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Why Use a Cognitive Reasoning Ability Assessment Test?

January 28, 2020/in General, Assessments /by Phil Devendorf

Cognitive assessments are scientific measurement tools designed and validated by psychometricians. They are used with candidates and employees to help assess job fit. There are problem solving questions using words and numbers, number and shape sequences, and a variety of other question types. Results are used as objective data to understand how a person learns, adapts to change, and solves problems.

Why is Measuring Cognitive Ability Important in Business?

Research shows that cognitive reasoning ability has a very high correlation to job performance. Having the right cognitive fit for the job is key to retention, productivity, and employee engagement. Cognitive reasoning assessments tell an employer how quickly a candidate or existing employee will learn a job and how quickly they can adapt as the job or environment changes. Some jobs require employees to learn at a fast pace, process a lot of information, and solve problems quickly. Other jobs are repetitive, and once you learn them, you simply repeat the process over and over. It’s all about job fit.

If you put someone with lower cognitive reasoning ability into a job that requires processing a lot of information and/or solving complex problems, they will not fit the job and their performance will be below expectations. On the other hand, if you put a person with high cognitive skills into a repetitive job, they will be bored, disengaged, and are likely to quit. A cognitive assessment test provides objective information that you can’t get from traditional hiring methods such as applications, resumes, and interviews. The objective nature of the data also helps to overcome bias by interviewers and managers.

Examples of Cognitive Reasoning in Business

Think of a salesperson who sells a complicated technical product. First, they need to learn the technical details of the product. Second, technology is changing at a rapid pace so they are constantly learning new features and capabilities. When a salesperson talks with a prospective client, the client shares a lot of information about their situation and needs. The salesperson needs to gather that information, process and analyze it, provide a solution, and communicate back to the client in a short timeframe. A top performing sales person must have a high cognitive reasoning ability.

Other jobs requiring high cognitive skills include customer service, engineering, information technology, research, analytics, financial, medical, management, etc.

If you have a production job that is repetitive and you hire someone with high cognitive skills, you will likely be pleased initially, because the person will learn the job very quickly and become productive very fast. However, if the job doesn’t continue to engage their high cognitive ability they will become bored. We’ve seen people who begin to play games on the job, even begin to bypass safety procedures, and try new approaches just to keep their minds engaged. Ultimately, they will look for a job that is more interesting to them, forcing you to return to your recruiting process to replace them. You may have a number of jobs that are fairly repetitive. You should look for someone whose cognitive reasoning ability fits the job.

See more information on pre-employment assessment tests and employee talent assessment tests on our website.

What to look for in a Cognitive Reasoning Assessment Test

There are a number of options available. Some only measure cognitive ability while others combine cognitive, personality, and interests, to assess the total person and overall fit with the job. We advise the latter. The more information you have about a candidate or employee, the better hiring, onboarding and management decisions you will make.

Some things to look for:

Proof of reliability and validity
The vendor should provide a document or book that shows they have done a thorough research study showing the assessment is accurate and measures what is advertised. The psychometric industry provides guidelines in this area.
Ease of administration and use
You will want an assessment that is easy to administer, usually on-line. Results should be easy for recruiters and hiring managers to understand, without extensive training or certifications.
Timeliness
A good assessment test is scored immediately and reports are emailed to the appropriate people. management can make timely decisions.
Candidate experience
If the assessment is too long or too difficult for the job, the participant may get fatigued and anxious, which could affect the outcome. A candidate’s overall experience with your company will be more positive if you are using an appropriate assessment.
Benchmarks
Job fit can indicate the best match for your job and culture.
Reporting
Some reports suggest interview questions and coaching advice based on your benchmark. Additional reports can be run for candidate, management, promotion, team analysis, and more.
Investment
The value of the assessment information must be higher than the cost and time to implement.

PDServices offers a suite of assessments developed for different jobs and job types. They include entry level / hourly, mid-level, and higher level jobs. These assessments include cognitive reasoning ability, personality traits, honesty and integrity, and occupational interest measures that are appropriate for the job level.

It’s easy and affordable. Let’s discuss how assessment testing can benefit your company! Contact us today at 740-397-4928.

Hiring Based on Gut Feel and Investing in Bitcoin

January 30, 2019/in Assessments, General, Whitepaper /by Sue Devendorf

Hiring based on gut feel and investing in Bitcoin are both risky ventures depending on the research you have done and the data you have to support your decision!

I am interested by the idea of Bitcoin, but I still don’t really understand it. Its value seems to be based on the perception of its owners and a supply and demand concept. By nature I am very methodical, detailed, and data driven and as yet I am not convinced to invest.

Whether they realize it or not, many employers are hiring based on gut feel. Most employers rely on 2 major pieces of information. A resume (quite possibly exaggerated), and an interview where you generally meet a candidate face to face and get an overall “gut feel” as to whether or not you want to hire this individual.

The Harvard Business Review reported correlations between data available in the hiring process and job performance as indicated below. NOTE that a resume and interview don’t even make the list!

To minimize your risk, you can support your decision with scientific data. You can use assessments to measure how a candidate might fit your particular job. We call this Job Fit or Job Match. Notice in the list above that job experience and personality tests are on the low end of the scale and cognitive and multi-measure tests rate the highest in correlation to predicted job performance.

Our next generation suite of assessments are multi-measure and provide cognitive (or reasoning ability), honesty and integrity measures, personality or behavioral traits, and occupational interests. They generally pay for themselves by saving you the cost of one bad hire. See my article titled How $30 Can Save You $5000 and Help Reduce Turnover

Now, an interesting side note about Bitcoin. Ohio politicians are “banking on” the blockchain technology behind Bitcoin. Ohio will be the first state to allow business tax payments with Bitcoin cryptocurrency. I can only hope I won’t receive a refund in Bitcoin! Or maybe it could be more valuable than I think?

So the next time you hire someone, do your research and support your decision with data. And if you decide to invest in Bitcoin, don’t do it based on your “gut feel”.

Elder Care Front Line Employees Case Study

June 11, 2018/in Assessments, General /by Phil Devendorf

Organizations working with seniors are experiencing high turnover in elder care front line positions. This is frustrating because it is difficult to attract candidates in the first place. PDServices was invited to participate in a case study to help Elder Care organizations improve the quality of new hires and reduce turnover.

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to validate the use and value of entry level assessments for hiring front line employees in elder care.

Approach

Our approach was to create a benchmark of characteristics for high performing, long term employees. Assessments of high and low performing front line employees were completed across multiple elder care organizations. Employees were grouped by job type and performance level for analysis. The goal was to identify where high performers score in various assessment categories. This provides a roadmap or benchmark of desired scores (High, Med, Low or 1 – 18), for each assessment score.

Results

The elder care study validated the benefit in using this assessment for front line hiring and onboarding. The assessment differentiates high performers in different elder care job types and gives the hiring organization a great deal of objective information about a candidate at a remarkably low cost. Using the benchmarks should result in reduced turnover and increased productivity.

Assessment Scales

Can Do
Do they have the learning and reasoning ability to do the job?
Positive Outlook
Optimism toward people and outcomes
People Orientation
Preference in working with and socializing with people
Productivity
Stamina, endurance, and a capacity for a fast pace
Conscientiousness
To work and treat others with honesty and integrity, and to adhere to rules and policies

High Performer Ranges

Position
Care Givers
Front Line

Can Do
High
Med / High

Outlook
11+
9+

People
8 – 15
6 – 12

Conscientiousness
Med / High
Med / High

Top performing Care Givers have high reasoning ability , (Can Do), as their jobs require problem solving and decision making. High Positive Outlook correlates to being able to overcome setbacks, important for Care Givers. Care Givers are mid range on People Orientation. This may seem surprising and although we want them to be pleasant, we also want them to be able to manage their time and not get caught up in small talk at the expense of their duties. Productivity is high but not so high as to lose attention to detail.

Front Line includes maintenance, housekeeping and food service. The jobs here vary a bit and the high performing scores reflect that. Maintenance is generally a problem solver so high Can Do is the best fit. Housekeeping and food service are more repetitive so medium Can Do fits. Mid to high Positive Outlook, People Orientation and Productivity are best fits for these Front Line jobs.

High Conscientiousness is a critical measure for any Care Giver or Front Line employee. These employees often have access to residents’ quarters and build trusting relationships with residents. Honesty and integrity, measured by Conscientiousness, is crucial.

Recommendation

The elder care front line study results show a high correlation between assessment scores and high performers. Using a candidate’s fit to the score ranges above will be a good predictor of fit to the job. Better job fit leads to improved retention and productivity.

It is also important to note the value of this information in on-boarding and managing new hires. If you choose to hire a candidate who isn’t a good fit, their assessment results can help target training areas. By working with the new employee to adapt to any shortcomings, you improve your chance of retaining that employee.

Given the low cost and convenience of these assessments, there is significant value in incorporating these assessments in the elder care hiring process to improve retention and productivity.

Learn more about this assessment for entry level and hourly employees.

Schedule Trial

Contact PDServices today to see how easy and affordable it is.

Contact PDServices at 740-326-4494 or info@PDServices.com

Select Entry Level Hires to Fit Your Job

May 10, 2017/in Assessments, General /by Phil Devendorf

Your entry level hires today are key to the future of your company.

“97% of employers cite that entry-level positions are important to their organizations” (from The State of Entry-Level Employment, March 2017, Rockefeller Foundation)

Most of us see the truth in the statement above. In many industries, our entry-level or hourly employees make our product, deliver our service and/or interface with our customers.

Entry level employees are directly responsible for:

Product / Service Quality
Product / Service Cost
Customer Satisfaction

The same study confirms that a majority of organizations are still relying on outdated hiring practices. These practices often lead to hiring based on first impressions and selecting candidates based on irrelevant factors.

What do we need to know?

Here are three areas that matter when evaluating entry level hires:

Can They Do the Job?

We are good at evaluating physical abilities like lifting and climbing. However, studies show that fitting a candidate’s cognitive abilities with the job, (ability to learn and reasoning ability), is the biggest factor in productivity and retention. Gaining insight into candidate’s cognitive abilities is critical to making good entry level hires.

Lower cognitive abilities are a fit for repetitive jobs while higher cognitive abilities are needed for jobs that require continual learning, decision making and adaptation. Conversely, a candidate with high cognitive skills will be bored in a repetitive job and is likely to quit.

Will They Do the Job?

This is where a candidate’s personality traits come in. For example, understanding if a candidate is people oriented is key if the job requires customer contact. On the other hand, high sociability is a negative if the job requires working alone. Patience and focus might influence job fit for employees making a product or delivering service.

How Will They Approach the Job?

Conscientiousness is important in any entry level position. Conscientiousness tells us the candidate’s tendency to work with honesty and integrity and to follow the rules of the organization. If your employees enter customers homes or have access to sensitive information, conscientiousness is particularly important.

How Do We Improve Selection of Our Entry Level Hires?

Assessment tools targeted for entry level hires can give us good, objective measures of a candidate’s cognitive ability, personality traits and conscientiousness. They help us to evaluate a candidate’s fit with the job. These tools can be surprisingly inexpensive (~$30 per candidate) and are easy to administer.

See our article title How $30 Can Save You $5000 and learn about the cost of Turnover.

Visit PDServices for more information on entry level assessments. Call 740-326-4494 or email info@PDServices.com to request a complimentary entry level assessment.

Contact PDServices today to schedule a demo and learn how we can help your organization!

Make Informed Hiring Decisions

November 28, 2016/in Assessments, General /by Phil Devendorf

At a recent business conference, a number of people told me that they are struggling to hire qualified candidates who perform at or above expectations. Turnover is also a problem. Research shows many CEOs and other executives believe that their competitive advantage and even survival is based on the quality of their employees. That means you must excel in hiring and retaining top performing employees. And how can you do that? By making informed hiring decisions.

One hiring challenge has been “instinctive” hiring, where the interviewer/ hiring manager makes a gut decision based on instinct. A lack of reliable, objective information forces a decision that is not data driven. This gut feel hiring has an average success rate of 25%, meaning that 75% of the time you will end up with an employee who does not meet your expectations in some fashion.

Traditional information sources such as applications, resumes, and interviews all provide candidate information with questionable validity. How can we make good hiring decisions with poor information?

Objective Information

One popular approach to making informed hiring decisions is to gather objective candidate information by using candidate assessments. This has become a $400 million industry and is growing by 8 to 10% annually. Bersin (a Deloitte company) estimates that 90% of top performing organizations use assessments in some fashion.

A Harvard Business Review study found that a candidate’s reasoning ability, personality traits and interests are key indicators of success and retention in a job. Psychometric research supports the HBR findings.

This candidate information is not easily gathered through traditional interviews, applications, etc. Assessments give reliable information on these candidate characteristics.

As an example, high reasoning ability means that the candidate can learn quickly and process large amounts of information effectively. This characteristic is critical to success in information intensive jobs. On the other hand, if the job is repetitive, an employee with high reasoning ability will get bored and disengage, leading to poor performance and/or turnover.

Consider a personality characteristic like People Contact. This is the tendency to be outgoing, people oriented, and to participate with others. A high score in people contact is important to performance in a customer service related job but could be detrimental to an engineer or programmer who needs to work independently for long periods of time.

Our “Workforce” assessment measures Conscientiousness, a measure of one’s willingness to work with honesty and integrity, and to follow rules. Are these characteristics important to your entry level hiring? Do you have any other reliable way to evaluate this candidate characteristic?

Job Fit

Gathering objective information on a candidate’s reasoning ability, behavioral traits and interests is only helpful if you know what you are looking for. Studies show that employees who are well matched to their jobs are 2.5 times more productive. This means you should first define a benchmark of characteristics that make an employee successful in the job. Once you have a benchmark, you can compare a candidate’s assessment results to gain insight into job fit. This allows you to truly make an informed hiring decision.

There are a few ways to create a benchmark and it is much easier that most people think.

The most objective approach is to assess top performing employees in a particular job in your organization. Use their results to form the benchmark for that job. You will see top performers cluster together in important characteristics for success.

Often, you won’t have the luxury of having enough top performing employees in a job to use as benchmarking models. Fortunately, there are preliminary benchmarks available for most jobs. These can be used as a starting point and adjusted as needed for your specific job responsibilities and organizational culture.

Assessing Candidates

Once you have a benchmark of success characteristics, you are ready to assess candidates. First, decide when to assess. Some organizations assess early in the process in order to avoid wasting time on candidates who clearly don’t fit. Others choose to wait until later in the process to control the money spent on assessments. Whatever you do, just be consistent with all candidates within a given hiring requisition.

Most modern assessments can be administered via the internet. This streamlines the process and provides immediate results. Choose an assessment that is scored immediately and provides reports suitable for a typical hiring manager.
Compare your candidate’s results to your benchmark. Some assessments do this for you as part of the report and even suggest interview questions. If not, make sure you consider your benchmark as you review the report. Note that the assessment should not dictate a hiring decision, but will provide objective data to assist in your decision.

Finally, don’t throw this information away once you make a hire. The information from the assessment can be very helpful during your new employee’s on-boarding and beyond to help understand their strengths, weaknesses and motivations leading to longer term retention.

Contact PDServices today to schedule a demo and learn how we can help your organization!

PDServices has been helping organizations make informed hiring and management decisions by implementing assessments for over 20 years. Learn more about our employee talent assessments here . Contact us at info@PDServices.com or call 740-326-4494 to discuss how assessments can be valuable for your organization.

Posts

Why Use a Cognitive Reasoning Ability Assessment Test?

Why is Measuring Cognitive Ability Important in Business?

Examples of Cognitive Reasoning in Business

What to look for in a Cognitive Reasoning Assessment Test

Proof of reliability and validity

Ease of administration and use

Timeliness

Candidate experience

Benchmarks

Reporting

Investment

Hiring Based on Gut Feel and Investing in Bitcoin

Elder Care Front Line Employees Case Study

Purpose

Approach

Results

Assessment Scales

Can Do

Positive Outlook

People Orientation

Productivity

Conscientiousness

High Performer Ranges

Recommendation

Select Entry Level Hires to Fit Your Job

Product / Service Quality

Product / Service Cost

Customer Satisfaction

Can They Do the Job?

Will They Do the Job?

How Will They Approach the Job?

How Do We Improve Selection of Our Entry Level Hires?

Make Informed Hiring Decisions

Objective Information

Job Fit

Assessing Candidates

Contact Us

Links

Categories

Tag Archive for: Job fit

Posts

Why is Measuring Cognitive Ability Important in Business?

Examples of Cognitive Reasoning in Business

What to look for in a Cognitive Reasoning Assessment Test

Purpose

Approach

Results

Assessment Scales

High Performer Ranges

Recommendation

Can They Do the Job?

Will They Do the Job?

How Will They Approach the Job?

How Do We Improve Selection of Our Entry Level Hires?

Objective Information

Job Fit

Assessing Candidates

Contact Us

Links

Categories

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