Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/316485
[ 52 ] HRO TODAY MAGAZINE | MAY 2014 Talent Management developed to their full potential. When behavioral science is aligned with the employee life cycle, it supports an employee experience to maximize satisfaction and growth. Best Fit The seeds of success are planted at the beginning of the employee life cycle. Fit to the job is the first key to the puzzle. Some organizations focus only on "fit" in terms of skills or résumé keywords, but those facts only tell a small part of the story. They do not provide deep insight into longevity, culture fit, or productivity potential. The secret ingredient is behavioral fit, which captures the things managers can't see on paper—behaviors! But through technology, organizations are able to compare an individual's behavioral preferences to a behavioral benchmark. The individual's behavioral preferences are based on actual performance data, and the behavioral benchmark is based on skills statistically proven to represent success on the job. Statistically, the closer the match to the behavioral pattern, the higher probability a person has to achieving success based on actual performance related to the job. This process can be scaled to the employer's needs and ensure that all levels of positions are filled with top-quality hires, while maximizing the employee's contribution and satisfaction in the organization. Finding the best fit can pay off in financial savings and earnings. For example, a well-known national restaurant chain deployed a behavioral science solution to select new employees for server positions using a behavioral benchmark built on successful incumbents. After tracking more than 2,200 servers and their tips received, hires that were named "best fit" by the behavioral science tool surpassed the established tip goal 43.6 percent more often than candidates that were hired despite being deemed a "poor fit" by the behavioral tool. In this case, better fit to the job directly improved job satisfaction and performance, even to the extent of the top servers receiving higher tips from restaurant patrons. Post-Hire Applications Because employee behavioral preferences have already been captured in the selection process, the organization is able to leverage that important data throughout the employee life cycle, beginning with the onboarding process. Once the employee is matched to a position based on best fit, valuable information is available to the manager or management team. This includes preferred learning style, communication style, and other unique insights that support strong communication. This way, relationships are built from the ground up with a solid foundation. It is important to recognize that the first 90 days is crucial to success in the employee life cycle. In fact, in many organizations, the highest levels of attrition are linked back to the first 90 days. It is not uncommon among many organizations and across many positions for the highest levels of attrition to be recorded during the first 90 days of employment. In a recent study of 44,482 associates, more than 45 percent of terms occurred in the first 90 days. By leveraging behavioral science, managers and employees are able to better understand and communicate with each other.