How assessments can help you create the ideal workplace culture
When you go through the hiring process, how can you be sure you’ve selected the best candidate?
Beyond traditional interviews, one effective way to dig deeper into a candidate’s personality and behavioral traits is through assessments – typically 15-minute quizzes that explore preferences, strengths, weaknesses, and various personality traits.
Lisa Prescott, HR Manager for Scroggins, notes that while assessments aren’t guarantees of perfect fits, they provide valuable data for making informed hiring decisions.
Prescott utilizes two assessment companies in our client work: Harver for behavioral traits and DiSC for personality profiling. Her recommendation varies based on the hiring manager’s specific needs.
“The Harver assessment can be customized to measure traits unique to certain roles – attention to detail, for example, or the ability to manage a team,” she explains.
“Assessments are a good tool to add to your hiring process,” Prescott says. She typically recommends reserving them for the final two or three candidates, especially when choosing between equally qualified applicants is challenging.
Once completed, Prescott sits with hiring managers to analyze results and identify valuable insights that may not have surfaced during interviews – information that often reveals how someone will actually perform on the job.
Weakness does not equal inability
Prescott emphasizes an important distinction: low scores in certain areas don’t indicate incapability, but rather that those behaviors require more energy and focus from the candidate.
These “weaknesses” can serve as excellent discussion points during final interviews. “When someone comes in for an interview, they’re putting their best foot forward,” Prescott says. “This lets you look under the hood a bit.” Candidates’ responses, combined with assessment results, often validate a hiring manager’s gut feeling.
Assessments are worth the investment
Though assessments require time and financial commitment, Prescott points out that preventing hiring missteps saves significant money long-term, especially when new hires leave quickly and restart the entire process.
“It’s expensive to hire and fire,” she says. “Assessments give you the tools to choose the right person from the start.”
While Prescott stresses that assessments aren’t magical predictors of success or retention, they effectively fill critical information gaps.
“Your time is at a premium,” she concludes. “If you’re bringing in someone, especially into a leadership role, you cannot afford to waste time. Assessments can help you make a strong decision and up your chances of success, so you’re not lamenting that a candidate didn’t work out a couple months down the road.”
