Job Benchmarking
Their resume looked good, the phone screen went great, and they showed up to the interview dressed appropriately and had all the right answers. You hired them and eight months later needed to separate. Maybe you hired that perfect candidate only for them to decide six months later that the job wasn’t for them. What happened? People leave jobs for many reasons and while some turnover is unavoidable, there are actions that can be taken to help prevent it. One of the most important things and a key piece in reducing turnover is job benchmarking.
Job benchmarking is a crucial tool for defining the soft skills, behaviors, and motivators ideal for a job role. At Moser Learning and Development, we partner with TTI Success Insights to bring you researched-backed assessments for the best results. The job benchmark process we use is designed to focus on everything the resume may not. During phone screens and interviews, companies are typically focused on a candidate’s technical skills, previous job experience, projects, or education. Of course, those are all important pieces to take into account during the hiring process. However, it’s often, the soft skills, behaviors, and motivators that lead to an employee’s fulfillment and success in their job role. Which in turn, contributes to the company’s overall success!
We begin our benchmark creation by selecting 3-5 subject matter experts (SMEs). Through discussions, we determine the key accountabilities for that specific job. Then, the SMEs are asked to take a job assessment and answer the questions based on the competencies, behaviors (DISC style), and motivators (driving forces) of the job. From those job assessments, a benchmark report is created. The report will identify the top seven competencies, top four behaviors (DISC style), and top four driving forces determined for the job. This is the standard by which we can now measure all future candidates for this job.
During the second part of the process, the candidate will take a Talent assessment. This will measure the development of their competencies, behaviors (DISC), and driving forces. Once completed, we compare their talent report to the job benchmark. This produces a Gap report, which shows a comparison between the benchmark standard and the candidate.
Below you will see a few examples from a Gap report and how the candidate compares to the job standard.
Why is this so important? We know a candidate must have the necessary technical skills required for a job.
However, it’s also critical that they have soft skills, behaviors, and drivers that align. If we asked someone who doesn’t have their skills in negotiation well developed to jump into a sales role where they have to negotiate contracts on a daily basis, they are probably not going to be successful without some coaching or mentoring to help grow that skill. If we hire someone who has a high C DISC style and is de-energized by working with a variety of people, but we put them in a customer facing role, they may they have to adapt significantly, which will possibly lead to high levels of stress and burnout very quickly. When we are able to have insight into these soft skills and internal drivers, not only are we finding the best candidate for the job, we are finding the best job for the candidate.
Everyone desires a job that they are naturally suited for and one that provides fulfillment, both personally and professionally. There may be some debate about who actually coined the phrase, but no matter who said it first, they were on to something when they said “Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”
Let us help get your organization on the path to better hiring and reduced turnover! Find more information here.
