Assessing candidates - are there better ways than traditional interviewing

Advice Employer Interviewing

Effective hiring can be the difference between the making or breaking of a successful business. Evaluating whether a candidate is a good fit for the position and organisation is an important step. The average ‘cost to hire’ can be more than $4,000 per position and the cost of a bad hire can be over 75% of that position’s salary; this not something that companies can afford to get wrong, particularly in our current economic climate.

Interviewing is standard practice to evaluate a candidates’ suitability for a position, but it may not always be the only option. Whilst interviews provide valuable insights into a candidate's personality, communication style, and team fit, they also have limitations, are prone to bias and may not accurately reflect how candidates perform. Evaluating applicants from an objective lens, using data-driven methods are recommended, using statistics/facts to support decisions rather than gut feelings. Below are some alternative methods which can be useful evaluation tools to compliment your interview process;

• Psychometric/cognitive testing: Using psychometric testing in recruitment processes allows for more scientifically backed decision-making. These tests are designed to tap into a person’s psychology and determine the behavioural tendency of applicants. Cognitive ability assessments use a wide range of mental processes, such as abstract thinking, working with numbers, problem-solving, and reading comprehension.
• Personality profiling: There are a range of testing options available which examine a candidates’ soft skills, offering an objective approach providing in-depth insights into the character and key attributes of your candidates. These tests are commonly used to understand applicants’ behaviour and personality traits and sense-check to see if their values align.
• Test assignments or skill testing: Test projects test a candidate’s ability to perform a particular task. They accurately reflect how the candidates will adjust to specific work environments, responsibilities and problems. For example; a web designer could be asked to build a sample website or a chef may be asked to prepare a dish to sample; all offering further insight into the candidate’s actual skillset and knowledge.
• Portfolio-based assessments: Certain industries like Journalism, Graphic Design and Architecture for example, can benefit from portfolio-based assessments as they display an applicant’s technical expertise and performance. For instance, a journalist’s article or video report can showcase their writing and presenting abilities.
• Assessment centres: This approach tests out the candidates’ critical thinking abilities, attitude and aptitude within a team, their communication skills and leadership capacity. Usually, this tactic requires the candidates to work together in a group-setting to solve a problem, all whilst a panel of assessors observe and evaluate each of them during the simulation.
• Incorporating the wider team: While interviews can help assess a candidate's fit with the team and company culture, involving other team members/peers throughout the selection process can provide a broader range of perspectives.

Recruitment is a real process, and there are many different ways to assess a candidate to get a full 360-degree view of their talents, motivations, strengths and weaknesses along with accurately assessing where their skills sit in comparison with other candidates.

The interview really is the first step. People are the biggest asset within your business therefore taking the time to accurately screen the people coming into your business, and therefore minimise costly mistakes is a must-have in our experience.