The Healthcare Industry: Successful Hiring 

Part Three 

This article will cite information garnered from Bersin & Associates and Profiles International. 

In this last of our 3-part series, we will cover assessment implementation best practices, internal mobility, performance improvement, general benefits and final conclusions.

In our last conversation, we cited Bersin research that reported: "One of the main reasons that new hires fail is because organizations are not as astute in recognizing the qualities that are crucial to successful job performance and thus fail at selection." 

For sure, if these "crucial" attributes are not fully understood, chances of including the strongest candidates in your selection process are slim. 

So, how can healthcare organizations improve their selection, development and retention of people who are the best fit for the job? Bersin research tells us that selection assessments should be a critical component of any integrated talent acquisition strategy. In a competitive global market, identifying the right job candidate early in the recruiting process can help organizations improve productivity and retention, and reduce people problems. 

Assessments can play an active role in providing information that cannot be garnered from resumes, interviews (even multiple interviews), references or background checks. 

Additionally, this objective, reliable and predictive information helps hiring teams conduct enlightening interviews that override the disadvantage they face from candidates who are studied and "well-rehearsed" in the interview process. 

Those of you who have been through the cycle of hiring, training, turnover, more hiring and training for the same job - and the inherent loss of productivity - know all too well how costly this scenario is. 

There is little doubt that investments in validated, science-based instruments that support selection processes can save organizations enormous sums of money by helping them place the right people in the right job.  

There are many best practices associated with the implementation of selection assessments in building a high-quality workforce. Here are some I would like to share with you.

Best Practices

1. Job Analysis Profile - Organizations need to begin by creating a job analysis profile. Before implementing the necessary tools and methods, businesses need to understand their objectives and clearly identify the key attributes for each position. A key step in doing so is to evaluate top and bottom performers.

2. Reputable Provider - A reputable assessment provider - one who can conduct either a local validation study or a transportability study - is critical to this process. The provider should be staffed with professionals, such as I / O psychologists with a strong background in assessment design and testing, and the instruments should be validated frequently on adequate samples.

3. Assessment Center - Organizations can benefit from the creation of an assessment center that includes a multi-pronged approach for incorporating a variety of different instruments. This approach will have a greater degree of success in uncovering variance in fit between candidates. Again, it is prudent to begin strengthening understandings about the attributes that are shared by top performers.

4. Consistency - Organizations need to use selection assessments consistently across all candidates for the same job. The goal of implementing a standardized assessment can only be achieved through buy-in from business leaders and the accountability of hiring managers.

5. Integrated Assessment Strategy - Selection assessments should provide development information for employees and their managers.

6. Validated Assessments - Developing a clear understanding of which assessments are validated is challenging in today's market, with hundreds of solution providers emerging. Assessment providers must demonstrate the validity of their tools and ensure that it contains highly predictive information on which to help organizations make informed selection decisions.

7. Train Your Staff - Organizations should train their staff on what assessments they will be using for various jobs; as well as, how to administer and best utilize the information obtained from the assessment. Assessment test results should be clear, concise and easy to interpret.

8. Create Pre-Established Performance Metrics - Organizations need to think about what they want to achieve with their assessment programs prior to incorporating the tools and technology. Some of the most popular key performance metrics include time to fill, turnover and hiring manager satisfaction.

Cultivating Internal Talent Mobility

Another key value is the application of the selection assessment for existing employees. According to the head of talent acquisition at Genesis Healthcare, in addition to assessing external candidates, every incumbent has completed or will complete the assessment, so that promotions, deployments to other departments, etc. will be made with information to determine the likelihood of success. Such information will also be useful in succession planning. 

For example, through the assessments, one might learn that a high-performing nurse on the medical / surgical floor would not be as successful in an emergency room environment, which is marked by urgency and stress. As shared by a healthcare expert at Profiles International  "You use assessments to develop people and change culture in a non-threatening, constructive manner, guiding them toward the roles for which they are best- suited."

Improving Performance

Assessments used with current incumbents can play a valuable role in improving performance. At Genesis Healthcare, the head of talent acquisition shared that there have been a number of examples wherein someone struggling in his / her role has been coached and developed toward better performance with use of the coaching reports that are provided from the assessments. An organization should evaluate on performance, not on assessment scores. Genesis Healthcare evaluates an employee's assessment scores against his / her job performance on an annual basis, looking at employee turnover for his / her area of responsibility, as well as employee satisfaction, engagement, and customer or patient satisfaction.

Other Benefits

Other benefits of selection assessments related specifically to recruiting, in general, include:

• Standardization of the selection process
• Ability to more accurately predict performance
• More reliable and objective information from which to interview and understand candidates
• Reduction in time to fill positions
• Improved performance and retention rates
• Enhanced accuracy and quality of hires

Conclusion

The healthcare industry has been slower than most industries in responding to change over time; however, I have started to see a shift to accepting and utilizing assessments to help reduce talent management mistakes that interfere with outcomes - and carry expensive and stressful consequences. Assessments are no longer limited to evaluating senior-level positions in large, successful corporations. Today's best-practice organizations, of all sizes and industries, recognize the returns on investment in evaluating job candidates at every level in the organization. They appreciate that a strategic assessment process will help reduce turnover, increase productivity, and identify employees who can meet job and culture expectations. In order to achieve results, this process needs to be consistently evaluated, it needs to include a combination of both objective and subjective tools, and it needs to be integrated with processes used to manage and develop employees. 

A strong assessment program is a key component of the 21st century Talent Management Framework.