Hiring is simple, but the process is complex.
This is never truer than when procuring talent for roles like technical support, which require a diverse set of technical, communication, and customer service skills.
In positions this specialized, history and economics say it’s better to invest the time needed to source and hire the right people than to rush to fill seats. Nothing illustrates this better than a project FurstPerson managed for a client facing challenges in their ability to deliver technical support to customers.
To sum up how effective implementing a customized talent assessment strategy was, let’s break down the results. After implementation, the company:
- Improved retention by 31%
- Saw $4 million in ROI
By taking the time to invest in their hiring process, our client enjoyed substantial returns, both in decreased attrition and increased revenue.
Getting to the Bottom of the Issue with a Talent Assessment Strategy
In this case study, FurstPerson's objective was to determine the root cause of the challenges our client was facing with talent retention and quality issues. To address these challenges, we worked with our client to create a more data-driven approach to their talent strategy, and successfully formulated a comprehensive, customized talent assessment solution using the following steps.
1. Discover – Finding opportunities to improve.
Sometimes, an organization's best opportunties to improve are hidden in plain site. This particular client, a major telecommunications firm, was facing challenges in their ability to deliver a high quality of customer service and technical support. Our client’s primary concern in this case? A potential technical skills gap. The company wanted talent capable of quickly learning to navigate and troubleshoot the technical issues their customers were having, but felt their incumbents weren’t proficient in their familiarity with technology.
2. Define – What’s the real problem?
In order to determine whether or not familiarity with technology was the issue, we did some digging. FurstPerson conducted a job analysis to determine what skills, abilities, and motivations were necessary to meet and exceed the standards of success in a technical support role at this particular company.
After conducting the analysis and identifying six key technical support competencies, we discovered it wasn’t familiarity with technology that was the issue for our client – it was the importance of problem-solving ability in resolving customer issues.
3. Diagnose – Examine implications of root cause problems.
To get a better understanding of the impact these critical skills had on the business, we examined data gathered during our analysis of the technical support role, and found the rate of 0 to 90 day attrition for employees who were below the performance baseline for Quality and Productivity was 270% higher.
In order to improve new hire retention and improve job performance, we determined evaluating job candidates against performance requirements needed to become a step in this organization's hiring process.
4. Design – Create a viable pre-hire assessment solution.
To help identify candidates with the skills, knowledge, and abilities that would drive the company’s business goals, FurstPerson recommended implementing a problem-solving talent assessment test. Through computer adaptive testing technology, this assessment evaluated candidates’ aptitude for learning information quickly and applying it effectively.
5. DELIVER – Implement the pre-hire assessment solution, and leave nothing to chance.
When designing a comprehensive solution for our clients, validation studies are a critical step in creating an assessment with the greatest amount of predictive power. For this client, we designed a validation study to prove these assessments would accurately predict job performance. The objective was to evaluate job candidates against a data-driven hiring model to prove new hires would exceed baseline performance. The data collected from the validation study showed that candidates who passed the new problem-solving assessments achieved superior performance results:
6. Drive – Monitor, improve, and reap business results.
FurstPerson believes employee behavior reflects an assortment of motives, skills, knowledge, and abilities. To determine which candidates are the best overall fit, we measure talent holistically.
While FurstPerson demonstrated that measuring the ability to learn and apply information was imperative for success in the role, FurstPerson also needed to deliver a hiring solution that measured motivation and skills to perform. To do this, we implemented a series of talent assessment tools - including interactive work sample simulations and personality assessments - in conjunction with the our recommended problem-solving assessment.
The results?
A 31% improvement in overall retention, which resulted in an ROI of approximately $4 million.
No two companies are the same, which is why we partner with each of our clients to create customized pre-hire assessment test solutions. No matter what role you’re hiring for, our consultants always work directly with you to assist with the creation and implementation of a winning strategic talent assessment process. Schedule a free consultation with us today to learn more about how we help our clients find, hire, and keep high-quality candidates.
