What is SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360? What is the business case for using SkillSurvey? Is SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 the same as a background check or employment verification? Who rates the candidate's skills? Will candidates willingly participate? Will references respond? Won't everyone just give positive feedback? Are people hesitant to tell the truth due to legal liability exposure? Most companies have policies prohibiting employees from providing references, won’t this prevent people from responding? How long does this take? Will it slow down the hiring process? Isn't this less personal than using the phone? Does it work for all jobs? What job categories does SkillSurvey address today? Where can I find sample documents? Aren't most references biased? How does SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 get more accurate and candid information? Why is confidentiality important? Can SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 be used by Job Seekers?
Q: What is SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360? A: SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 is a comprehensive assessment of a job candidate’s skills and behaviors, based on confidential feedback from people that have worked with that candidate in the past. back to top
Q: What is the business case for using SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360? A: SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 helps client companies improve their Quality of Hire (QOH), increase HR and hiring manager productivity and reduce the expense associated with bad hiring decisions. If SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 helps a customer avoid two bad hires out of 100, the return on investment is typically greater than 20 to 1. Please see the SkillSurvey White Paper for detailed information on this topic. back to top
Q: Is SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 the same as a background check or employment verification? A: No. Background checking companies generally provide information regarding a candidate’s credit history, social security status and criminal record, among other items. Employment verification generally refers to validating that a candidate worked at a specific company for a specific time period. SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 provides a qualitative assessment of a candidate’s critical skills based on feedback from several people that have worked with that person in the past. A background check will tell you if a candidate has been convicted of a crime, while SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 can tell you if a candidate is a team player. An employment verification can tell you if a candidate’s employment history is consistent with his or her resume, while SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 can help you find out if the candidate met deadlines and delivered quality work. back to top
Q: Who rates the candidate's skills? A: Candidates can nominate previous managers, colleagues, customers and partners as their professional references. Recruiters can review the list of references that have been submitted by the candidate and can recommend changes, as well as add additional references that they believe would be appropriate. back to top
Q: Will candidates willingly participate? A: Candidates are usually informed of the process early in the hiring cycle and 80% to 90% of them typically agree to participate. In some instances where SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 is used earlier in the hiring cycle, more candidates may drop out, which is normally viewed as a sign that they were not serious about the opportunity. The overall feedback from candidates has been positive, as they view this approach as less burdensome and time consuming for their references. back to top
Q: Will references respond? A: More than 75% of references respond within 48 hours. This response rate is high for several reasons: the request to complete the survey is from the candidate, the process can be completed via the web at the convenience of the reference and it takes less than five minutes to answer the survey. Of those that respond, 100% provide substantive, qualitative feedback. back to top
Q: Won't everyone just give positive feedback? A: Today, with phone referencing, two or three references are generally selected by the candidate. These are people who the candidate has chosen because they will say good things about him/her. SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 is able to obtain meaningful (not all positive) feedback due to three primary factors: 1. Volume and quality of references 2. Confidentiality 3. Use of job-specific skills-based questions. SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 enables a higher number of references to be requested and contacted because it is an automated system, and requires only a minute of effort from the recruiter or hiring manager. It mandates that only legitimate business and professional references be used, such as specific managers or supervisors from the candidate's current or previous positions. The references are also assured that their feedback will be aggregated with others and their individual scores and comments will remain confidential. This confidentiality enables a level of candor that is not possible via the phone. Confidentiality is critical in obtaining honest feedback on sensitive questions like those related to integrity, work ethic, trustworthiness, accountability and respect for diversity. Finally, the use of very specific skills-based (hard and soft skills) questions further reduces any potential positive bias in references. While it is easy to provide glowing answers to general questions like "How would your rate overall performance?" when asked via phone, SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 asks about specific skills or behaviors like "To what extent does the candidate demonstrate high standards of personal ethics?" Specific questions are more likely to be answered objectively because they are more limited in focus. back to top
Q: Are people hesitant to tell the truth due to legal liability exposure? A: The email from the candidate requests that the reference provide "frank and honest" feedback in the survey. In order to protect the individual references, the candidate completes a legal release of liability as part of the SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 process. Furthermore, the promise of confidentiality enables a level of candor that is not possible via the phone. back to top
Q: Most companies have policies prohibiting employees from providing references, won’t this prevent people from responding? A: More than 75% of the references respond to SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 requests within 48 hours, despite the fact that 54 percent of organizations have implemented policies to not provide employee references*. There are four key drivers behind this high response rate: 1. The request is from the candidate. The request to complete the survey does not come from the hiring company or SkillSurvey. It is a personal request from the candidate for the reference to complete a brief survey for a "professional development" opportunity. 2. The responses are confidential. References are assured that their feedback will be aggregated with others and their individual responses will remain confidential. 3. The candidate executes a legal release of liability during the process, assuring the references that they are protected. 4. The request and response are over the web, so references can complete the process at their convenience * 2004 SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) Study on Phone Reference Checking. back to top
Q: How long does this take? Will it slow down the hiring process? A: It takes less than one minute for a recruiter or hiring manger to start the process. 72% of the references respond with 48 hours or less. In some fast-paced environments where time is of the essence, the process has been regularly completed in less than 24 hours. back to top
Q: Isn't this less personal than using the phone? A: Nothing can ever replace the value of a human conversation; unfortunately, phone-based reference checking has become increasingly difficult and less reliable. Although some references will agree to provide objective information via phone, this is the exception rather than the rule - plus, it still takes a significant amount of time and effort to contact each reference, leave voice mails and eventually schedule time to talk. Because of the lack of confidentiality and fear of legal action, most references provide little or no useful information about the candidate's suitability for the job. Many customers consider SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 as a way to automate the majority of reference checking and only follow up with phone calls to references on an exception basis. For example, if there were some unexpected surprises in a SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 report related to a critical job skill, the recruiter or hiring manager could follow up with a phone call to selected references. Most companies don't have time to waste on the phone in pursuit of the few references who will actually speak with them. SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 provides a much more reliable and effective solution. back to top
Q: Does it work for all jobs? A: Yes. Managers can choose to use surveys from the SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 library, or they can have custom surveys generated in order to meet special requirements. back to top
Q: What job categories does SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 address? A: SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 covers most job functions (sales, marketing, IT, etc.), various levels (hourly, professional, manager, etc.) and some industry-specific positions. Based on demand, the Product Management team adds survey's to the library. SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 subscribers receive full access to the library. Some companies choose to utilize SkillSurvey's consulting services to have custom surveys developed specifically for their use. back to top
Q: Where can I find sample documents? A: Click here or contact us to receive sample reports. back to top
Q: Aren't most references biased? A: Today, with phone referencing, two or three references are generally selected by the candidate. These are people who the applicant has chosen because they will say good things about him/her. SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 enables a higher number of references to be requested and contacted because it is an automated system. It mandates that only legitimate business and professional references be used, such as specific managers or supervisors from the candidate's current or previous positions. SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 further reduces any potential positive bias in references by asking competency-based questions. While it is easy to provide glowing answers to general questions like "How would your rate overall performance?" when asked via phone, SkillSurvey asks about specific skills or behaviors like "To what extent does the applicant demonstrate high standards of personal ethics?" Specific questions are more likely to be answered objectively because they are more limited in focus. back to top
Q: How does SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 get more accurate and candid information? A: SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 asks specific competency-based questions about an applicant's job qualifications, asks the questions via a confidential platform, and solicits input from a larger number of references. This means that the aggregate picture of the applicant contains multiple perspectives from those who have worked closely with the candidate, and is therefore more likely to be accurate - and the confidentiality of the system encourages more candid responses. back to top
Q: Why is confidentiality important? A: Confidentiality is critical to getting accurate information about any individual's capabilities. For example: If you took twenty people from your company, split them into two groups and asked them to write down answers to questions regarding the effectiveness of their manager or the executive team, and Group A knew that each of their names would be tied to their comments, and Group B knew that their names would not be identified, the answers from the two groups would be very different. Group A would be less likely to provide critical feedback while Group B could be more truthful without fear of repercussions, because no one would know who wrote what. This same model applies to SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360. back to top
Q: Can SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 be used by Job Seekers? A: SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360s are meant for hiring companies and not as a career development tool. Occasionally, SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 users elect to share the feedback from the reports with candidate's after they have joined the company. The reports serve as a valuable tool for accelerating on-boarding through targeted training and mentoring. Everyone has areas in which they could benefit from training and development opportunities. SkillSurvey Pre-Hire 360 reports help managers and their new employees work together to address these areas, creating a great opportunity for the new employee, manager and the organization. back to top
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"We have found that we get deeper and more useful information than we did before so we don't end up having to fill the same job three months later because we hired the wrong person."
- Peggy Bradley, Employment Manager Poudre Valley Health System
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