In The Mummy, the first entry in Universal’s new “Dark Universe” adventure-horror film franchise, Tom Cruise plays a sort of modern-day Indiana Jones who plunders an ancient tomb housing a mysterious sarcophagus.
Now, Tom Cruise may be an expert jet pilot, samurai warrior, lawyer, sports agent, and air-guitarist, but he’s no Egyptologist. Whereas Harrison Ford might look at a secret tomb and say, “I got a bad feeling about this,” Cruise is all about “Show me the money” and digs up his find, inadvertently awakening an ancient evil bent on wreaking havoc upon the world.
If only he had been able to read the hieroglyphic warning on the side of the sarcophagus, which translates (roughly) as, “You can’t handle the truth!”
It’s fair to say that the more information and knowledge you have, the better decisions you will make. Like, for example, when you hire for an important position, are you taking a step that will better your company … or are you awakening a not-so-ancient evil that will hinder productivity and obstruct growth? Meaningful information could be the differentiator between hiring the right person and the wrong person.
Fortunately, tools exist to help you make better-informed hiring decisions. Just as an archeologist uses picks and trowels to uncover ancient Egyptian artifacts, a hiring manager has access to pre-employment assessments, behavioral competencies, and job models. A quick overview:
Pre-employment assessments – A scientifically designed assessment can uncover an applicant’s strengths, limitations, and motivations and then translate that data into numeric scores or graphs that are measurable against other applicants who have completed the same assessment, allowing you to compare all your candidates consistently.
Behavioral competencies – Using the results from the pre-employment assessment, behavioral competencies predict how an applicant will behave in real-world work situations. This gives hiring managers an idea of what to expect from the people they bring on board.
Job models – Built from job-performance data collected over decades, job models represent top-performer views of a given role (such as Analyst, Producer, Production Supervisor, etc.). Applicants’ assessment results show how similarly motivated they are compared to top performers. A 90% match suggests you have a strong candidate. A 10% match indicates you should perform a deeper evaluation before hiring that person.
The good news is that all these results can be delivered in the form of easy-to-understand reports. You merely send your applicant a link, and the report is generated for you upon completion of the assessment.
When horror legend Boris Karloff starred in the 1932 version of The Mummy (the first-ever film about a living mummy), he delivered a restrained, subtle performance befitting the simply story and stately presentation. 2017’s mummy, Ahmanet (played by Sophia Boutella), is a bit more … complicated. Surely you’ve seen the TV spots by now. The story has been scaled up to say the least.
Just as movie plots have become more convoluted, special effects more sophisticated, and audiences more demanding of spectacle over the past 85 years, running a business has become so much more complex as well. Top-down hierarchies are giving way to cross-functional teamwork, workforces are now spread across the globe, and we are on the cusp of an artificial intelligence revolution with hard-to-predict ramifications. In such a climate, making informed, strategic hiring decisions is one of the most important things you can do as a leader.
Why get lost in the dark catacombs below when assessment tools can take you to the top of the pyramid?
About Caliper – For nearly half a century, Caliper has been helping companies achieve peak performance by advising them on hiring the right people, managing individuals most effectively and developing productive teams. The accuracy, objectivity and depth of our consulting approach enable us to provide solutions that work for over 25,000 companies. To find out more about how Caliper can help you identify and develop people who can lead your organization to peak performance, please visit us at www.calipercorp.com or call us at 609-524-1200. Email editorial@mhwmag.com to contact Caliper.
