The biggest mistake managers and HR employees make is to believe that seemingly simple, ordinary jobs can be done by anyone. For this, it is thought to be enough to divide the job into its parts, then define in detail how the job will be done and then supervise it. However, even the simplest job requires special talent. Corporate performance is based on the interaction of three factors: employee, management quality and corporate culture. This is similar to the relationship between good seeds, suitable climate and suitable soil required to obtain a good harvest. Detailed definitions and explanations made by dividing the job into its parts only make “average” performance possible. As a result, I see that after a while, performance evaluation systems are forced to reward average performance. Recruitments where the person to be hired is decided by the directly responsible manager and this is done through a unique interview. Such managers think that they “see the person through his eyes” and often choose their own mirror dreams. Simulations are, in a sense, situational tests. Like every test with scientific validity, simulations are standardized processes that numerically reveal the characteristics of the candidate in the area they want to measure. Simulations differ from pen-and-paper tests in many ways. In contrast to the direct questions of skill and personality tests, simulation applications are quite complex. The problems encountered in simulations are similar to those encountered in daily business life. Although it is undoubtedly not possible to create the exact same problems as business life, simulation applications are much more reliable than paper-and-pencil tests.
The biggest mistake managers and HR staff make is to believe that seemingly simple, ordinary tasks can be done by anyone. To do this, it is thought that dividing the task into its parts, then defining in detail how the task will be done, and then supervising it is sufficient. However, even the simplest task requires special skills.
For a nurse to learn how to give an injection, 3-4 trials on a mannequin and 10 applications under observation are enough. Later, a nurse who gives 20 injections on her own becomes an expert in this subject. However, as someone who has worked in a hospital for 20 years, I know that most patients have a preference for the nurse who will give them the injection, and this preference is mostly concentrated on the same people. It is not possible to achieve high performance without understanding what makes the preferred nurses special and without looking for this feature.
Corporate Performance
Corporate performance is based on the interaction of three factors; employee, management quality and corporate culture. This is similar to the relationship between good seed, favorable climate and suitable soil required to obtain a good harvest. In this analogy, the working seed is the climate; the management quality is the climate; and the ground provided by the shareholders or the institution is the soil. Each of these is important. However, the quality of the seed has a decisive effect on business results in every respect. Because every wrong choice imposes measurable and not directly measurable costs on the institution. Then, the promotions made from these wrong choices form the climate (management quality).
Therefore, I think the most realistic of Murphy’s rules is: “Everyone is promoted to the last point where they will fail.” The most common examples on this subject are encountered in sales organizations. A successful salesperson is promoted to a position such as manager or chief. However, successfully performing a one-dimensional task such as sales and managing a team and achieving sustainable success through them require different characteristics.
Mistakes and Rights in Recruitment
The recruitment cost required to fill a position, when the training expenses for this person are taken into account, varies between 30% and 150% of the annual salary to be paid for that position.
If the cost of incorrect recruitment, failure to achieve expected performance, and the cost of mistakes made during the employee’s inexperience are added, the dimensions of the damage incurred exceed the above costs.
Validity coefficients of recruitment methods (*)
- Random selection (0)
- Unstructured interview (0.1)
- Structured interview (0.2)
- Interview + Psychometric Tests (0.4-0.5)
- Interview + Psychometric Tests + Simulations (0.4-0.6)
*(According to Hogan Assesment Systems data)
I can group the wrong practices in the field of human resources under the following headings.
- Recruitments where the person to be hired is decided by the manager directly responsible and this is done with a unique interview. Such managers think that they “see the person through their eyes” and they usually choose their own mirror dreams. Recruitments where the person to be hired is decided by the manager directly responsible and this is done with a unique interview. Such managers think that they “see the person through their eyes” and they usually choose their own mirror dreams.
- Recruitments made with “structured interviews” where HR is also involved in the process. Research shows that all types of structured interviews lose their objective feature after a while as a result of the “shortcuts” implemented by their practitioners.
- Recruitments made with non-standardized tests. Recruitments made with tests that are mostly from abroad and whose carelessness can be easily understood from the Turkish. These also include tests from the headquarters of some international companies abroad.
- Recruitments made with panel interviews attended by multiple managers who have not received the necessary training. Psychological tests are sometimes added to such recruitments. However, interviewers usually ignore them because they do not know how to interpret them.
However, an ideal recruitment application should generally go through the following stages.
- General aptitude and personality test application
- Assessment center applications including simulations
- A semi-structured interview not exceeding 45 minutes with the participation of the HR manager and the candidate’s manager who take these results into consideration
Simulations Make a Difference
A simulation application based on scientific foundations provides evidence that will convince even the most skeptical people in terms of predicting the candidate’s future performance. Because an assessment center study that includes simulation applications; It provides objective results that reduce the margin of error regarding recruitment, management-level appointments and development needs within the institution.
Simulations are situational tests in a sense. Like every test with scientific validity, simulations are standardized processes that numerically reveal the candidate’s characteristics in the field they are intended to measure. Simulations differ from pen-and-paper tests in many ways. In contrast to the direct questions of skill and personality tests, simulation applications are quite complex. The problems encountered in simulations are similar to the problems encountered in daily business life. Although it is undoubtedly not possible to create exactly the same problems as business life, simulation applications are much more reliable than paper-and-pencil tests.
Another important difference between paper-and-pencil tests and simulations is related to the observed behaviors. Paper-and-pencil tests reveal the complex thought process, not the observable behaviors of a verbal or numerical problem solution. In contrast, simulation applications require the demonstration of complex, clear and observable behaviors such as making a presentation, talking to others or solving problems as a group.
The third and most important difference between paper-and-pencil tests and simulation applications is in the evaluation processes. While paper-and-pencil tests are evaluated by counting and collecting the correct answers, simulation applications allow the dimensions of the evaluated behavior to be interpreted and require trained experts to evaluate the candidate’s level of competence in each dimension.
The concept of dimension is used in the sense of behavioral groups that are defined, observable, logical and reliable. These are different from qualifications. Because the dimensions measured by simulation are observable behaviors; qualifications are the personality traits underlying the behaviors.
There are differences between the tools used to predict a person’s job performance.
In the performance area, the determined, observable skills and behaviors required for the job are on the right end in the figure below and these are called examples.
Data that reveal more abstract characteristics of situations that differ from those experienced in the work environment are called symptoms and fall at the other end. The tools at this end provide indirect information about the behaviors required for the job. For example, intelligence is not a behavior that can be observed directly. Therefore, the candidate’s performance in an intelligence test is considered an indication of intelligent behavior.
Conclusion
Recruitments that are not made with an assessment center that does not include multiple simulations in accordance with the work performance model are a very strong threat to institutional performance and one of the most important causes of inefficiency. Because today, candidates come to the interview with information about how to behave in “recruitment” interviews, even in the most ordinary universities. It is not uncommon to observe that the candidate is more “professional” and consistent than the interviewer he/she directed the interview to in many interviews.
In order not to pay multifaceted costs later, the recruitment process must be taken seriously for every level and position. Although it may seem at first glance that this lengthens the process and increases costs, complying with the three steps of an ideal recruitment practice that we have mentioned above is actually the most economical method.
Prof. Dr. Acar Baltaş
https://kaynakbaltas.com/kultur/bedeli-simdi-mi-sonra-mi-odemek-istersiniz/
