All You Need to Know About Predictive Hiring

In the recruiting industry, you're never more than four feet away from the next new big idea on how to improve recruiting. At IceHrm, we like to keep things simple, so we're here to explain trends, developments, and fads in recruiting technology. This month: Predictive Hiring.

What is Predictive Hiring?

All hiring is inherently predictive. You gather information about candidates, assess their fit for the job, and decide based on your prediction of their future performance. The accuracy of these predictions can vary. In the realm of hiring software, algorithms and analytics refine this process, aiming to enhance prediction accuracy and streamline decision-making based on data-driven insights.

But if you ask about "predictive hiring," then depending on which company is selling it to you, it could involve AI, big data, algorithms, cutting-edge assessments or analytics, all in a fast and frictionless way to be the future of talent acquisition. Did I mention AI in recruiting?

If you ask me, it's simpler than that. At its core, predictive hiring combines an accurate, structured assessment of the candidate's strengths with a clear picture of the role's rewards and requirements to select the candidate who is the best fit for the job.

Can you really predict job performance?

Not perfect, no matter what anyone else says. But if you have high-quality insights into the candidate's soft skills in terms of their mental capacity, interpersonal behavior, thinking and feeling style, motivations and values, you're off to a good start.

If you can then match these to a profile of the job that clearly describes the strengths needed to perform well and the sources of challenges, rewards and enjoyment that will make the right person feel engaged and motivated, that's the core of a good prediction.

You can increase the power of the prediction even further by combining multiple structured assessment types (psychometrics, structured interviews, cognitive testing, simulation activities) to create a truly true picture of the candidate. Making decisions based on assessments conducted by more than one person to minimize bias and improve hiring decisions is also a huge help.

To achieve 90% forecast accuracy, you also need to consider company culture, leadership style, job design, compensation structure, and advancement opportunities. Not even the best candidates will perform well in a crappy job in a terrible work environment, no matter what your forecast says.

How can predictive hiring help companies and recruiters?

When you get hiring right, you reap all sorts of benefits: higher performance, retention, improved company culture, easier succession planning for growth, and lower costs associated with recruiting.

Using predictive hiring as an approach allows you to get it right more often. Especially if you take a holistic approach to improving all of your processes. Buying a single, shiny, new recruiting tool isn't a panacea.

Are assessments really that meaningful?

They can be, if used correctly, but they're never perfect. Research shows that structured, multiple assessments are much more predictive than traditional assessments like resumes and interviews. Soft skills predict performance better than hard skills. It's not yet clear whether new technologies like artificial intelligence, game-based assessments, and machine-learned analytics will lead to better predictions or simply introduce new forms of bias and error into hiring decisions.

Is predictive hiring the beginning of a slippery slope into a work-related dystopia?

I could argue that work-related dystopia has been around since the Industrial Revolution, but I'd be fired. Automated predictive hiring feels like a new kind of hell for job seekers, and there are already signs that candidates are responding to this technological threat by crafting their resumes to counteract the AI ​​sifting algorithms. The EU is suspicious enough to draft a directive that requires all providers of automated decision-making over humans to be transparent about exactly how the algorithms work. So this could delay our impending subjugation by our robot overlords.

How to use predictive hiring in your recruitment process

You can check what the science says before adopting something that seems a little unproven or too good to be true. Well-researched tools like psychometrics bring more accuracy and rigor to the hiring process. Changes in the way you interview someone and what you focus on (soft skills rather than purely hard skills), as well as a focus on the reality of working on the job and your company culture will make predictions about performance more accurate.

Predictive hiring leverages structured assessments and job fit insights to optimize recruitment outcomes. IceHrm offers tools to implement effective predictive hiring strategies and improve decision-making.