National unemployment is continuing to decline with rates of just 4.3 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the really good news. The bad news, however, is felt first in the recruiting and human resource departments when finding a pool of qualified candidates becomes near impossible. In addition, hiring right the first time becomes especially challenging when employers are lacking a clear, verifiable picture of the behavioral traits and skills required to perform a particular job well.

Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Florida, states where a majority of my clients are headquartered, are struggling more to find candidates due to even lower unemployment rates than the national average. Florida, taking a double hit, was one of the three states with the largest gains in nonfarm payrolls. At 2.9 percent, the labor needs in the sunshine state are significant. When candidate pools shrink at the same time that a business is growing, convincing employers that now is the worst possible time to throw out a proven, scientific assessment tool that measures a candidate’s fit with the job in favor of a subjective interview is a hard sell.

It’s tempting to believe that hiring someone who isn’t quite right for the role is better than leaving the position open, but that’s no long-term strategy. A poor hire always results in lost revenue, decreasing levels of moral and, eventually, another gap in the role. But what’s a recruiter to do when finding an ideal candidate is impossible, and leaving the position open just isn’t an option?

Use an assessment tool that identifies the most critical traits for your positions and refuse to compromise.

Most of us have watched the popular HGTV series, “House Hunters.” The scenario never changes. The show features two people with competing desires who visit three homes, after which they choose one that meets most of their needs, with the key word being “most.”

Hiring from a less-than-ideal candidate pool is a lot like this. Employers need a system that identifies the core behavioral traits and skills that are most critical to job success. Knowing this information provides insight into what can and cannot be compromised. In a perfect situation, you would hire someone perfectly matched to the role. But just as in house hunting, without an unlimited budget, you’re going to have to learn to work with some drawbacks if you want to fill the position. Fortunately, a good assessment will provide you with training and coaching opportunities to minimize or close the gap over time.

How to know which traits are most critical for each position

With the PXT Select™ you are able to develop a “performance model,” which scores the traits of your top performers in a one to 10 range.

Let’s look at an example. Your top sales people fall in the range of seven to nine in the pace and assertiveness behavioral trait, as well as in the six to eight range for decisiveness. Yet, in the “outlook” category, they fall in a wider range of three to seven, suggesting that this is a less critical trait. When assessing and interviewing candidates, you’d want to prioritize candidates falling in line with the narrower ranges and be more flexible with the wider ranges.

Let’s visit another example. Below is an example of an ideal performance model for a property manager position. Note that verbal reasoning, numeric reasoning, pace, decisiveness and independence are narrower than the other scales. This indicates that these are critical traits of top performers, and you’d be wise to focus first on these if none of your candidates fall within all the ideal ranges.

Looking for an overall match is still important, with higher matches (such as 80 percent or higher) being ideal. But as long as the most critical traits are in line, someone with a 70 percent match may be successful in the role. Just remember that the candidate is going to have to stretch in some areas, and like a rubber band that gets stretched too far, it can snap. This is why knowing which traits specifically are the most critical when candidate pools are shallow is key to hiring well.

If you aren’t using an assessment tool yet, now is a perfect time to assess your top performers to begin gathering your ideal benchmarks. Over time, your benchmarks become more accurate, and they provide recruiters and human resource directors with a tool they can rely on during the interviewing and selection process.

Need help hiring hire during this period of low unemployment? We can help you benchmark your top performers to give you a guide for better hires going forward. Contact Valerie Oldre at 952.470.0162 or email valerie.oldre@humcapadvantage.com to learn how our pre-hire assessment tools can help you identify the right talent.