The ability to find and nurture talent has always been the cornerstone of great organizations. At no time has this been more applicable than at present. Organizations are increasingly automating the more mundane tasks of the business environment, so the required caliber of new hires is ever increasing. With this search for higher quality candidates comes increased investments from organizations. These organizations are now investing heavily in talent discovery programs, ongoing training schemes, and higher compensation and benefit packages in order to attract and retain these exceptional staff. With this added investment comes the enhanced risk of attrition. Losing staff is now more expensive than ever, with HR Review estimating the cost of searching for and recruiting one member of staff is in the region of £30k ($43k), which excludes any salary, benefits and training cost!
This then begs these questions: How does an organization effectively source—and, arguably, more importantly—retain talent? Should organizations offer even higher remuneration packages or better benefits? Or should they simply hire people who are more likely to stay in the first place? What is the most efficient and cost effective way of managing staff retention?
Organizations are now beginning to change their approach to hiring. Shifting from the skills-based approach of the past to a more behavioral-based approach. This method has been used to great effect, with some companies reporting an ~87% improvement in first month KPI metrics and a drastically enhanced retention rate.
Mercer is now set to bring this hiring approach to its HR client base through the launch of Mercer Match mobile platform. This platform is a product of Mercer’s Innovation Hub and the first product to come from its investment with Pymetrics (announced December 2015).
Initially, this platform will match candidates to sales positions, traditionally one of the most challenging roles to hire for. The platform uses 12 neuroscience-based games to evaluate and identify 80 different cognitive, emotional, and social traits that would impact a candidate’s likelihood to succeed in a sales role.
The platform is undergoing beta testing with seven clients. Mercer Match is set to go live with the final offering during Q2 this year. The platform will be priced using a tiered subscription pricing model dependent on a clients forecasted hiring needs. This in itself is a game changer, with Mercer moving away from the traditional per hire- or per candidate-based pricing approach.
This completely changes the dynamic of the traditional jobs board. These boards could often prove to be a nightmare for HR staff due to the high number of candidates, and often misaligned profiles, that came through. Through this platform companies are now able to accurately select a small yet accurately aligned group of candidates, possessing the right mindset and cognitive function to excel in the sales environment.
This platform demonstrates the As-a-Service Economy in action and aligns to HfS’ 8 ideals. Firstly, Mercer Match uses Intelligent Automation to remove much of the human element of candidate selection through its automated cognitive assessment system. Secondly, the platform embraces the ideal of Design Thinking by aiming to reduce expense on the client side through reducing HR time and effort as well as by reducing retention rates of new hires.
Service Provider : Mercer