00:00

the great resignation has been weighing

00:02

heavily on many hr mines these past few

00:04

months but of course

00:07

one employer's retention tension can be

00:10

another's hiring surge in fact linkedin

00:14

the atlantic and forbes have even

00:16

referred to this labor trend as the

00:18

great reshuffle on occasion

00:20

so

00:21

how can recruiters sift through these

00:24

applicants

00:26

in 2000 jeff bezos famously shared

00:29

amazon's approach to executive

00:31

recruiting which included sat scores and

00:34

obscure ceratic style questions like how

00:37

many gas stations are there in the

00:38

united states

00:40

it's unclear how this was adapted for

00:42

other roles or whether it's even current

00:44

practice

00:45

but it's hard to imagine this unusual

00:48

approach would be useful for warehouse

00:50

00:52

in recruiting the process should always

00:54

fit the position

00:56

so in today's episode of hr party of one

00:59

i'm going to cover recruiting

01:00

assessments including how they differ

01:02

from screening and what to consider when

01:04

choosing which assessments to use

01:07

by the end you'll have a better

01:09

understanding of how to use assessments

01:11

to improve your hiring process

01:14

today we'll discuss the difference

01:16

between screenings and assessments

01:19

the role of assessments in interviewing

01:22

what to know about personality

01:24

assessments what to know about skills

01:27

assessments

01:28

and recruiting assessments compliance

01:31

issues

01:32

let's dig into it

01:34

the difference between screenings and

01:37

assessments

01:39

many people use the terms screening and

01:41

assessment interchangeably but i would

01:44

argue they are different and dependent

01:46

means to meet the same end hiring the

01:49

best candidate for the position

01:52

screening should be efficient how can i

01:54

manage the quantity of applicants

01:57

whereas assessment should be effective

01:59

how can i evaluate the quality of

02:01

candidates

02:03

screening is about not wasting your time

02:06

on unqualified applicants while

02:08

assessment is about investing your time

02:10

and finding the most qualified candidate

02:13

regardless of whether something is

02:15

considered screening or assessing one

02:17

question should guide your compliance

02:19

for both

02:20

can i demonstrate a job-related

02:22

necessity for asking this question using

02:25

this tool or giving this test

02:27

i'll come back to this later in the

02:29

episode

02:30

common screening tools include

02:32

clear specific and realistic job

02:35

descriptions of job seekers can

02:36

self-select

02:38

basic screening questions on

02:40

applications

02:42

resumes

02:44

cover letters

02:46

phone interviews

02:48

google and social media searches

02:51

background checks

02:53

and employment verifications

02:56

some of these tools may occasionally

02:58

blur the line depending on how much time

03:00

a recruiter spends on them but an

03:02

applicant tracking system like bernie

03:04

portal can help streamline the process

03:08

bernie portal also boasts an integration

03:10

with indeed which can increase your

03:12

initial applicant pool

03:14

after all screening efficiency isn't

03:17

very helpful if it's not also effective

03:19

in helping you find the best possible

03:21

candidate and that's where assessments

03:23

come in

03:25

the role of assessments in interviewing

03:28

interviewing itself is an assessment of

03:30

course however since i've already

03:33

covered interviewing in depth in

03:34

previous episodes i want to spend our

03:37

time today discussing how other types of

03:39

assessments can be used to improve the

03:41

interview process

03:43

first

03:44

it's good practice to conduct a phone

03:46

interview as a screener before

03:48

proceeding with an in-person or video

03:51

interview

03:52

they're inexpensive take a little time

03:54

out of your day and give you and the

03:56

candidate an opportunity to learn more

03:58

about each other with relatively low

04:00

stakes more importantly they're fair

04:03

since the recruiter can't base a snap

04:05

judgment on the candidate's appearance

04:07

over the phone if you're interested in

04:09

learning more check out an earlier

04:11

episode of hr party of one that's

04:13

devoted entirely to phone interview best

04:15

practices i'll link to it in the

04:17

description

04:18

once you've decided to proceed with a

04:20

candidate based on a phone interview

04:22

schedule an in-person or video interview

04:25

and assign them a personality assessment

04:27

and skill test which we'll cover in a

04:29

moment to complete before the next

04:31

meeting

04:32

these completed assessments serve two

04:34

purposes in the interview

04:36

number one

04:38

they give the hiring manager a better

04:39

sense of the candidate's qualifications

04:41

including how they would fit into the

04:43

role on the team and the position within

04:45

the company

04:47

context is key here rather than letting

04:49

the assessment speak for itself and

04:51

number two

04:52

they keep the interview grounded and

04:55

relevant to the candidates

04:56

qualifications to be clear i believe

04:59

small talk is an important element of

05:01

the interview but if the conversation

05:03

gets too off track both parties may feel

05:05

they've wasted their time again if

05:07

you're interested in learning more check

05:09

out an earlier episode where i covered

05:11

in-person interviews in depth i'll link

05:13

to it in the description assessments can

05:15

be insightful on their own but using

05:18

them as part of the interview process

05:20

can help hiring managers make difficult

05:22

decisions with the best information

05:24

available

05:25

it also helps to standardize the hiring

05:27

process as much as possible within your

05:29

organization

05:30

to that end i've dedicated previous

05:33

episodes to how to make a manager manual

05:35

for your organization and how to conduct

05:37

the recruitment process in seven stages

05:40

i'll link to those in the description

05:43

with that in mind let's talk about

05:45

personality assessments next

05:48

what to know about personality

05:50

assessments

05:52

personality assessments have received a

05:54

lot of scrutiny in recent years and they

05:56

should have

05:57

any testing used by recruiters to make

05:59

such important decisions should be both

06:01

reliable and valid in other words

06:04

personality tests should yield

06:06

consistent and accurate results in order

06:08

for recruiters to administer and

06:10

interpret them in a way that is both

06:12

effective part of a holistic process and

06:14

non-discriminatory

06:16

keep this in mind while i cover a few of

06:18

the most common personality assessments

06:20

used in recruitment

06:22

these include the myers-briggs type

06:24

indicator this tool is one of the most

06:27

popular and recognizable personality

06:29

assessments in the world the test

06:31

identifies 16 distinct personality types

06:33

based on four dichotomies

06:36

extroversion introversion sensing

06:38

intuition

06:39

thinking feeling and judging perceiving

06:43

it's important to note however that the

06:45

myers and briggs foundation claims while

06:47

the assessments may help people

06:48

understand themselves and how they

06:50

interact with others it is not ethical

06:53

to use the mbti instrument for hiring or

06:56

for deciding job assignments

06:58

culture index

07:00

this behavioral profiling assessment

07:02

actually begins with the team you're

07:04

hiring for by testing the team first

07:06

culture index then helps you determine

07:08

what's needed for the position and how

07:10

well the candidate fits in the role and

07:12

within the team

07:13

this tool is best for more established

07:15

organizations with a clearer sense of

07:17

their own culture and identity

07:19

the hogan personality inventory

07:21

assessment

07:23

with a reputation for reliability this

07:25

test is designed to measure reputation

07:28

not identity in other words it's based

07:30

on the idea that our perception of

07:32

ourselves identity can be flawed but how

07:36

others perceive us based on our

07:38

observable behaviors reputation is a

07:41

better indicator of how we'll work in a

07:43

given role or environment

07:45

the assessment breaks down a person's

07:47

bright side dark side inside and

07:50

cognitive

07:51

for recruiters the major appeal of these

07:54

results is that they help predict future

07:56

performance the disk assessment

07:59

disk stands for the four main

08:01

personality types measured by the

08:03

assessment dominance influence

08:06

steadiness and consciousness

08:09

this test is popular because it's easy

08:11

to use and its results are easy to apply

08:13

keep in mind however that the disk does

08:16

not claim to be a predictive tool it

08:18

should be used as part of a holistic

08:20

hiring process and not as a screening

08:22

tool according to the disc website

08:25

still the assessment can help hiring

08:27

managers understand how a candidate

08:29

might fit into a team's dynamic or a

08:31

company's culture here's an example

08:34

bernie portal uses the disk assessment

08:36

as part of our hiring process we assign

08:39

the test of candidates beforehand and we

08:41

discuss their results in the in-person

08:43

interview

08:44

in fact bernie portal hiring managers

08:46

also bring their own results to the

08:48

interview to discuss how they might work

08:49

together and to keep conformity bias at

08:52

a bay by being aware of its influence

08:55

we also give the candidate the

08:56

opportunity to explain why they agree or

08:59

disagree with their results profile

09:02

objective management group sales

09:04

assessment

09:05

at bernie portal we use the omg sales

09:08

assessment for sales positions in

09:10

addition to the disk

09:12

the assessment results recommend a

09:13

higher or not and omg boasts 96

09:17

accuracy in predicting sales success

09:20

whatever personality assessment you

09:22

choose to use be sure to

09:24

coach hiring managers on how to use it

09:26

correctly

09:28

collaborate with hiring managers on a

09:30

regular basis to ensure it's being used

09:32

correctly consider highest performers

09:35

results as a benchmark use the results

09:38

in the in-person interview giving the

09:40

candidate the opportunity to agree or

09:41

disagree with the report and

09:44

if the assessment tool does not provide

09:46

a results report i would not recommend

09:48

using that test

09:50

now on to skills assessments

09:54

what to know about skills assessments

09:57

skills tests vary as much as the

09:59

position they're used to hire for in

10:02

fact skills assessments must be specific

10:04

to the role in order to be compliant

10:06

with equal employment opportunity

10:08

regulations for example

10:10

a writing test for marketers a coding

10:13

exam for programs or role-playing calls

10:15

for a salesperson so since we can't

10:18

begin to cover all the possible skill

10:20

tests in the time we have i want to

10:22

focus on a few of the most common

10:25

take iq tests for example

10:27

many employers like the idea of using

10:29

intelligent quotient or iq tests for the

10:32

same reason bezos like using sat scores

10:35

it appears to be an objective measure of

10:37

cognitive ability and learning potential

10:39

that promises a numbered score for easy

10:42

comparisons

10:43

there are over 200 iq tests available

10:46

with varying degrees of reliability and

10:49

validity and it's the employer's

10:51

responsibility to choose a test that

10:53

meets high standards

10:55

often the compliance issues are not that

10:57

the iq test itself but in how hiring

11:00

managers misuse or misinterpret the test

11:02

results that's another reason manager

11:05

training is so important to the hiring

11:07

process

11:08

similarly many employers like the idea

11:11

of using knowledge tests but i would

11:13

argue that many employer administered

11:15

knowledge tests are likely unnecessary

11:18

instead standardized licensing

11:20

examinations usually accomplish the same

11:23

goal without subjecting the employer to

11:25

discrimination allegations employers

11:27

should also be careful with physical and

11:29

medical examinations used in hiring

11:32

always be sure that they are specific

11:34

and necessary to the position

11:37

sherm provides more specific and

11:39

comprehensive guidance on how to

11:41

approach such tests to avoid lawsuits a

11:44

link to their resources in the

11:45

description

11:47

recruiting assessments compliance issues

11:51

i've touched on compliance issues a lot

11:54

already in this episode but i want to

11:56

end by emphasizing a few of them as i

11:58

mentioned at the beginning your guiding

12:01

question should be can i demonstrate a

12:03

job-related necessity for asking this

12:06

question using this tool or giving this

12:08

test the equal employment opportunity

12:11

commission or eeoc clarifies the issues

12:14

this way

12:16

the use of tests and other selection

12:18

procedures can be a very effective means

12:21

of determining which applicants or

12:23

employees are most qualified for a

12:25

particular job

12:26

however

12:27

use of these tools can violate the

12:29

federal anti-discrimination laws if an

12:31

employer intentionally uses them to

12:34

discriminate based on race

12:36

color sex national origin religion

12:40

disability or age 40 or older use of

12:43

tests and other selection procedures can

12:46

also violate the federal

12:47

anti-discrimination laws if they

12:49

disproportionately exclude people in a

12:51

particular group by race sex or any

12:54

other covered basis unless the employer

12:57

can justify the test or procedure under

13:00

the law in other words a recruiting

13:02

assessment cannot be discriminatory

13:05

based on intent

13:06

disparate treatment or an effect

13:09

disparate impact

13:11

the eeoc offers the following guidance

13:13

to avoid discrimination employers should

13:16

administer tests and other selection

13:18

procedures without regard to race color

13:21

national origin sex religion age 40 or

13:24

older or disability

13:26

employers should ensure that employment

13:28

tests and other selection procedures are

13:30

properly validated for the position and

13:32

purposes for which they are used if a

13:35

selection procedure screens out a

13:37

protected group the employer should

13:39

determine whether there is an equally

13:41

effective alternative selection

13:43

procedure that has less adverse impact

13:46

and if so adopt the alternative

13:48

procedure

13:50

to ensure that a test or selection

13:52

procedure remains predictive of success

13:54

in a job employers should keep abreast

13:57

of changes in job requirements and

13:59

should update the test specifications or

14:01

selection procedure accordingly

14:03

and finally employers should ensure that

14:06

tests and selection procedures are not

14:08

adopted casually by managers who know

14:11

little about these processes

14:13

i'll link to the eeoc's full guidance in

14:15

the description

14:17

while you may not be hiring amazon

14:18

executives the recruiting assessments

14:21

you choose to use should still be unique

14:22

to the role within your organization

14:25

after all it doesn't really matter how

14:27

many gas stations there are in the

14:29

united states

14:30

as long as you're filling positions

14:32

efficiently effectively and fairly

14:36

as always remember your role is as

14:38

strategic as you make it

14:41

[Music]

14:46

that's all the time we have for this

14:47

episode don't forget to subscribe to our

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14:58

this is sarah signing off bye