You found the perfect candidate for that open position in your organization. According to the candidate’s resume, they have all the right skills and experience that you’ve been looking for. But will they really be successful in your organization? Not necessarily, according to Mark Waschek, President, Ag1Source.
Companies have to put in the work before even starting the hiring process to define what the “ideal” candidate looks like to help ensure that candidates brought in for the interview process are a better fit in regards to behavioral style and company culture.
“Each candidate has different core values and beliefs about what the ideal work environment is,” Waschek says. “If those are not a fit, no matter what training and incentives you give that employee, they just won’t be happy—or their manager won’t be happy with them.”
A resume only tells hiring managers what a candidate has done in their past roles. It doesn’t dig into who they really are and how they’d do the job they’re applying for. A behavioral assessment is the best way to get below surface level before an interview, Waschek points out.
“Even using behavioral interview questions during an interview won’t get at those things, because the candidate may say they’re more aggressive than they really are, or the candidate may genuinely think they’re more aggressive than in real life,” he says. “Behavioral style interviews are also difficult to get consistent results.”
A quick behavioral assessment will reveal who that candidate truly is. Waschek notes that there are hundreds of behavioral assessments available at various price points for organizations to choose from.
Defining the ideal candidate for a role is also helpful because the type of person needed for a position will vary with each role. For example, if a company is hiring a salesperson for a territory with their best customers that they don’t want to lose, the style of that salesperson should be very different than a salesperson in a territory that the company is trying to expand in that has zero current customers.
“One of those salespeople should be motivated to meet new people and close deals, while the other salesperson is focused on building relationships and providing customer service,” Waschek says. “They may have the same title and even an equal sales volume, but how you go about it is starkly different.”
Waschek suggests that companies start the candidate definition process with evaluating and customizing the job description. No two job descriptions should be alike, because every territory, business culture, market customers and expectations are different. The supervisor and colleagues for the role should also participate in the process.
“Organizations start the hiring process off on the wrong foot when they pull the same old job description based on the title and not tailoring it for the position,” Waschek says. “Taking that time to identify what makes that specific role unique will help down the road in determining if a candidate is truly the right fit.”
Although exit interviews can get a bad rap, Waschek says they are an important opportunity for companies to get feedback on their company culture. If an employee is leaving on good terms, they can give insights into what their replacement should be like. A frustrated employee that’s leaving can also provide suggestions on what changes should be made to the job description, what qualities or traits the organization should look for when hiring again for that role or insights about company culture that others may not recognize.
