STRATEGY > KNOWLEDGE/COMPETENCY

Study Identifies Employers’ Trends in Interviewing, Screening and Assessment Programs

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—June 8, 2006—According to a recent national study, the typical hiring manager interviews eight people on average for an open position, and 42% of employers believe their hiring managers are interviewing too many people to find qualified candidates.

The Spherion Emerging Workforce Study, conducted by Harris Interactive for Spherion Corp., surveyed a large, nationally representative sample of U.S. employers about their interviewing process, according to a Spherion announcement. Another study objective was to identify trends in the methods and screening programs used.

Researchers found that an increasing number of employers are using prescreening tools to determine whether to continue assessing candidates. In fact, the announcement said, 60% of companies have increased their use of assessments in the past five years, and about half increased their use of prescreening programs.

Use of Screening and Assessment Methods
Method	Currently Use for Some/All Jobs	Increased Use in Past Five Years
Any Screening	93%	48%
Background Checks	79%	51%
Prescreening Programs	57%	51%
Skills Testing	56%	48%
Behavioral Interviewing	54%	56%
Drug Tests	50%	54%
Behavioral Assessments	34%	60%
Credit Checks	33%	55%

“Changing demographics, shrinking supplies of qualified workers and the growing importance of retaining top talent are just some of the reasons employers are re-evaluating their approach to the screening, interviewing and hiring process,” said Roy Krause, president and chief executive officer at Spherion, in the announcement. “In today's labor market, employers cannot afford to spend time and money interviewing unqualified candidates.”

Researchers found that larger organizations, particularly those that employ HR best practices, are more likely to use screening and assessment solutions. Two-thirds of larger companies ($1 billion or more in annual revenue) have increased their use of screening and testing over the past five years, compared to 39% of smaller organizations ($500 million or less in revenue), according to the announcement. These same large organizations are generally less inclined than smaller organizations to say they interview too many people.

The study also identified employers that exceed their peers in the use of HR best practices, the announcement said. So-called emergent employers generally enjoy more financial success and stronger employee growth than their more traditional counterparts. In the interviewing process, these emergent employers utilize significantly more prescreening and testing methods compared to traditional companies.

Emergent Employers Utilize More Prescreening/Testing Methods Compared to Traditional Employers
Method	Emergent	Traditional
Prescreening Programs	65%	46%
Behavioral Assessments	55%	24%
Skills Testing	69%	51%
Behavioral Interviewing	78%	40%

In addition, emergent employers are more likely to interview fewer people on average for open positions than traditional companies. Specifically, only 15% of emergent employers interview 10 or more people for an open position, compared to 25% of traditional employers, researchers found. Some 42% of emergent employers interview only one to four people for an open position compared to just 21% of traditional employers, the announcement said.

www.spherion.com/emergingworkforce
www.spherion.com
www.harrisinteractive.com

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