One of the major reasons to use an assessment is to ascertain if a candidate is actually capable of doing the job. While there other ways to accomplish this, such as reviewing references and resumes, these approaches can fall short. Unfortunately, employers often do a poor job of actually checking references and many of us don’t verify a candidate’s educational history. (There haven been some well-documented cases of people in high profile positions who don’t have the background they claimed. For example, there is the former director of admissions at MIT didn’t have any of the degrees listed on her resume and George O’Leary who was the head football coach at Notre Dame for 5 days until it was discovered that both his claims to have played college football and having a graduate degree were false.)

Another challenge in credentials verification is the apparent growth of degree granting universities that may not have particularly stringent academic standards. There is growing concern  about U.S. military personnel getting degrees (almost wholly paid for by the government) from propriety, for profit institutions. While the students who enroll in these programs do so with good intentions, they often discover their degrees are not well-regarded by employers because of the nature of the schools. In a similar vein, there is a physics professor at the University of Illinois who has essentially been on a crusade against diploma mills, businesses often based outside the United States where one can essentially purchase a degree without fulfilling any requirements at all. When it comes to vetting a job candidate’s credentials, it is important the employers have a way of verifying that an individual actually has the qualifications to do the job well. Whether it be with looking into a candidate’s credentials or using an assessment, this is critical information to have before making a hiring decision.

Reid Klion

While yesterday's post looked at where the jobs are anticipated to be in the coming decade, it is also helpful to see what happened over the past 10 years in terms of employment. Overall, the picture was not rosy. Indeed, the past decade saw no net job creation. In a similar vein, many households are making less money now (when adjusted for inflation) than they were 10 years ago. While the pain this has created is real, it also should be noted that some of this is due to measurement issues as the late 1990s were times marked by economic growth largely fueled by an investment bubble that subsequently burst while we are currently working through some economic issues that haven’t been seen since prior to the Second World War. As a result, the past decade is bracketed between a high point and what is an historic low.

All that being said, one can only hope that the early signs of improvement in the job picture continue to emerge. Additionally, the trend toward workers returning to school for additional training as well as the emergence of specialized training programs can only lead toward increasing the overall value of the pool of human capital that is available.

Reid Klion

Best wishes for 2010! The past several days have been an opportunity for many to take some time from work and enjoy family and friends. The end of the year (and, in this case, what is arguably the end of a decade), is also a time for reflection and anticipation.

In turning attention to human capital and workforce development, one topic to consider is where job growth will be in the coming decade. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the high growth positions will be in professional/business services, health care, and service industries while manufacturing will continue to dwindle. The positions with the highest growth potential are seen to be in the management, scientific, and technical consulting services while the greatest anticipated losses are expected to be in textile and apparel manufacturing. Here is a nice graphic representing the BLS data.

While unemployment still hovers around 10%, there are some recent signs of improvement. However, there are concerns that much of the job growth is in lower skilled positions, especially in home health care, customer service, and food preparation as well as the realization that the days of well-paid factory work largely may be a thing of the past. Interestingly, the best-paying positions in which there is substantial growth but require limited training is long-haul truck driving.

Reid Klion

There is an old saying that an economic downturn turns into a depression as soon as you lose your job. With the current unemployment rate now at 10% (and down a bit from October’s high of 10.2%), there are substantial numbers of people who are  unable to find work. A recent New York Times/CBS News poll documents some of the common issues faced by the unemployed ranging from the obvious financial hardships to mental health issues and family conflict. Consistent with other reports, a healthy number are considering job re-training or a return to school.

In terms of the future, Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize winner for economics, is concerned that job creation efforts have not gone far enough.  (He also makes tthe interesting point out that the economy needs to add over 100,000 jobs a month simply to keep up with population growth.) While he believes that the government did the right thing in stabilizing the banks last year, efforts have not been sufficient on the job front. However, rather than viewing the cup as half-empty, others see some positive news on the horizon. For example, unemployment claims are edging downward, there are increases in productivity, and seasonal hiring is at its highest level since 2004. Regardless, it is clear that the current economic situation has created substantial difficulty for millions (as well as for the business who want to thrive). We can only hope that these early signs of improvement are a signal of things to come.

Reid Klion

In the past, I have blogged about testing in China and Korea.  While we often thinking of standardized testing as a Western phenomenon, it really has its roots over 2000 years ago in the Chinese imperial exam system with the concept later being adopted in the East in the 19th century.

The scale of some of these Asian programs is quite impressive (as well as is the potential for high profile problems which I will blog about tomorrow in regard to recent issues in India with delivery of their equivalent of the GMAT). At the end last month, nearly a million candidates took the Chinese Civil Service Examination. Attributed to the economic slowdown, the number of test takers (photos) has increased by a factor of 15 since 2003. Given there are only 15,000 openings for a million test takers, the stakes are impressively high. These government positions are often coveted for their stability and are sometimes referred to as the "Iron Rice Bowl."

Reid Klion

I read an interesting article the other day on the psychological challenges faced by financial professionals in light of the investment market plummet of the past year. Written by a gentleman originally trained as a clinical psychologist who has spent the past 25 years as an investment advisor, he outlines a number of stressors and dynamics facing this group of professionals.

• Loss of faith in the fundamental investment  theories that underlie the models followed by investment professionals which completely failed to predict potential losses of this speed and magnitude.
• Subsequent revelations about the investment industry have also proven unsettling, leaving professionals to doubt the credibility of their own organization.
• Guilt and helplessness about the losses faced by clients
•  Personal losses in investments and retirement plans (with the latter often being in parent company stock).
• Concerns about the future in a profession and industry that suddenly became wholly unpredictable.

Given it is written for an audience of clinical psychologists, the article becomes a bit technical in spots. However, it provides a rather unique perspective on some issues that I honestly had not given much thought and is worth a look if it captures your interest.

Reid Klion

Since the economic crisis emerged over a year ago, there has been a rash of reports on the influx of students into post-secondary institutions, especially community and technical colleges. Here is the most recent from the Economist. In addition to citing economic factors, the article also points to a number of other dynamics that contribute to this trend. First, post-secondary enrollment rates have been going up for several years. Increasing the pool of potential students, the percentage of young people who fail to complete high school has shrunk from nearly 16% to less than 10% over the past 30 years. Additionally, the current economic woes have driven home the point that the availability of well-paying unskilled labor jobs has dropped precipitously over the past two decades marked by cataclysmic changes in the U.S. automotive industry as well as the trend toward the outsourcing of manufacturing

It is clear that the current upsurge of interest in training is in part influenced by the perception by many that they have no other viable options. However, it is hard to think there are not some silver linings in the grey clouds. First, while there are no guarantees that additional training will definitely lead to a job offer at the end of the line, it is hard to think that a broadened skill set will decrease an individual’s employability, especially if schooling is in a skill with high demand. From a broader societal perspective, there also seem to be few negatives in increasing the value of the nation’s human capital which will benefit us all in the long run.

Reid Klion

In light of all the current excitement in the world of professional sports with the World Series finishing up this week, the NFL heating up, and the NBA season starting, a frequent topic of discussion is player salaries. This seems particularly salient given that the New York Yankee’s payroll for 2009 tops 200 million dollars.

When I hear these numbers, it brings to mind a Sports Illustrated article from earlier this year documenting the poor job that most athletes do in managing their money. While many of us cast a bit of an envious eye on the salaries that some top athletes make (for example, Tiger Woods was estimated to have made $110 million last year), the statistics on athletes who wind up broke despite multi-million dollar paydays is staggering. Some interesting statistics:

• Within 5 years of retirement, 60% of NBA players are broke.
• Within two years of retirement, 78% of NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress.
• Divorce rates for athletes range from 60-80%. Emotional issues aside, this also tends to have a major negative financial impact, especially if there are children involved.

The article outlines a number of contributing factors. Some of the most common are naiveté about financial affairs (certainly not uncommon for most folks in their early 20s) poor decisions about whom to trust (especially when it comes to managing millions of dollars), and a desire for tangible investments in things like businesses and real estate that seem easier to understand (though are almost always riskier) than stocks and bonds.

Reid Klion

We are often concerned about the role of self-presentation during hiring situations. For example, much attention has been devoted to understanding hown “faking good” may impact personality assessments, the potential role of cheating on exams, and the fact that people tend to exaggerate their qualifications during interview situations. That being the case, at least the folks who engage in these behaviors are making an effort to present themselves in a positive light (and, as have some like Bob Hogan argue, the ability and willingness to present oneself positively is often a critical job qualification in and of itself).

In contrast, consider those individuals who fail to put their best foot forward when applying for a job (and the reaction this tends to elicit from hiring personnel). For example, virtually all of us can recount instances of job candidates who have multiple misspellings on their résumés, manifest a complete lack of phone etiquette, and the like.  To this end, a recent CNN article took an informal survey of hiring managers on some of the grossly inappropriate behaviors they have seen during interviews. These include job candidates answering cell phones during an interview, acting bizarrely, and being completely uninformed about the company or what it does. While it has been well-established that non-structured interviews are poor predictors of future job performance, it is also clear that certain interview behaviors are too salient and extreme to be ignored even by the most heavily research-based interviewer.

Reid Klion

Awareness and prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace has been a major concern for the past several years. In 2008, the EEOC received almost 15,000 complaints of sexual harassment with employers having to pay nearly $50 million in resultant benefits.

There have been growing concerns about the role of e-mail and text messaging in this, and a recent SHRM article outlines some of these issues. The piece makes a couple of excellent points about how social networking sites can lead to a blurring of the line between the social and work domains (where behavior acceptable in one’s personal life may not be appropriate for the workplace) and how the informal and spontaneous nature of texting may lead to types of communication that might not take place if a different medium were used.

The challenge for HR professionals lies in providing appropriate workplace training to educate employees about the potential negative implications of their behavior as well as of the appropriate use of company resources.  Employees should also likely be reminded that their workplace electronic communications typically can be accessed in the case of a complaint. For example, records of inappropriate text messages between the ex-mayor of Detroit and his chief of staff were one set of factors that lead to his eventual resignation. The bottom line is that employees need to be aware of policies regarding sexual harassment and that they still pertain whether an interaction is electronic or in person.

Reid Klion

Thomas Friedman, well-known author and columnist, recently wrote  about the workers he labels the “untouchables.” He argues that those individuals who have the imagination and drive to “invent smarter ways to do old jobs, energy-saving ways to provide new services, new ways to attract old customers or new ways to combine existing technologies” are the people who are critical to organizations that want to be successful in today’s economic environment. As a result, these employees will always be of great value. In contrast, average workers who can only carry out routine work are becoming increasingly endangered because many of these tasks can be automated or outsourced. Friedman further points out how our educational system needs to find ways to increase the number of students with high level problem solving and analytic skills and have a spirit of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. However, until that day (and if it ever comes), it is incumbent upon employers to carefully select and build a workforce comprised of individuals who can truly create value for their organization.

Reid Klion

Back in August, Charles Handler of Rocket-Hire released his annual Online Assessment Usage Survey. Surveying almost 150 persons who work in the areas of recruitment and hiring, he found that approximately 2/3 of respondents use assessments. Of those using assessments, almost a third report using online processes exclusively. The types of assessments that are most broadly used are personality measures, tests of skills and knowledge, and cognitive tools. He has yet to release the full report but will forward a copy when it is complete. Charles is about the only the only independent source of information on online assessment  and is certainly one of the foremost experts in the area.

Reid Klion

A few months ago, I took on the role of mentor in one of the organizations that I participate in outside of work.  When I enrolled in the program, I hadn’t served in a mentor role before and sought the guidance of others to make sure my mentee had a positive experience.  Fortunately, the program had information and suggestions for both me in my role as the mentor as well as for my mentee.

Checklist in hand, I set up the “get to know you” meeting.  We met and learned the basic facts about each other (jobs, families, hobbies, etc.) and then I spent some finding out what she wanted to know, learn, or walk away with from the experience.  Since this mentoring experience was through our golf organization, I assumed that her goal was to improve her score.  But I was wrong; she wanted to learn some basic rules, how to set up a tee time, how to keep score, and other etiquette so she would be comfortable playing with friends and colleagues.  

We spent some time on those goals the first night and I could tell she really wanted to learn and grow, based on the types of questions she asked and the enthusiasm she showed.  Our next meeting happened to be during one of our league nights where we were paired with two others from the organization. I could tell she was nervous, but as the round progressed she put into action the items she learned and saw that she was not out-of-place at all.  In our other meetings since then, her confidence has only continued to grow as she becomes more and more comfortable on the course.

I was able to see what my mentee learned from the experience, but I’m not sure she realizes the impact she had on me.  I already knew the skills she wanted to learn, but realized that I took them for granted.  I found myself stopping and explaining my automatic movements such as where to park the cart or where on the green to lay the flagstick.  I would see her excitement when she hit a good shot or made a long putt and realized the simple joy the game can bring for people at  different levels of experience.  As a single mother of three (all under 5), I realized the sacrifices she made in order to achieve her goals.  Outside of our time together, I found myself playing with a slightly different perspective; not as concerned about my score and instead appreciating the good moments in the round and trying to help others as they needed it.   

Reflecting back, mentoring was definitely a positive experience for me. I am certainly interested in doing it again, especially now that I better understand the impact it can have on others.

Jenni Ginsburg

John Callender (Biodata Online) and Jack Smith (Kingwood Group), two respected testing and assessment experts and long-time pan content partners, will  discuss how the current economic climate impacts recruitment and assessment strategies.  Some of the topics to be covered include how investing in assessments makes economic sense and the potential benefits and consequences of shifting to a lower cost assessment program. Please join us!

Thursday, September 17 @ 1PM ET     Register

Reid Klion

IPAC (formerly known as IPMAAC) will be holding its annual conference in conjunction with IPMA-HR on September 12-16 in Nashville. IPAC is comprised of individuals who are interested in public sector selection and assessment. As it has for the past several years, pan is pleased to be a conference sponsor. Additionally, Nate Studebaker will present on his work with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services that helped to streamline their assessment process while I will participate in panel discussion on technology trends in assessment. We hope to see you there!

Reid Klion

Despite months of gloomy financial forecasts, the bright light at the end of the dark and dreary economic tunnel has consistently been that “things can only get better.”  Although no one knows when, we all know that things will start to improve eventually.  Organizations need to be ready for this economic turnaround so that they can ultimately prevail in the talent war that will most certainly arise.  To obtain the best and the brightest, as well as retain existing talent, they will have to become creative in offering up various incentives.  

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), for example, has already initiated activity to enrich the array of work/life balance program that are currently offered.  For starters, they have begun surveying existing federal workforce employees to determine which programs will be most beneficial to them in the future.  In addition to more traditional offerings such as child care centers, they are considering adult care centers to provide coverage for the aging parents of today’s workforce.

For organizations that currently have few if any work/life balance programs in place, they need not be intimidated by the prospect of raising the necessary funds to implement them from scratch.  Following the lead of several federal agencies, private organizations may be well-served to consider partnering with other organizations to capitalize on sharing existing benefits.  For instance, an organization that already has an in-house fitness center could consider offering access to the employees of another organization in exchange for a benefit that they currently provide (e.g., in-house daycare).  Alternatively, an organization in need of benefits such as fitness center access could offer to contribute funds to hire additional staff or to expand the size of the facility so that their employees could jointly utilize the center.

In sum, as the hiring cycle begins to pick back up and candidates have more and more employment options from which to choose, organizations are going to have to present prospective employees with work-life balance options that “sweeten the employment offer” if they intend to remain viable and emerge from this recession potentially stronger than before.

Lori Ferzandi

Coping with stressful situations in the workplace can be a challenge for us all. While the role of exercise in managing stress are well understood, I was intrigued by a recent study by the Center for Creative Leadership that identified an additional benefit of exercise—leadership effectiveness. In a rather unique approach, researchers took a sample of 360º multi-rater feedback data and compared the results of those leaders who exercise and those who don’t. They found that the exercisers were rated higher than non-exercisers on their overall level of leadership effectiveness. Those who exercised also scored higher on behaviors including inspiring commitment, credibility, leading others by example, energy, calmness and resilience. While starting a workout program won’t necessarily lead to a direct improvement in leadership skills, the importance of exercise in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and increasing overall effectiveness at work can’t be minimized.

Reid Klion

A few weekends back, I was at home watching a golf tournament on TV.  As I’m sitting on the couch, I see the familiar faces of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Anthony Kim making their way around the course.  But during one stretch of action, something caught my eye – player after player wearing Nike apparel.  I thought back to my junior (pre-Tiger) golf days when Nike had a limited golf line with just the basics – shirts, shoes, socks, hats, and the like. Now, though, you can head to your local sporting goods store and pick up Nike golf balls, bags, headcovers, and even clubs.  It is amazing what one endorsement contract has done for that company.

Thinking about what Tiger Woods did for Nike Golf, I wonder if organizations encounter the same situation. Can one superstar employee make a huge difference to a company? Probably so – a story in Inc. cited a case where a programmer at a technology company developed an idea that eventually became a seven-figure revenue generator. In light of stories like that, you have to wonder, What could the one right person do for my company?  And more importantly, how do you find that employee who can help take your business to another level?  

I think there are multiple answers to that question. First, organizations should use the right pre-hire selection criteria. Utilizing valid pre-employment assessments, behavioral interviews, and situational judgment tests can help you to identify high potential job candidates who possess characteristics such as diligence, creativity, and ambition. Once employees are on the job, it is important to foster an organizational culture that encourages idea sharing and open communication. You could host an online discussion forum for idea sharing or sponsor idea generation drives to motivate employees to “think outside the box.” Finally, it is important to invest in employee professional development. Providing opportunities for individuals to grow and learn may lead them to develop ideas they never would have thought of otherwise. In addition, investing in your employees’ development is likely to increase their organizational engagement and may motivate them to contribute at an even higher level to the overall success of the business.

Jenni Ginsburg

I recently came across an article in which an HR director was lamenting the suitability of a rather large candidate pool for a single casino maintenance position.  While numerous applicants appeared well-qualified on paper, in-person or phone interviews revealed that many of these folks were just not willing to play by the hiring organization’s rules. They wanted things like smoke breaks, medical benefits, and vacation time--all on their terms.  If the organization could not provide these things exactly as they wanted, then they were no longer interested in the position.  

Needless to say, the HR director was dumbstruck by this brazen, egocentric, “it’s all about me” attitude, especially in light of current economic conditions.  In the end, though, human nature is still human nature.  Economic crisis or not, personalities do not suddenly change overnight.  An individual who lacked drive, initiative, and motivation at this time last year, is unlikely to have transformed him or herself into a highly motivated, reach for the stars kind of team player simply because the security of the financial system came crashing down.  The fact remains that most people continue to manifest the same personal competencies (or lack thereof) this year that they always have. As a result, HR directors are finding themselves faced with having many more candidates, but not necessarily more talent.

One of the implications is that behavioral assessments may be even more viable than ever as HR tools to be used in weeding out those individuals who possess the required skill-set on paper but lack the “will do” attitude. While it has always been critical for organizations to select candidates who have the required competencies, it has been decades since organizations have found themselves faced with such large candidate pools for so few positions.  Even the largest of organizations simply do not have the resources required to screen each and every candidate with in-person or telephone interview.  Online behavioral assessments offer a potential solution to this employment paradox.  With the capability to administer hundreds of online assessments (in the same amount of time required to administer a single interview), HR directors can accommodate larger candidate pools in an efficient manner to find what may be a needle in the haystack in terms of exceptional talent.  

Lori Ferzandi

Sarah Palin’s recent decision to step down as Governor of Alaska made headlines as  many were surprised by her decision to leave the post.  Regardless of your feelings about this, chances are good that Alaska will be just fine in the wake of her departure.  By the time she leaves her job, Alaska’s Lieutenant Governor, Sean Parnell, should be ready and able to steer the ship. Although he was not elected to the post, it is likely that he will be up to the challenge of leading the state until the next gubernatorial election.

For elected officials, there is often a second in command ready to take the reins when needed. This long-established public sector practice is an example of succession planning that private sector organizations can learn from.  Too often, organizational knowledge and strategy are in the hands of a few people at the top.  Regardless of industry and mission, companies should spend the time and effort needed to prepare the next generation of leaders for the tasks that await them. Succession plans that are thoughtfully developed and implemented can ensure that the organization grows effectively over time, regardless of who is in charge.  In addition, by engaging top performers in succession planning activities, organizations can retain their superstars and take full advantage of their capabilities and talent.

Jocelyn Courtney-Hays

Given one of the things we do here at pan is to help employers to select and develop  people, I pay some attention to the larger labor market. As we all know, hiring is down and unemployment is now around 9% according to May 2009 reports from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. As a result, one of the things that I find interesting are reports of industries or occupations that continue to do well despite the overall economic situation. For example, there is still a strong demand for positions such as critical care nursing, electrical linemen, and welders. A couple of commonalities among these positions is that they require significant technical skill and require work that is physically demanding. (If you don’t think bedside nursing is physically challenging, just ask a nurse!)

A somewhat similar story can be found internationally. According the Manpower’s recently released Talent Shortage Survey, the most difficult positions to fill globally are skilled manual trades, sales representatives, and technicians who work in the areas of production, operations, engineering and maintenance. The Manpower report goes on to indicate that in down economic times, employers need to do more with less and that workforce planning and selection are even more critical because every employee needs to make a difference.

Reid Klion

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about the Partnership for Public Service report on the human capital challenges facing the federal government. One of the takeaway messages was the consensus that the federal HR system is in need of major overhaul. Today, there was an article in the Washington Post about John Berry, director of the Office of Personnel Management, and his plans to revamp federal HR management practices. His key initiatives are to reform the government's recruiting and hiring practices, improve the federal workplace, and increase federal work opportunities for veterans.  Consistent with the Partnership's report, it appears there is broad recognition that the federal hiring process is need of major reform. It is also heartening that Berry appears to have President Obama's support in doing so though the real challenge will come in his ability to affect change at the agency level.

Reid Klion

A pan team member recently sent me an online Pepsi commercial that got me thinking that many organizations likely find themselves facing philosophically similar hiring issues.

The current economic conditions have resulted in increasingly larger candidate pools. In turn, hiring managers have found themselves up against the wall with not enough time to thoroughly evaluate all candidates. Fortunately, there are solutions. pan has assisted numerous organizations in creating more efficient and reliable employee selection processes.

pan’s solutions are scientifically-grounded and are available to all types of organizations, private, public, or public sector. Furthermore, each and every solution is customized to meet the client’s needs, which ultimately ensures that solutions are never hampered by job type, candidate pool size, or other challenging workplace situations.

In a recent pan case study, our client, PDS, was challenged to research and develop an employee selection process that would lower worker compensation claims and costs. pan worked with them to assess the most qualified candidates based on a set of criteria.

Rest assured, you don’t have to settle for leftovers. A pan-based solution will free up valuable time and resources and ensure that only the best and the brightest find their way into your organization.

As always, please feel free to post your comments - we would love to hear your interview stories, learn more about your current selection process, or share with you more information about pan.

Sarah Lacey

I recently had the opportunity to hear John Palguta of the Partnership for Public Service speak on the federal human resource challenges faced by the Obama administration. (This was at the May 2009 luncheon meeting of the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington, DC sponsored by pan.)

Some of John’s key points were:

• The average federal worker is about 47 years old.
  
• Despite the economy, it is estimated that over 384,000 workers will leave federal employment within the next 4 years.
  
• Coupled with expected increases in federal employment due to economic recovery efforts, it is anticipated that nearly 600,000 federal jobs will need to be filled by 2013. 

On the positive side, there is an almost unprecedented level of interest amongst young people in federal service with millions of applications already having been received. Unfortunately, there is broad consensus within the government that many aspects of the federal HR system--to include recruitment, selection, and compensation--are broken.

John’s presentation was based upon a recent survey of high-ranking human capital officers working for the federal government. The report contains additional detail as well as several suggestions for improvement.

Reid Klion