One of the challenges of recruitment interviews is that a candidate’s skill in answering interview questions can often bear no relation to their proficiency in the job they are being recruited for. This can be for better or for worse and can make the selection process pure guesswork.
Recent research by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) and LinkedIn examined the cost of staff turnover in Australia and found that nearly 1 in 4 new employees leave their job in the first year, leading to an estimated $3.8 billion in lost productivity and $385 million in re-hiring costs. The research results suggest that poor selection techniques are to blame.
Recruitment interviews are still valuable in assessing cultural match, motivation and capability providing you can get beyond the candidate’s interview veneer. This is possible if you have additional information to hand that enables you to ask relevant and specific questions about how they perform at work.
A fundamental strategy to improve hiring decisions is to add psychometric assessments to your selection process as they help you probe further and deeper in the interview and in reference checks. They will help you understand more about the candidate’s softer skills such as focus, time management and self belief which may not be obvious from a resume or interview alone.
A contemporary, scientifically valid and reliable psychometric test is MTQ-Plus which measures mental toughness and specifically the way an individual thinks, and therefore behaves, under stress and pressure.
Since most roles comprise stress and pressure in some shape or form MTQ-Plus provides valuable clues as to an individual’s behaviour on the job, whether that is in the public service front line, as an ambulance officer, a teacher, in business in customer service, sales or finance roles or in a leadership position.
MTQ-Plus provides insight into:
- how structured and disciplined a thinker they are.
- their ability to stay calm in stressful situations.
- their motivation to consistently set and then achieve goals and targets without being distracted or diverted.
- their adaptability to and preference for different situations.
- their resilience to setbacks and failures.
- their self belief and ability to influence others.
The reports provide a range of questions to ask the candidate which leads to more valuable insights into the way they think and perform at work and how suited they may be to the position in question.
The test which takes about 10 minutes to complete online and costs A$165 +GST which includes:
- MTQ-Plus assessement
- 3 Reports that assist in hiring, coaching and self development
- debrief with an experienced and accredited mental toughness practitioner on how the results relate to the position being recruited.
For further information on how you can hire better using MTQPlus contact us or purchase online.