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The glass and glazing industry has the constant challenge of finding and keeping quality employees for businesses, but what if a software program could help companies make better hiring decisions? One digital marketing company in the construction sector has purchased a license to use a predictive indexing (PI) software to aid it in finding the right fit for potential hires, as well as seeing where its current employees would excel. AP Corp. CEO Bill Valway said the company has found success since using it.
“About two years ago I noticed a pattern with the company, we had really good doers and they’d often excel at their craft. Unfortunately when we promoted some of them they would fail in their new roles,” said Valway.
A notable point with PI software is that it can access behavioral patterns. According to Valway, there are 26 different types available with the software his company uses. Once finding out what a new hire’s natural behavioral pattern is it becomes easier to see if that person would do well in certain roles. AP Corp has been using PI software since May and is still learning more about the software’s benefits.
“The software is incredible, I was first introduced to it in a training session. Since we’ve been using it we’ve found that a lot of times people don’t fit into the job they have or might be applying for,” said Valway.
The assessment is comprised of two pages. The first page is a list of words, of which the person taking it would select words they believe best describes themselves. The second page has the same list of words, this time however, the person must choose words that best describe their job. This includes how they believe they are expected to act while performing their tasks. On average, most finish the assessment in about ten minutes, according to Valway. The main goal is to survey each person to measure their behavioral drives or interests. It does not measure what a person can or can’t do, as there are no right or wrong answers.
He also mentioned that if a person is not in a job or role that is in line with their behavioral patterns it would be similar to writing one’s signature without using one’s dominant hand. “Yes you could still do it, but it’ll take you more time and it won’t turn out the same way as if you were naturally able to write it,” he said.
Although the software has been effective, it is not the only hiring tool used when making decisions about current and future employees.
“We can’t say it’s 100% effective yet, but it’s been beneficial to learn how people handle stress or other situations based on their behavioral path. It’s definitely not the be-all and end-all for us, as we use other methods to aid us in selecting new hires too,” said Valway.
According to Valway, more businesses should consider utilizing PI software.
“It’s what the big companies are using and it’s a tool that will prove its value. It measures things like a person’s patience, ability to make decisions and how dominant they are,” he said.
The best evaluation of an individual’s predictable behavior is past behavior. I ask frequently if my clients are contacted on background checks. It is a rare instance that an individual is background checked. There is an individual who has worked for 3 glaziers since being fired from a GC for embezzling millions. He would profile well on that test because psychopaths can con most. I attended a seminar on identifying psycho/sociopaths in industry…perception of loyal, hard working and well liked. Reference check and when you promote train the individual for their new role. The best way to guarantee success. By the way I IQ test in the genius range because IQ testing is culturally bias. But you wouldn’t want me to design a curtainwall system. I had an individual take a test 4 times/2 he was recommended as a hire. It was the same person, different circumstances. It totally invalidated the test.