Why is the PXT Select? a Powerful Hiring and Development Tool?
Today, many people in the US and around the world spend more time working than doing anything else. Workspaces become second homes and project teams can become work families. Every workplace is unique but can all relate to a common goal. To be a great place to work. And great organizations know that success begins with hiring the right people.
Organizations strive to have high performing individuals and teams. A 2015 Gallup Report states: High performers have several things going for them – among the list are how engaged they are and how well their innate talents and abilities match the positions they’re in. The surest path to achieving great performance is to match people to their jobs.
Employers can no longer rely on the resume and interview to make an informed hiring decision. Resumes are greatly exaggerated and savvy applicants game the interview.
According to a Corporate Executive Board 2013 survey of thousands of hiring managers were asked about their hiring practices and only 5% felt that they had a Best in Class Process.
And when asked?“What percentage of hires on your teams do you think are bad decisions or regretted decisions? The response was surprising. One in five new hires are bad, or have “regretted decisions” according to hiring managers on their team. –CEB—The Corporate Executive Board 2013 Report “Selecting High-Quality Hires for Today’s Work Environment”
What are the risks and consequences of making a poor hire? What can result because of this??
We know that hiring a new person comes with risks. Many people and organizations can relate to this when they think back to hiring the wrong person – they always remember and it’s painful. That’s why we know that offering a selection solution can be something that makes a real difference to that organization.
With a bad hire, the path to termination/separation is clear (probation, termination). While difficult, there is usually a defined path.
With a mediocre hire, it’s less clear. It’s hard to decide when the time has come to exit. Mediocre employees can often fly just under the radar, or they improve slightly after being redirected, but only for a short time. Mediocre hires have the same effect/cost on the organization as a bad hire: Loss of morale - Manager time - Culture impact - Customer Satisfaction
Let me explain– Meet Ben. He applied for the sales manager position at your company.
He submitted a polished resume, had an impressive sales background. His enthusiasm during the interview stood out among the other candidates, and he seemed like a positive team player. His references checked out. He “seemed” like the perfect person for the job. You thought to yourself, “Someone with this level of sales experience would be perfect to train and manage my sales team of younger, inexperienced individuals.”
He was hired?in?March as a new sales manager. You waited to experience the tenacious force you had heard about in his interview, but his preference for working alone became clear, and he avoided engaging his team members. He lacked a sense of urgency and was inaccurate with numbers and data. Within five months, Ben was a problem.
By July, his energy for the sales manager role faded. It was obvious that hiring Ben was a mistake. He is a good person but he was placed in the wrong role. You just found out the hard way that the exact qualities that made him excel in his previous position, in his previous organization, did not translate to this role in your organization. Team morale dropped drastically and productivity was low. Now what!? This mistake could have been avoided had you used the PXT Select. You COULD have known. Let me explain…
Looking at some of the predictors of success, PXT Select measures Thinking Style, Behavioral Traits, and Interests. A view of these combined with an effective interview process can truly help organizations gain a meaningful edge in hiring. Let’s take a look at the selection process.
PXT Select is part of a whole selection process which can include several elements.
Here is a sample process – they can vary greatly. But the main point is that PXT Select is one of several components. Never the full decision. It doesn’t magically provide the correct answer. Instead, it brings insight into the process to make it more robust/complete, and to give the hiring manager and organization more confidence in their decision.
?It all begins with looking at what is required of the job to be successful. What does a top performer in a particular role look like?
We call this a performance model (PM). PMs are templates of jobs based on traits of people who have been successful in those jobs. These are based on performance data from thousands of individuals, case studies, Department of Labor ONET databases. Validated for selection – I will explain more a little later. We begin by working with our easy to use PM library and choose the job that best aligns with the position you’re hiring for. IFP works closely with our clients to customize the model to ensure its accuracy.
The Performance Model provides a successful job fit profile. Comparing the candidate's profile with the performance model indicates his fit with the job.
All jobs require some form of problem solving skills – that’s why we assess verbal and numeric problem solving skills. PXT Select? measures a candidate’s thinking style, verbal and numeric skills. These are three areas that impact an individual’s approach to problem solving situations in the workplace. Assessment results equip organizations and hiring managers with easy to understand information about the candidate, and provides intuitive questions to strengthen the interview process.
Behavioral traits are work-related preferences and behaviors in nine distinct areas and each of the candidate’s scale scores are normed against those scores of others who have been successful in a similar role.
Measures degree of interest in six different areas. Interests are based on John Holland’s RIASEC classification for occupational interests: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional The Holland Codes or the Holland Occupational Themes (RIASEC) refers to a theory of careers and vocational choice (based upon personality types) that was initially developed by psychologist John L. Holland (Holland, 1959)
Uses paired comparison format-respondents indicate whether they would highly prefer one activity or the other, or whether they would somewhat prefer one activity or the other.
Remember Ben? If I had used a tool like PXT Select, I could have know that Ben’s numerical ability wasn’t up to par with the position I was hiring for. I would have known that he preferred to work alone. I truly could have known that he was a bad fit.
The New PXT Select utilizes the latest in assessment technology - Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT).
Computer adaptive testing means the assessment adjusts as the candidate answers the questions, selecting the next question based on his or her previous response. Therefore, each person’s assessment questions will vary. Computer adaptive testing is the most up-to-date testing technology. CAT uses fewer questions and results in increased precision. Some candidates may experience a shorter test-taking time.
The single assessment now comes with 9 inclusive reports plus special reports aimed at selecting sales candidates. From our clients perspective, once they elect to score a candidate’s assessment, they can generate any of the reports at any time, for no additional charge. If hiring for a sales position there are an additional 3 sales centric reports that focus on the 8 critical behaviors germane to 8 critical sales practices.
Looking at a candidate’s fit to the expectations of the job can help the hiring manager determine when more information may be required.
On page 2, you will find the assessment results summary where you can see, at a glance, the performance model and how the candidate performed on the three sections of the assessment. Thinking Style, Behavioral Traits, and Interests.
For each section, there is a percent fit to tell you how well the candidate aligns to the performance model. There’s also an overall fit percentage so you can see how the candidate fits as a whole.
The thinking style portion of PXT Select measures cognitive ability, or how a person processes information and communicates information. Assessment questions test a candidate’s base knowledge of vocabulary and mathematical concepts, as well as the application of that in the workplace.
Thinking style measures four cognitive abilities. Verbal skill, verbal reasoning, numerical ability, and numerical reasoning. Results consist of measurements for each of these four, plus a composite score of these combined. Keep in mind, a higher score is not necessarily better than a lower score – every position calls for different skills and abilities.?
Behavioral traits measure behavioral preference. These help define who we are by influencing behaviors. As our strengths and the combinations of our behavioral traits vary, so do our behaviors.
Behavioral traits measure 9 traits: Pace, assertiveness, sociability, conformity, outlook, decisiveness, accommodation, independence, and judgment.
Scores are placed on a continuum with two opposing ends. Keep in mind, again, one end is not necessarily better than the other – every position calls for different abilities and preferences. That’s why PXT Select has neutral end points either side of each scale.
For example WORK PACE - some jobs require a slow methodical pace favoring accuracy over urgency while another job favors urgency and multitasking over accuracy.
We’ve identified six interest areas that are effective in describing people’s motivation and potential satisfaction with their jobs. Each interest area reflects a group of related aspects of a job or task. You will see two lists: One for the candidate’s interests and one for the performance model. PXT Select measures six interests and all six are shown in the candidates list. The interests are ordered based on the candidate’s responses, with the highest scoring interest at the top of the list, and the lowest at the bottom. You will also see an indication of two-way or three-way ties, if they occur.
Pages 3-6 guide you through the performance model and the candidate’s results.
This screen shows a cognitive or thinking style scale. Here you see the description of the scale below it, plus guidance on what it means to fall at different points along the scale.
You can also see the performance model by the shaded section and the candidate’s results by their initials.
And we give you a little more here… [call out ideal candidate and fit statement]. There’s a description of what the ideal candidate is like for this position based on the model. You also see whether the candidate fits the model. In this case, Oliver does.
So, essentially, the PM puts the candidate’s scores in context. PXT Select has an expanding library of PM as well as the flexibility to let the user edit and/or create a new PM. Each model in the library has been tested to ensure it reflects the ranges for people successful in particular positions.
As you all know, the assessment results should only ever account for no more than 1/3 of the hiring decision. The interview is also really important. That’s why PXT Select includes dynamically generated interview questions. These are generated based on the candidate’s assessment results.
We use a complex, proprietary algorithm to determine their key challenge areas—meaning where they were farthest outside the model—and provided questions related to the challenges this particular candidate may face in the position. We also highlight their strengths—where they best fit within the model—and again provide interview questions specific to the candidate and their fit. If you want to go further than their top strengths and challenges, we also provide questions on the other scales—again, specific to the candidate and how they may perform in the position.
To help guide the interview process further, we’ve provided “listen for” tips. Again, these are generated via a complex algorithm that takes into account the person’s score and what it means against the performance model.
These were created to give clients confidence in their hiring and interviewing processes. For the novice, they could use them as-is. For the more experienced interviewer, they’re a solid starting point.
As we mentioned, PXT Select generates a suite of reports. Let’s take a quick look at some of the others available.?
It’s highly likely you’ll assess more than one candidate for a position, and it can be helpful to see those candidates’ results all in one place. You’ll see the overall percent match, as shown here. This report can help reduce time to hire.
We’ve made the process of comparing candidates much simpler and cleaner. Now, you can see all the candidates in a single glance against the performance model on each scale.
Perhaps one of the candidates that applied for your open position would be a great fit for another open position at your organization. You can use the Multiple Positions Report to compare one candidate to several positions. This is particularly helpful when you’re hiring for multiple jobs. It shows the candidate’s results in graph form compared to each PM chosen.
In addition to selection, this can be extremely useful in development – to help assess potential development and career paths for individuals.
The report is organized by fit, from the position with the highest overall fit score to that with the lowest.
When used for development, this report shows how aligned an individual is to different jobs that may be a part of his or her career path. Managers can then use this to help the employee prepare for future roles.
As long as a candidate has taken the PXT Select assessment in the past, the same data can be used to compare him or her to any position.?
领英推荐
Since PXT Select looks at both the candidate and the position, you can imagine that there are times when an organization will want to focus on just the position, especially as they are getting set up to use PXT Select. There’s a report for that purpose, which we call the Performance Model Report. It illustrates the desired ranges for thinking style, behavioral traits, and interests.?All terminology is defined and the report is easily interpreted. It does not include any candidate data.
?As the name suggests, it focuses on the Performance Model only, without any candidate’s data.
And when you get into the body of the report, it may look familiar.
This is the same type of guidance that is built into the Comprehensive Selection Report, explaining what the scale measures and what it means to fall along different points of the scale. It even offers an “Ideal Candidate” description. Again, this report is designed to focus on the position only.
Now, let’s look at the participant reports.
The report is written in a friendly, neutral way, and speaks directly to the individual about their assessment results through narrative feedback. It does not provide their actual assessment scores, however. Instead, it interprets the results for the participant to eliminate the potential for misunderstandings about what the results mean.
Imagine a candidate or new employee asks to see their assessment results. This report is designed to serve that need. Like the other PXT Select reports, it has guidance and interpretation built right in, starting with an explanation of what the assessment measures.?
Part of making these reports “Human”… every stakeholder in the assessment process, including the candidate, can benefit from these reports.
Also like the Feedback Report, there’s no performance model. It focuses on the participant alone. But unlike the Feedback Report, it shows scores only, without the narrative interpretation.
Because there’s no guided interpretation—we recommend providing the Individual’s Feedback Report to people who ask to see their results unless you’re able to debrief the Graph with the individual to answer questions or correct misunderstandings.
The Coaching report can be used for onboarding, coaching and development. It provides the individual’s results to the manager along with coaching tips and personalized feedback. The Coaching Report contains an individual’s assessment results as well as coaching tips for the manager about the employee may approach different aspects of the position.
It also includes bullet points for what you need to know about the employee, as it relates to the particular scale.
Then there’s a Management tips section, to help guide the manager in working with the employee.
And finally—the Bottom Line statement. If you were to pick just one thing to remember about the employee on this scale, this is it.
Now let’s look at the next onboarding and development report—the Manager-Employee Report.
As you can see here, this report shows one employee’s and one manager’s results.?
There is no performance model shown here. And the report focuses on Behavioral Scales only.?
As you get into the body of the report, you’ll find narrative feedback on each Behavioral scale. Like the Coaching Report, it is written to the manager, rather than to the employee.
You’ll see here the different sections:
Finally, let’s look at the Team Report.
Multiple people’s data – but you’ll see that there’s no performance model here, because they may be coming from a mix of positions.?
You’ll?also get information about what these behaviors look like for the team.?
And a few bullet points to consider about the team.?
The Team Report ends with a Summary and Action page—including where the team’s average is for each scale, and a single take-away tip for the behavior. This report was designed to provide you with a better understanding of how the characteristics of your team members fit with one another. Perhaps more importantly, you can see how work-related behaviors of team members fit with your own. When everyone's needs are taken into account, the team will likely be able to perform to its fullest potential.
Insights For Performance - Who We Are
Since 2003 our employment assessments and talent management software solutions continue to provide clients with a competitive advantage by hiring the right people matched to the right jobs, while providing software that streamlines the application and performance management process.
Make hiring right the first time your competitive advantage!
Assessment Pricing Model
Quantity discounts apply to all assessment purchases - IFP creates your secure branded hosted assessment management site at no charge, and IFP consultancy services, training, assessment deployment, report generation and more are without any cost to client.
ASSESSMENT CASE STUDIES
5 RETAIL
10 HOSPITALITY
12 RESTAURANT
16 HEALTHCARE
Not sure what kind of assessment you need? See?Selecting the Right Assessment
INSIGHTS FOR PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS
PXT SELECT? RESOURCES
OTHER HIRING ASSESSMENT RESOURCES
Step One Survey (SOS) is a brief pre-hire assessment that measures an individual's basic work-related values. It is used primarily as a screening tool early in the candidate selection process. This assessment provides valid insight into an applicant's work ethic, reliability, integrity, propensity for substance abuse, and attitudes toward theft - including property, data, and time.
Customer Service Profile ?(CSP) measures how well a person fits specific customer service jobs in your organization. It is used primarily for selecting, on-boarding, and managing customer service employees. The CSP also looks at what your current and future employees believe is a high level of customer service, while at the same time showing where they align (or not) with the company's perspective. The CSP has a general industry version of this assessment as well as vertical specialties in hospitality, healthcare, financial services and retail.
Message me now to learn how IFP and PXT Select are helping employers build tomorrow’s workforce today.