English 
Vietnamese As businesses are seeking ways to cut costs in anticipation of a rough economic road ahead, what can the HR function do to help?
We have previously discussed the hefty costs associated with bad hires, today we're focusing on a practical strategy to mitigate these expenses.
Introducing A.R.I.A – Assessment, Refine, Interviews, Analytics – a collection of best practices that can help you refine your hiring process and reduce the likelihood of costly missteps.
Contents
A - Assessments
While traditional candidate selection methods like interviews and reading resumes are familiar and convenient, they hardly are the most reliable ways to ensure you hire the right candidates. This is where assessments come in, offering a much more scientific and unbiased approach.
There are 2 types of assessments that you should utilise.
1. Psychometric assessments
Psychometric assessments are used to evaluate the candidates’ skills, personalities, attitudes, and knowledge.
This assessment technique is a more valid method than a traditional interview because it can be highly predictive of the candidate’s future job performance.
Even better, the organisation’s performance model can be developed based on the results of the psychometric assessments. A good psychometric assessment will allow you to determine talented individuals.
2. Skills Assessments
Don't just take a candidate's word for it—put their skills to the test. Depending on the role, you might:
- Administer technical tests for role-specific skills.
- Use personality assessments to gauge cultural fit.
- Assign practical tasks or case studies relevant to the position.
These assessments provide tangible evidence of a candidate's capabilities, reducing the risk of a mismatch.
R- Refine
It is dangerous to fall into complacency with what you have been doing for a long time. Continuously refine everything you do, even if tasks seem familiar and straightforward. You may be surprised at how much improvement you can make.
1. Refine Your Job Descriptions
A clear, comprehensive job description is your first line of defence against bad hires. Take the time to:
- Collaborate with department heads to accurately define role requirements.
- Clearly outline expectations, responsibilities, and necessary skills
- Include information about company culture and values.
By painting a precise picture of the role and your organisation, you'll attract more suitable candidates from the outset.
2. Refine Your Employee Referral Program
Your current employees can be a valuable resource in finding quality candidates. Consider:
- Implementing a robust employee referral programme
- Offering incentives for successful hires
- Encouraging employees to tap into their professional networks
Referred candidates often have a better understanding of your company culture and are more likely to be a good fit.
3. Refine Your Background Checks
While it may seem time-consuming, comprehensive background checks can save you from costly mistakes. Be sure to:
- Verify educational qualifications and work history.
- Check references thoroughly, asking pointed questions about performance.
- Consider social media screening, where legally appropriate
These checks can reveal red flags that might not be apparent during the interview process.
4. Refine Your Probationary Period
A probationary period gives both the employer and the new hire an opportunity to assess fit. During this time:
- Set clear performance expectations and milestones.
- Provide regular feedback and support.
- Be prepared to make tough decisions if the fit isn't right.
This approach allows you to address issues early, potentially avoiding the full cost of a bad hire.
5. Refine Your Onboarding Process
A well-structured onboarding program can help new hires feel welcome, understand their role, and succeed in their new position. Focus on:
- Creating a structured onboarding programme that extends beyond the first week.
- Assigning mentors to new hires
- Regularly checking in with new employees to address any issues promptly
Effective onboarding improves retention and helps new hires become productive more quickly.
I - Interviews
As mentioned above, it is a scientifically proven fact that traditional (unstructured) interviews are unreliable. While much less popular, structured interviews are far more powerful in terms of predicting actual job performance. Structured interviews enable hiring managers to make personal connections with candidates while minimising the impact of bias.
How to conduct structured interviews
Structured interviews eliminate most biases and subjectivity via standardisation. All candidates are asked the same questions, which are job-related and carefully crafted to measure the candidates’ specific skills, competencies and experiences. Random, brainteaser questions should be avoided.
First, lists of job-related questions have to be written down, tested and validated. Weighting is assigned to each question according to its relative importance.
The questions then have to be delivered to each candidate in a consistent manner, and the candidates’ responses have to be carefully scored during the interviews.
Each question is assigned a certain weight, for they are not equally important. The interviewers should also score each answer immediately rather than wait until the end of the session to avoid biases like recency and availability.
Ideally, the list of questions will be reviewed and updated from time to time to ensure their relevance and effectiveness. It also helps prevent candidates from obtaining the questions from previous interviewees and practising their responses in advance.
Why structured interviews work
The underpinning of structured interviews is rather simple—how candidates behaved in the past is the best predictor of their future performance. Typically, two kinds of questions appear in a structured interview—behavioural and situational.
Behavioural questions require candidates to describe what they actually achieved or experienced in their prior jobs. For instance, “Tell me about a project that you failed to complete” or “Tell me about a time when you had to work with people you dislike.”
Situational questions require candidates to explain how they would handle specific, job-related situations. For instance, “What would you do if your boss rejected most of your ideas?” or “What would you do if you were assigned a task you are not trained to do?”
This approach reduces bias and improves the likelihood of selecting the right candidate.
A - Analytics
The HR department is currently sitting on a mountain of data relating to not just the potential candidates but also the current employees, such as their performance, job history, compensation, training, etc.
As a result, the HR department has to seek better ways to mine and leverage the overflowing data.
The ultimate benefit of people analytics is to increase the cost-effectiveness of the talent acquisition function by:
- Helping the recruiters save time with automated processes which otherwise can be labour intensive.
- Making quality hiring decisions as cognitive bias is now eliminated.
- Aligning hiring objectives with business goals, predicting future growth.
The purpose of utilising analytics in HR is to not only compile the employees' data but also use the data to model and predict capabilities to optimise the organisation’s investment in its human capital.
While many organisations recognise the immense benefits that people analytics bring, very few actually have the capabilities to march on in this area. The question is, how do you implement HR analytics in your organisation? Well, you can start off with these steps:
- Step 1: Establish a culture that encourages fact-based decision-making. This involves being adventurous, tolerant towards mistakes, and able to deep dive into data instead of relying on mere opinion and gut feelings.
- Step 2: Assess your current pain points and set realistic and specific goals prior to collecting the data. Various talent management solutions nowadays offer built-in analytics capability. As many service providers also offer free trials, this is a great chance to test out the suitability of the software with your own data.
- Step 3: Translate the results of your data collection and analysis and proceed with the next step in your talent management strategy.
While it's impossible to eliminate the risk of bad hires completely, this strategy can significantly reduce their frequency and impact. By implementing these best practices, you'll not only cut costs but also build a more effective, cohesive workforce. Remember, every great hire is an investment in your company's future success.
Curious about what a modern hiring process may look like? Download our white paper and find out.
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