Behavioural Screening as Part of Selection – Delivering Quick, Cost Effective Results
Much has been written about the growing staff and skills shortage facing the care sector. This is clearly a priority issue, but with staff turnover in the sector averaging 25% for frontline care roles the issue compounds, accelerating the War for Staff we are watching unfold right now. Solutions are often complex requiring a “national” response, however significant inroads can, and have been made “locally”. Many providers addressing workforce issues are finding that one of the most effective strategies available to them is also one of the easiest to implement and delivers some of the highest return on their investment.

The cost of staff turnover
The evidence is undeniable – numerous research studies (Australian and International) over the last 20 years have regularly put the cost on staff turnover at around 20% of the individual’s starting salary recruit and mobilise a frontline role. These studies include international research into the long term care sector (both community or residential settings). These are direct costs and regularly do not include lost productivity or the impact on clients and residents – a critical issue in a CDC world. That is a cost of over $7,000 for a personal care worker earning under $40,000 per annum. Even if you don’t believe the research and think the figure is inflated—cut it in half and you are still around $4,000.

Prevention is the cheapest and easiest part of the cure
The most effective, and the cheapest way to improve staff retention is to reduce hiring mistakes. We define hiring mistakes as

• employees who have been terminated, or
• employees who have resigned- but would not be reemployed by the organisation.

Poor hiring decisions are one of the most expensive workforce issues to deal with – because virtually all the recruitment, induction and staff acquisition costs are front loaded, incurred during the early stages of employment prior to confirming the employee is a “keeper”. Increased competition in the sector, funding cuts and the ongoing push for innovation and efficiency are manifesting themselves in providers looking to reduce costs in their operations. Improving hiring decisions unquestionably delivers significant reduced workforce costs and improves performance in key areas such as client and care service delivery, business efficiency, staff morale and revenue growth.

​Screening methods are common in most sectors
Methods that effectively and quickly screen candidates have been used extensively in many other sectors, at all levels, however in the care sector it tends to be used mainly for management roles. Psychometric or behavioural screening is primarily introduced into the recruitment process to assess employment suitability, including the individual's job fit with a role as well as company/candidate fit. The aim of psychometric testing is to gain an accurate “picture” of the candidate’s abilities and behavioural style, thus providing insights into their on the job behaviours. Behavioural screening processes come in all shapes and sizes however most are generic – assessing for example, leadership style/capability generally with little or no acknowledgement to the issues and needs of a specific sector.

We are all fishing in the same candidate pool
The reality is that providers are working hard to improve recruitment processes in a numerous ways. The message from this is clear. As screening improves and organisations are better able to “cherry pick” candidates, it’s not just the shrinking candidate pool, it’s also the reduced talent in that pool that providers have to contend with.

Care Advantage provides the “industry benchmark” for applicant screening in the  care sector
From front-line to middle managerial roles, Care Advantage has established job benchmarks, comparing your applicants against the profile of acknowledged good performers for almost all care related roles- for example, care and support workers, RN, AIN, hotel services, homecare workers, care managers etc. An unlimited-use Care Advantage licence ensures that providers are screening frontline candidates at the top of the selection funnel giving greater insight into job-fit, suitability and attitude even before the first interview. "Cherry-picking" at its best  - helping providers stay competitive and reduce risk in a time of significant change and disruption within the sector.

​​How do businesses go about successfully identifying future leadership potential? So called ‘high potential individuals’ (HiPos) are integral to developing any business. Ensuring quality of hire is therefore crucial.
 
While some factors in identifying a HiPo may be obvious, for example punctuality, hard work and a willingness to learn, many qualities are rather more difficult to spot, and are often found by external psychometric assessors such as Care Advantage.
 
One recent study by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman has found ten identifiable personality characteristics likely to be seen in a candidate for promotion. Data was collected from multiple organisations based upon their previous successful hires, collated, and used to assimilate a picture of the ideal candidate.
 
Result-orientated
Those ripe for leadership assessment should be able to demonstrate tangible results from their work. Ideally, they will already be leaders of some kind, with demonstrable evidence as to their leadership skills. If you’re looking to promote someone more junior, look to their past jobs for evidence of this.
 
Strategists
In Zenger and Folkman’s research, it soon became clear that one of the key attributes that sets apart a HiPo as someone who will eventually move to more senior roles is the ability to define and to keep a strategy in mind.
 
Role models
An ideal HiPo is someone with rigorous ethics and values. This person is seen as an individual who can enforce the company’s ethical codes and practices, and who treats others fairly. This doesn’t necessarily mean someone who is notably religious or spiritual; merely that they must consistently behave with justice and politeness.
 
Motivators
One of the significant traits identified by the study identified was that successful HiPos are ambitious. They are considered workplace motivators; people who inspire others around them to strive for better results. They should be noticeably absent when away from work; a lynchpin of the office environment.

Team workers
That oft-applied term, rarely fully understood. A true team worker will be an expert communicator and delegator. They should be flexible, and will listen to what their colleagues can contribute.
 
Business Acumen
Someone ripe for promotion will invariably have a deep knowledge and understanding of the business in which they work. Through experience and hard work, they should be able to assess and identify the factors that will make the business succeed, and the way in which they can contribute to this.
 
Innovators
Leaders are always risk-takers, willing to innovate when need be. In order to succeed, businesses need to be promoting those who are willing to think creatively; to bring new skills and knowledge to the table; and to further the interests of the business from the inside.
 
Developers
HiPos possess the ability to help develop and promote those around them. They should be barometers for the skills of others, and encouraging of their ambitions.
 
Adaptors
Leaders embrace change and see it as a way in which to make positive impact in the business. They don’t resist or run away when they see change coming; rather, they adapt and make the most of the opportunity.
 
Communicators
Lastly, but perhaps the defining skill of any HiPo is that of communication. Being able to successfully communicate with a wide range of people on a daily basis and to make connections is key to business success.
 
If all of this seems a little daunting, the study found that possessing only three of these attributes to a high degree would set an individual apart from their peers. Very few people, if any, will be able to attain more than this.
 
Even the best applicants will have notable weaknesses. What sets a HiPo apart is a ready acknowledgement of any short-comings and a plan to address them.
 
Interested to know more about spotting leadership potential? Have a look at a sample Leadership Identifier Report or request a free 5 test sample of Care Advantage

A poll conducted this month with more than 500 members of the LinkedIn group HR Jobs and Ideas, revealed that a startling umber of HR professionals believe that most hiring managers are not adequately prepared to comprehensively assess candidates’ technical and soft skills.

This means that that they are more likely make erroneous judgements about a candidate’s suitability for a role based on unconscious prejudices such as the candidates’ perceived similarity to the hiring manager, or their perceived level of ‘threat’ to the position of the manager in question.

Such unconscious biases have been widely written about, and can have a major impact on the soundness of hiring decisions. Solving these issues is the purview of the HR department, but such expertise can only be utilised when management recognises the problem.
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Read the full report including the recommendations and graphs.