Link: CIO - Testing times.
Interesting article about alternative ways to finding the right talent - esp. for senior roles through psychometric testing (behavioural/personality). While the standard hiring process is through job ads then interviews, companies nowadays need to realize their largest investment is really its people, and so accordingly need to invest more effort in recruiting the right people - those who not just have the "right" technical skills, but also all the soft people skills, flexibility and agility.
They give the example of Fujitsu Services - where they looked internally to fill their senior account management role rather than externally. Their process included various testing for different abilities and behaviours. While their process proved successful for them, I wonder how effective it would be for a much smaller company, or how comparable it is to executive search.
I think psychometric testing is a good and useful tool. However, I find that the big problem with "standard" recruiting is the nature of how we find people. Many recruiters recruit "passively", that is, they put their job ad up and wait for candidates to apply. The most effective way to start a search for a candidate (esp. for senior roles), is first of all to truly understand the needs, skills, desirables, and culture of the company, and then to actively look for people following those parameters. That's through networking, researching, and talking to a lot of people. Not waiting for people to see an ad and apply. What's more, you're already talking with the right kinds of people, who have the kind of technical skills, people skills, and agility/flexibility because of where they are in their career, what they're currently doing, and their performance record.
And another thing to think about - while testing may find out a person's potential or behavioural disposition to certain situations, it doesn't guarantee that that person will be successful at the job and stay with the company over other recruiting methods. Why? Because the success and productivity of that person results from a relationship - between the employee and employer. Between colleagues and team members. Investing in good people and retaining good people needs constant work on the employers part - not just at the beginning.
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