Adding some more fluff…Having a bit of theatrical experience when I was young, I had a children’s part in the King and I, the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical.  One of my favorite songs from that show is titled, “Getting to Know You”.  As I work with companies to help them select and hire Top Performing people, the lyrics from that song, although very appropriate in personal relationships, is not the best approach when it comes to selecting and hiring new employees.

“Getting to know you, getting to know all about you…because of all the…things I’m learning about you…day by day” may work when you have all the time in the world prior to making a hiring decision.  However, if you are just starting to see some critical behaviors, on a day-to-day basis, after you hire a new employee, it may be too late.  It would be good to know about how that employee thinks, behaves, and what his/her occupational interests are before you select and hire them.  It would also be good to know that individual’s attitudes about integrity, substance abuse, reliability, and work ethic before they become an employee of your company.

Even the best behavioral interviewer may come up short if they are interviewing a well-coached candidate that will only tell you what they think you want to hear. How do you “get to know” the candidate before you select and hire them?

Here are the two assessment tools that should be part of your standard hiring procedure:

1.  The Step One Survey II (SOS II) should be administered to every individual you are considering to interview.  The survey is fast, cost effective, easy to use, and helps to tell you whether or not this candidate is “right” for your company:

• Job applicants can take the SOS II, in about 20 minutes, anywhere in the world there is access to the Internet or by using a paper/pencil booklet method.
• Results are available instantly over the Internet when you need to make quick decisions.
• Cost, per assessment, is about the same as a background check or drug screen, and the SOS II has been shown, in many cases, to be more effective.

Here is what you get from the candidate’s report:

• Quick Check — Providing a candidate’s employment status, availability to start, most recent salary, and supervisory experience.
• Employment Profile — Concise employment history plus supporting interview questions.
• Integrity — Summary of admissions regarding theft of money, property, data and time.
• Substance Abuse — Admissions regarding the personal use and/or distribution of illegal and/or regulated substances.
• Criminal Convictions — Admissions regarding criminal convictions.
• Candidate’s Attitudes — Regarding Integrity, Substance Abuse, Reliability, and Work Ethic.
• Graph — A visual summary of the candidate’s results.
• Distortion Scale — Inconsistencies are also considered as valuable indicators in the accuracy and/or candor of responses.
• Structured Interview Questions — Relating to key issues identified in their responses. Questions are worded in an open-ended manner to stimulate discussion, reduce litigation risks, and conduct the most effective interview for each candidate.

2.  The ProfileXT^™ assessment should then be given to your “short list” of candidates to help tell you whether this candidate is the right “fit” for a particular job.

This 45-minute, online assessment reveals consistent, in-depth, and objective insight into an individual’s thinking and reasoning style, relevant behavioral traits, occupational interests, and match to specific jobs in your organization.  It helps your managers and you interview and select people who have the highest probability of being successful in a role, and provides practical recommendations for coaching them to maximum performance.  It also gives your organization consistent language and metrics to support strategic workforce and succession planning, talent management, and reorganization efforts.

Use these two assessment tools to “get to know” your prospective employee.