can they hit the ground running?
• Will their attitude enhance or hinder productivity?
• Do their interests match the job? Will they stay?

Additionally, by documenting the key dimensions and suggesting interview questions/topics, assessments provide important structure. How much more effective would your hiring managers be at interviewing if they had more structure in front of them?

Case Study Summary 1

A major telecommunications provider, about to introduce a brand new technology to its customers, needed to hire 100 customer service representatives to support the new product. By using a battery of Brainbench assessments, they were able to prescreen candidates and increase the interview success rate from 30% to over 80%. This resulted in significant savings of time and money for recruiting staff.

Case Study Summary 2

To meet its growing business commitments, a large management consulting firm needed to hire hundreds of highly qualified business and technology professionals in dozens of locations across the United States. A standard process was defined in which every applicant was required to complete one or more Brainbench assessments specified for each job. As a result, hundreds of successful new hires were completed on time, supporting the company's business objectives.

Quickly Identify the Best Candidates

Are you overwhelmed by so many applicants that you can't manage the flow with the resources you have available and identify your key candidates in a reasonable amount of time? Many organizations, now use assessments for screening to help with this problem.

Often, an applicant can be eliminated because they do not meet the minimum qualifications for the job. In other cases, their past work behaviors indicate potential problems. In still other cases, they don't have the core skills you need to get up-to-speed in a reasonable amount of time. Automation can make these determinations for you.

Case Study Summary

When the U.S. Federal Government needed to hire IT professionals who could hit the ground running to satisfy deadlines on several critical initiatives, they held an online job fair in which every applicant was required to take two different Brainbench assessments. Over 18,000 candidates were successfully screened in less than a week, the most qualified candidates received extra attention, and the targeted hires were completed in record time!