Checking soft skills early in the recruiting process – just a „nice to have“?
Every recruiter knows the problem: time and again, the candidate with the perfect CV is not the most suitable candidate for the job. “Suitable” means: a person whose typical behavior matches with the job requirements and whose personality fits with the team.
Poorly fitting soft skills lead to expensive wrong hires, not just in management positions but everywhere in the organization, especially when the relationship side of a team shows dysfunctional symptoms.
Our behavior as human beings results from deeply rooted personality dimensions and is thus difficult to change. Do you remember how hard it can be to change an old habit and the beliefs that are attached to it? This is another reason why we should put an eye on the preferred behavior patterns of candidates.
However, the reality is often very different: Still today, many organizations focus first and singlemindedly on the fit between CV and job requirements. Only at the end of the hiring – in interviews or assessments – they eventually take a closer look at the human side.
In many recruitings, after a round of disappointing interviews, the hiring manager returns back to the initial pool of names to find another applicant. What a waste of time and resources, and how frustrating from a human point of view!
Checking soft skills early in the recruiting dramatically enhances chances of identifying a well-fitting candidate and also reduces time to hire. And the good news is: a standardized soft-skill screening is easy to implement, thanks to latest technologies. Say goodbye to elefantastic IT-implementation projects!
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