The Importance of Validating Benchmarks to Improve Hiring Success

Pre-employment assessments have become an essential tool in modern hiring, helping companies streamline their candidate selection process and make more informed decisions. But how do you know if your assessments are truly effective? The answer lies in establishing and validating job benchmarks. Benchmarks serve as a reference point to measure how well a candidate fits a specific role, but they must be carefully tailored and validated to ensure accuracy. This article covers why validating these benchmarks is key to improving hiring success.

Understanding Job Benchmarks

So, what exactly are benchmarks? In the context of hiring, benchmarks are data-driven profiles that define the ideal traits, skills, and behaviors required for a specific position. These benchmarks are created by analyzing successful employees in a role, identifying the common attributes that lead to high performance, and setting these as standards for future hires. Benchmarks provide a blueprint that helps hiring teams match candidates with the roles that best align with their strengths and capabilities.

Why Validate Benchmarks?

Creating benchmarks is only the first step — validating them is where the real value lies. A validation study ensures that benchmarks are not only accurate but also effective at predicting job success. As job roles evolve and new performance insights becomes available, it’s essential to refine benchmarks regularly. Research shows that selection criteria must be updated to maintain their predictive power. Those that rely on outdated benchmarks risk reduced accuracy, while those that continuously update based on performance data see sustained or even improved validity.

The key benefits of validating benchmarks:

• Greater accuracy in candidate selection: Valid benchmarks help you target the right candidates, ensuring they have the necessary traits and skills for the job. Validation studies help ensure that the benchmarks set for various roles are accurate and relevant. This accuracy leads to better hiring decisions and improves the overall quality of hires.
• Enhance predictive validity: Validation allows for the refinement of benchmarks based on actual performance or turnover data, leading to continuous improvement of the selection process. The ongoing analysis ensures that the benchmarks evolve with the position, helping businesses stay ahead in hiring top talent.

How Prevue Conducts a Validation Study

Prevue’s validation studies analyze employee performance data, turnover rates, and other key metrics to ensure benchmarks stay relevant and reflect actual job demands. By continually refining benchmarks, we identify the personality traits that predict success in specific roles, enhancing the accuracy of our selection process. Here’s a look at how our I/O psychologists conduct these studies — from data gathering to fine-tuning benchmarks for optimal results.

Step 1: Collect Client Data

We start by gathering essential data from the client, ideally after they’ve used Prevue assessments for at least a year. To keep the study focused, we typically choose one or two key roles and collect data related to key metrics, like turnover or performance, for hires made using Prevue. We then compile metrics from all candidates who have taken Prevue assessments, ensuring we have a strong basis for analysis.

Step 2: Analyze the Data

With the client’s metrics and Prevue assessment scores in-hand, we begin analyzing the data. This step helps us uncover trends and correlations between specific Prevue traits and actual job success. To gain clear insights, we use two key types of analysis:

• Survival Analysis – This method predicts turnover by analyzing the likelihood of turnover over time, helping us determine which assessment traits longer-term employees
• Mixed ANOVA – For performance, we use a mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) to see if certain assessment profiles are consistently found among top performers.

Step 3: Adjust Benchmarks

After presenting our findings to the client, we refine the benchmarks to better reflect the traits of high-performing employees in the role. To ensure that the new benchmark supports effective hiring, we reconnect with the client after 6 to 12 months (depending on their hiring volume) and may conduct a follow-up study to further validate and enhance the benchmark.

Case Study: Reducing Turnover with Targeted Benchmarks

After a year of using Prevue’s Job-Fit, one organization sought to evaluate their impact on turnover reduction and improve their hiring approach for the Occupational Health Specialist (OHS) role. Here’s how a validation study helped optimize their hiring process:

• Data Set: The study focused on 56 OHS employees, analyzing personality traits linked to turnover.
• Analysis: A survival analysis revealed that employees with high ‘Competitive’ and ‘Self-Sufficient’ traits had significantly lower turnover rates; while those lacking these traits were over three times more likely to leave.
• Action: Based on the findings, the organization refined their benchmarks to emphasize ‘Self-Sufficient’ and ‘Competitive’ traits. This adjustment aligned with the unique demands of the OHS role, where employees must be self-starters, manage extensive travel, and work independently with minimal interaction.

Prevue’s ultimate goal is to create highly accurate, custom benchmarks for every position, and our validation studies are key to achieving that. By regularly validating and updating benchmarks, we ensure they stay relevant and effective, resulting in better hiring outcomes, improved retention, and enhanced long-term performance. By investing the time and resources to validate your benchmarks, you can make smarter, data-driven hiring decisions that benefit both your team and the entire company.

This article was written in collaboration with Baila Glogauer, M.S., I/O Psychologist.