Projecting future performance of an employee

Recruitment is a two-sided coin, one side of opportunity and the other of risk. Hiring a new member of your team or finding a trusted freelancer can be like flipping the coin. They may be a perfect fit or they may carry risks. Risks including damage, costs, and loss of time can be hard to recover from.

For a startup, the risks can be fatal, while larger companies face increased expectations to find the best talent. You are searching for a perfect fit, someone to inspire the team, to provide new ideas, to stimulate morale and productivity. But if you hire someone that does not connect with your company, you may need to jump some hurdles along the way. Companies that strategise their recruitment process to predict job performance experience better hiring results.

Cognitive Ability Tests

A cognitive ability test measures different aspect of cognition. This is because the job of a Python Developer requires a different cognitive ability to that of a Sales Manager. Dependant on your company, you will assess new employees using methods that best suit your ethos. The different aspects of cognition are as follows;

Numerical Reasoning: Ranging from mental mathematics to complicated critical reasoning

Verbal Reasoning: Evaluates the understanding of English language (grammar, vocabulary, comprehension)

Abstract Reasoning: Involves incomplete symbols or diagrams with missing items to assess the ability to draw conclusions based on specific information

Logical Reasoning: Aimed to assess critical thinking skills through the understanding of complicated texts.

General Aptitude Test: Most commonly covers verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, and cognitive ability, this test aims to determine innate ability at a number of levels.

Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) Also used in educational settings, this test aims to measure abstract reasoning through non-verbal means. The test involves multiple choice questions consisting of visual geometric designs with a missing piece.

Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT): Measures problem-solving, skill learning, and critical thinking abilities. This test consists of 50 questions and has a 15-minute time limit.

The Five-Factor Model of Personality

Researchers originally developed this model to understand and explain a person’s personality through five separate traits. Psychological research of this kind has since been used to benefit the criminal justice system, the education system, and more recently the recruitment system. The following model can help to show what traits of a person’s personality are relevant for job performance. Your recruiter will look for certain behaviours or traits that can benefit your team. The Five-Factor Model of Personality includes;

Emotional Stability

(self-esteem, self-efficacy, life satisfaction etc.)

Extraversion

(incentive reward sensitivity, positive emotion, happiness etc.)

Openness

(intelligence, creativity, broad-mindedness etc.)

Agreeableness

(cooperativeness empathy, sympathy etc.)

Conscientiousness

(dutifulness, orderliness, discipline etc.)

When recruiting you can test for each personality measure in different ways. One method involves specific behavioural questions during an interview, while an alternative method is to use a personality assessment. You ideally want to measure all aspects of the personality to create a candidate profile.

Past Behaviour

One of the most common types of interview questions are those related to how a candidate behaved in the past. This is because past performance is one of the most accurate factors to predict job performance. Past behaviour is also important within a variety of public and private sectors, ranging from education to the legal system. You can best predict job performance by focusing on records of past behaviour rather than relying on first impressions and gut feelings (e.g. volunteering for responsibilities, involved in challenging tasks, past rewards/promotions).