Recruiting for aptitude: the next battleground?
London (PRWEB UK) 14 January 2014 -- As the demands placed on businesses evolve, so must the profile of the ideal candidate. The latest Hays Journal asks whether learning aptitude will be the next battleground in the relentless war for talent.
The world is changing rapidly. Globalisation, the shift towards a knowledge economy and the sheer pace of technological changes are among the factors radically shifting how organisations operate. This places a premium on an employee’s ability to learn and respond to their employer’s and the market’s changing demands. As such, it could be argued that hiring for ‘learning aptitude’ – the ability to learn new skills – is a greater priority for businesses than hiring for current expertise and experience.
With this in mind, a traditional and rigid skills-based approach to assessment and recruitment is no longer good enough. And when it comes to candidates, educational and career background remain relevant but they are far from the only factors by which employers will measure suitability for a role.
Aptitude testing has a long history in HR and recruitment, but while tests have a part to play in many recruitment processes, recruiters will need to adapt their use when targeting an aptitude for learning. Current occupational tests typically assess candidates’ fit for existing roles and skills requirements, not future ones. They qualify aptitude as suitability for one or more of these roles through a range of tests, including verbal and abstract reasoning, numerical ability, accuracy and non-verbal logical thinking. This approach has been a successful strategy for many organisations.
Barney Ely, Director of Hays Human Resources, comments, “Any assessment process will seek to explore how an individual has behaved and what they have achieved in the past, as these provide the strongest indictors of what they are likely to achieve in the future. But in a world of business where new roles and skills requirements emerge on a regular basis, prior experience can’t guarantee future success. Current aptitude tests and occupational personality questionnaires are evolving as businesses seek more accurate data.”
Even if a new generation of aptitude tests can clearly and reliably identify learning aptitude, recruiting for it demands a well managed commitment to learning and development, with systematic opportunities for employees to develop themselves. This is a tough requirement in less hierarchical organisations, and presents a challenge around attrition, as employees hired for their desire to grow and adapt expect continual growth opportunities, and become increasingly desirable to competitors.
Ely continues, “Recruitment strategies targeting learning aptitude will need to evolve incrementally for most businesses, and will likely begin with existing roles. As businesses adapt to the changing demands of the marketplace, it will become increasingly clear which parts of the organisation will need a greater affinity for acquiring new skills, and which will remain consistent. Throughout that fascinating process, HR will need to be on hand to guide the recruitment strategy.”
To access the Hays Journal please visit: http://www.hays-journal.com.
Sofia Ylen, HAYS, http://www.hays.co.uk, +44 2072003760 Ext: 44, [email protected]
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