In today’s competitive, dynamic markets, finding and hiring the best employees can be a challenging and time-consuming process for operators in any line of business. Business owners and hiring managers who want an edge when it comes to recruiting and hiring are looking in all sorts of unexpected places for new tools that will help in this endeavor.

Psychology is one such often-overlooked tool. While specialized health fields might not seem to have anything to do with your business at first glance, the fundamentals of psychology actually offer valuable insight into what makes a great employee, as well as how to identify those traits during the hiring process. By incorporating these insights as a foundational part of your hiring practices, you can build a strong and successful team that will help drive your business forward.

Understanding Personalities

One of the most important factors to think about when hiring new employees is personality traits. According to the Hogan Assessment Systems personality inventory, which is already ubiquitously used by some larger HR operations, certain personality traits can be extremely good predictors of job performance for certain types of roles.

Some of the best, most broadly-applicable traits you will want to target when recruiting include:

  • Conscientiousness – reliable, responsible, hard-working
  • Emotional stability – stress management, performance under pressure
  • Openness to new experiences – creative, adaptable

Psychology and Cognitive Ability

Everyone learns and thinks differently. Sometimes this can cause misunderstandings or tension, but this is also one of the core reasons diversity is so beneficial for your workforce and other types of communities.

That being said, certain indicators of certain types of cognitive function can be another key psychological consideration when hiring employees. A study by the University of Iowa found that various markers of cognitive ability can be strongly linked to job performance across a wide range of occupations. For the purposes of such studies, “cognitive ability” includes things like problem-solving skills, analytical thinking, pattern recognition, and the ability to absorb new information quickly. By assessing candidates’ relevant cognitive tools during the hiring process, you can identify job seekers who are more likely to be strong performers within your organization.

Bias: The Other Side of Hiring Psychology

Lastly, let’s turn things inward on our own psychology—as both an individual leader and as an organization overall. It’s of critical importance to always consider the impact of bias on the hiring process. Unconscious biases can influence the way we evaluate job candidates and can lead to unfair hiring practices and bad outcomes. For example, research has shown that hiring managers of any background are more likely to select candidates who are similar to themselves in terms of race, gender, and other characteristics. Using well-designed applicant screening technology in the early stages of hiring and recruiting can help mitigate some of these unconscious biases. Whether you are scanning resumes by hand or using algorithms to ensure all applicants are treated fairly, it will be important to be aware of any potential bias in your processes and to take steps to minimize the impact of those biases on the hiring process.

Overall, incorporating principles of psychology into the hiring process at various stages can help you find quality employees for your business. By using cognitive ability tests, emotional intelligence assessments, personality assessments, and working to minimize the impact of bias within your organization, you can increase your chances of hiring employees who are a good fit for your company. Hiring the right employees can have a significant impact on the success of your business, so it’s important to take the hiring process seriously and use all the tools at your disposal to find the best candidates.

Stang Decision Systems – Trusted Experts in Hiring and Analytics

For even more high-quality tools that will help you land the right candidates, contact Stang Decision Systems today. We can help you improve your processes and build a winning team for any industry.