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« Back to the October 2006 Explorer newsletter
What’s Hot & What’s Not
Recent reports and happenings that affect your world. Rocket-Hire keeps an ear to the ground to learn what’s changing.
HOT
Will 2006 go down in HR-istory as the year of the web-based simulation? It’s now easier than ever to deploy sophisticated selection tools like work samples and management simulations in nearly any hiring situation. Whether it’s the day-in-the-life of an Operations Manager or asking an applicant to handle a customer complaint handled via a simulated phone call and CRMS, these assessments represent a superior method of zeroing in on the best candidates for your open positions.
Industrial/Organizational Psychologists will tell you that job simulations have been around for decades and that their value is well-documented. The simulation-based selection of fighter pilots in World War II was an outstanding contribution to the Allied effort. And even before 1900, Postmasters from all over the US utilized timed mail sorting tasks to judge entry-level postal worker candidates. In many cases, these required substantial administrative effort and resources. But now that the virtual simulation train is steaming into your town, it’s prime time to get on board!
HOT or NOT?
Still trying to find the best and brightest in a red-hot job market? Remember, all hiring is local. Some headlines, such as reports by Monster and Robert Half Technology, claim substantial job growth in IT and in general. Even resorts in Colorado are lacking applicants for seasonal workers. But slower growth in San Diego and in certain parts of the Rust Belt, a lack of job growth is the story. What’s the difference? Isn’t there a nationwide labor crunch? Actually, nothing has really changed in terms of hiring trends: The availability of candidates for open positions has always been specific to industries and areas. So when someone either comments, “There are jobs everywhere” or, “it’s hard to find a good job these days,” remember that both could be true for different jobs in different regions.
NOT
The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board just released a stinging report that documents just how poorly the US Government fills – or doesn’t fill - full-time positions. It actually pulls together several studies and offers ideas for reforms. The main thrust of the report is that the hiring process is too long and complex, resulting in a lack of a strong hiring decisions. Some of the recommendations include making a better effort to:
- market vacancies instead of relying on passive job seekers;
- utilize more valid assessment tools to screen applicants;
- integrate hiring into business planning;
- evaluate the effectiveness of current processes; and,
- improve and quicken communication with applicants throughout the recruitment and hiring process.
Though the report begins with, “Is the Federal hiring system broken?” there are opportunities for improvement at most NON-public organizations as well. This long — but highly readable — document describes some fairly common hiring issues faced by many privately-held companies. Though it’s easy to criticize those comical government bureaucracies and their red tape, little in the report is unique to the Feds.
JUST WARM FOR NOW
A mostly-ignored court ruling may have long-term effects for the hiring of many varieties of employee. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, in addition to a few individual truck drivers, sued USIS Commercial Services to make employment histories compiled by the company (accidents, safety violations, etc.) subject to the same rules as consumer credit reports. The drivers lost the case. What does this mean for recruiters and managers? Basically, it remains fairly simple for logistics firms to maintain and report driver performance indicators to a firm like USIS, and easy for hirers to utilize this information in employment decisions. The drivers may appeal. Keep in mind that, historically, many important rules on hiring are determined through seemingly narrow court rulings like these as well as Acts of Congress; however, their full implications may take years to surface.
Compiled by Mark C. Healy