Psychometric Assessments and Hiring Staff

An ever increasing number of employers are identifying the benefits of psychometric testing and are reaping the rewards of adding it to their recruitment process. Gone are the days where ‘gut feeling’ was an acceptable justification, decisions must now be based on tangible, objective data. Furthermore, current research suggests that replacing a skilled-person can cost an employer upwards of 150% of that employee’s annual salary. This means that even one bad hire can be extremely costly! This is where psychometric assessment comes in. Whilst there may be a bewildering array of psychometric assessments on offer, they all aim to provide objective data about a person. This data may be on the candidates’ personality attributes, past behaviours, and intellectual abilities. This information can then be used to predict future occupational success aka: job performance in a wide variety of workplace environments, including sales, human services and even the defence force.  This data can be used to predict how your future employees make decisions when under pressure or how likely they are to damage positive relationships with customers or clients. The objective results that are obtained are comparable between different prospects; to ensure you choose the right person for the job and be safe in the knowledge that you haven’t overlooked anyone you have screened. It is important to note that Psychometric Assessments should never be used as the be-all-end-all. They are most effective when screening potential employees, as simply relying on a resume and interview allows the prospect to tell you exactly what you want to hear. There is currently a lot of talk about Unconscious Bias and the best way of managing this is through supporting your keen observations with the objective, comparable data that psychometric testing provides. Employers are often concerned about how difficult they think these tests may be to deliver and interpret. Fortunately, you don’t need a degree in psychology to understand them! Psychometric assessments are written using plain, ‘real world’ language, so that any employer can easily understand what is being measured, why it is important to them and how their candidates’ results compare to the ‘average’ result of a relevant population (i.e. managers or graduates etc…) All of this allows the employer to determine if a candidate is suitable for such a role, how successful they will be and if they will fit the culture of the organisation or team. Psychometric assessments can also be tailored to meet the employer’s individual needs based on the specific attributes and qualities an employer is looking for in potential candidates. Psychometric tests can be used in recruitment for culture-fit, team-fit, role-fit and a candidates potential to be trained. Assessments can also be used for existing employee training and retention purposes as well. Assessments allow you to profile employees, identifying their strengths, development areas and work styles.  This data can be used for promotions and to reorganise work-flow. By reallocating tasks to employees to suit their work style you can increase engagement, productivity and job satisfaction, leading to a happier and more efficient workplace. If you are interested in learning more about psychometric assessments to help you hire the right people, please speak with Dr. Gavin Didsbury or a consultant from our assessment partner PsychPress who provide a variety of psychometric assessment solutions. Please call on 03 9670 0590 or email info@psychpress.com.au.

Guest Article: Culture of Convenience by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

Guest Article: The seven rules of providing candidate feedback by Ross Clennett

The issue of providing feedback to unsuccessful candidates was highlighted in an article last week on HC online. Greg's Savage's blog that I referenced last week also covered this topic. Here's a few snapshots from those two sources: Michelle Burke (WyckWyre Food Industry HR Systems): Failed applicants always deserve feedback. They put in effort to apply to your job and took interest in your

Article source:Ross Clennett - The seven rules of providing candidate feedback»



Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog

Guest Article: Employee Compensation–What is Your Biggest Frustration? by Ben

I’m doing a short, two question survey to help me prepare for a presentation I’m doing in February. If you take 2 minutes to respond I’ll send you a copy of the slides and a video discussing the topic.

Click here to complete the 2-question survey.

The post Employee Compensation–What is Your Biggest Frustration? appeared first on upstartHR.

Article source:Ben - Employee Compensation–What is Your Biggest Frustration?»



Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: Why @Victorio_M is Awesome! #timsackettday by Robin Schooling

When I think about my friend Victorio Millian I have strong visual recollections. I see the beautiful photos he takes of his beloved NYC and the smiling faces of his two kids and their mother. I remember the times we’ve been able to sit down and have a chat and a bit of fun at various events over the years. I remember that the first time we met face to face (as people are wont to say) was in an elevator. In 2010.

Victorio is a human resources professional. And a damn good one. As with most exceptional people who work in HR he is an unsung hero; working tirelessly behind the scenes to not only make organizations better but to also keep the “human” front and center. I’ve seen him hit the high notes in both the art and the science of HR; formulating strategy (science) and implementing strategy (art).

So today, on #timsackettday, I am thrilled to salute a great HR professional who works his tail off, fights the good fight (for ALL people), and is just an all around superb guy.

Find him and talk to him and you’ll know exactly why I feel the way I do:

Victorio on Twitter

Victorio on LinkedIn

Victorio’s Creative Chaos blog

*********

about #timsackettday: several years ago Laurie Ruettimann started a meme to honor HR professionals who get it done without seeking fame and fortune. Previous honorees have been Tim Sackett, Paul Hebert, and Kelly Dingee. And It’s always a surprise to the honoree…even more fun!

Happy #timsackettday Victorio!

The post Why @Victorio_M is Awesome! #timsackettday appeared first on HR Schoolhouse.

Article source:Robin Schooling - Why @Victorio_M is Awesome! #timsackettday»



Check out more of Robin's work at HR Schoolhouse and Silver Zebras

Guest Article: Cool Has A Name - Victorio Milian #timsackettday by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

10 tips to get more attention to your consulting room to rent ad

Many practices or managers of allied health professionals are becoming more flexible about the potential they have to make their space available to other professionals for their practice. If it's available to lease full time, one day a week, or even just certain evenings; there's a good way to advertise your space to bring in the most relevant interest to enhance your revenue streams, and there's a not so good way. We show you 10 tips to make sure you're putting together information effectively, being helpful to your viewers, and starting off new tenancy relationships on the right foot. Enjoy!

1.       Utilize the video and photos upload features

Research has shown that listings with decent photos or videos have a higher response rate than the ones without, because people attract to visual cues to interact and take action. Also, words could not explain comprehensively how good your rooms are but a photo will do, so get uploading, don’t waste the feature! Users could also just search the website for photos or videos listing only, so if you do not have either of those, your ad will be missed! Of course, don’t forget to tidy up your room before photo/video shooting! Treat yourself as the potential renter while reviewing the ad!

2.       A catchy title helps a lot

Think from the perspective of a renter, like what kind of titles would catch your eyes! Don’t just put something like “spare room available for rent”, that doesn’t sound attractive at all! Titles like “spacious room available in great location” or “comfy practice room” would stand out more. Please bear in mind that people will be looking at pages of listings just by titles (or photos) so try to create an innovative one to make them click yours.

3.       Make the most of the description

So this is the opportunity for you to let people know how good your place is. Use this space to tell the renters everything about your room, just anything that will help your listing. Please don’t just simply repeat the title or give a boring description, try to make people want to come and have a look. Of course, you need to be honest with it but you can still be creative. Before writing up your ad you could look at a few ones from the others for references and what your responses are to those ads if you are the renter. Use dot points and headings where possible, and be sure to make the viewer’s life easier by putting all key information in before they enquire.

4.       Sell the area too, if possible!

If there are any great infrastructures around, let the renters know! Try to tell them how convenient your place is. Tell them the advantage of the location which might attract potential clients and customers. Are you near public transport, shops, schools, unis, other allied health centers / specialists? These are the aspects that will keep people longer.

5.       Price is the main decision-point

You could have the most cosmopolitan, decked out room in history, or the smallest closet of a room, price is what will be the decider and allied health professionals all have varying needs and budgets. My Room Finder has experienced in Australia that around $100 a day is the norm for a room, given that it is in a reasonable location with basic admin services. Inner city locations with larger service offerings and facilities can attract around $200 per day, and outer suburb locations with low services go as low as $60 per day. Of course, setting a discount for multiple days or weeks is encouraged, it saves you a lot of effort knowing someone is coming in and paying each day so offering up to 60% off on the daily price if someone is using the space full time is common. Of course, hourly or sessional bookings can be difficult to keep track of for some owners, luckily the My Room Finder enquiry and booking platform makes this easy but typically charging from $20-$30 per hour will make the option profitable yet attractive to seekers. If you’re finding it difficult to handle your other payments when charging under $200, think about the extra services you can offer; laundry, booking systems, additional admin or reception support, shared kitchen, parking and more can be nifty extras for additional revenue.

6.       Always know who you targets are

If a room is near a large hospital it will attract medical staff nearby. Use this as your advantage and mention the fact that you are near and in easy reach. If your space is the most suitable to consulting or physical professions because of your facilities or layout, be sure to mention this. Some tenants will not touch a room to rent if there is not perfect disability access, others will not mind, but you need to know who your audience is and what they want.

7.       Try to make it personal

The way you write the description would probably reflect what you are like. So try to show your personalities and a personal touch might set you apart from everyone else. At the end of the day, the tenant will need to interact with you and your staff quite a lot, agreements will likely be required, and tensions can sometimes get high in workplaces, so make sure you’re putting it out there that you have a friendly and open team.

8.       Maintain your ad

You could always go back to update the ad by changing some current photos or adjust it whenever you have any changes regard to the ad. Keep everything current! Adding or changing photos is a good way to keep things updated.  This is especially important when you’ve updated any painting, facilities or processes as older viewers are sure to see your room again if they’re in need again in the same area.

9.       Take your time

Don’t rush when you do the listing. Take your time to have a look at a few of other listings for ideas. Taking your time to think about the listing before you post will save you a lot of time from keep going back to edit.

10.   Always be honest!

No one will thank you or even rent your place if you make them come all the way to inspect the room and see a “very spacious practice room” but turns out to be a just enough size to put a desk and a chair in. The best way to invite more tenants is to make sure they’re getting what they expect to smoothly run their business and satisfy their clients. If you have a lot to improve, ask them what they’d need to get a better experience and think about what alterations could have the biggest impact on the largest number of potential tenants.

Good luck!

Want to post your room on My Room Finder and reach thousands of allied health professionals? Create your free account here

Guest Article: I’m from HR. And I’m Here to Help. by Robin Schooling

I really am.

But I understand why you may not believe me.

Over the years, perhaps, you’ve had frustrating interactions with poker-faced human resources ladies desperately clinging to antiquated policies and procedures.

It’s entirely possible that an HR Business Partner, who, according to your company collateral is supposed to ‘build coalitions and effect change,’ only brought about frustration by tossing up roadblocks and obstacles.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the last time you had a positive interaction with HR was when you ate donuts and played games in New Employee Orientation and it’s been all downhill since then.

But I’m going to let you in on a little secret…

Many HR practitioners are not, deep down, the black-hearted trolls they appear to be. Many of them absolutely DO want to help employees, applicants, managers, and leaders.

Oh sure, there will always be prissy, useless, nasty or power-hungry HR practitioners. There will also always be jackholes who work in sales, nerds without social skills who work in IT, and narcissistic (and impossibly attractive) people who work as pharmaceutical account executives.

And you thought of someone you’ve worked with, met at a social function, or heard about who fit every one of those stereotypes. Didn’t you?

Look…a vast number of the gals and guys who work in human resources begin their career filled with dewy optimism; they want to make a difference in an organization by working with and through people. Many want to move from prescribing activities and enforcing rules and begin working as full partners in the influencing of business outcomes.

They’re from HR.

And they’re here to help.

Please let them.

********

image via Roger Wilkerson

The post I’m from HR. And I’m Here to Help. appeared first on HR Schoolhouse.

Article source:Robin Schooling - I’m from HR. And I’m Here to Help.»



Check out more of Robin's work at HR Schoolhouse and Silver Zebras

Guest Article: Does engagement drive performance, or the other way around? by Ross Clennett

There is much written about employee engagement and how important it is as a foundation for a successful team or company. However few people, until recently, have asked; does engagement drive performance or does performance drive engagement? Some recent research sheds a fascinating insight into the answer. BRW wrote about the research late last year. This is what they reported

Article source:Ross Clennett - Does engagement drive performance, or the other way around?»



Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog