The Perfect Recruitment Tool

In the life of a business owner there are few things more dispiriting for a business than hiring a seemingly ideal candidate only for them to leave after just a few months. Aside from the time and money you’ve just wasted, you now have to start the recruitment process all over again.

But what if..?

What if you could bring in a new employee and be almost 100% certain that they will be still in place, working productively, after at least 12 months?

The crucial decision time for new employees leaving new employers is typically within the first 3-6 months. So, if you can guarantee their retention for a minimum of a year, then the prospect of their long-term commitment to the company is greatly enhanced.

How valuable would that be to you?

The Perfect Recruitment Tool

As executive chairman of a recruitment firm I’ve taken the time to track our results over the last few years. We’re currently operating at a phenomenal 96% retention. In other words, out of all the candidates we’ve placed for our clients, 96% of them are still in place after 12 months and further.

Recruitment agencies tend to be a bit cagey about releasing their success rate in this regard (I wonder why?) but, anecdotally, our clients tell us that this is streets ahead of the competition.

There are a number of strategies that we employ to achieve this result and I’m not going to share them all in this article (hey, I can’t give ALL our secrets away) but I can tell you that one of our core recruitment tools is psychometric or behavioural testing.

Although it is sometimes misunderstood, if applied correctly it has a sound scientific basis and our employee retention numbers speak to the effectiveness of this process. Keep in mind that behavioural testing isn’t just about measuring someone’s skills, knowledge or past performance, as it is about assessing how effective they’ll be in the job and how likely they are to fit in with the company culture.

When a highly competent employee leaves after only a few months, the chances are that it has little to do with their abilities to perform and more to do with a general dissatisfaction or unhappiness in the current role. The old adage that people join companies but leave managers remains true. It’s not their fault and it’s not your fault either. The problem stems from insufficient information about the compatibility of your respective attitudes and beliefs.

Behavioural testing allows you to predict, with an impressive degree of accuracy, how well someone will integrate with your business, management style and existing employees.

There is, of course, a little more to it than that. Here are a few tips for using behavioural testing to best effect:

1) Use a reputable psychometric survey provider. We use The McQuaig Psychometric System, a company with over 40 years of experience in behavioural and psychological testing.

2) Test your top performing members of staff before beginning your search. Establish a benchmark against which candidates can be compared.

3) The assessment reports contain a large amount of information. Use this data to help you plan your interview and tailor your questions to the individual.

No one would suggest that behavioural testing can, on its own, select the best candidate. But, when used in conjunction with other methods of evaluation, this is the perfect recruitment tool for making the best choices and maximising your employee retention.