Davidson transformed a client’s recruitment process, improving the quality of its employees and delivering a measurable increase in sales revenue.

CHALLENGE

Retailers are in the business of selling. The ability to confidently predict which candidates will deliver the best sales results and customer service delivers increased profits. The wrong hire can quickly result in lost sales, lower productivity, lower profit, poor team culture and brand damage.

Our client, an international retailer with a large workforce, relied on psychometric assessment processes to select the most suitable candidates for its store managers and retail staff roles.

The company had been using the same pre-employment system for five years but wasn’t sure it was producing better hiring results. It engaged Davidson to discover if the system was selecting the right candidates to achieve increased profit and a competitive advantage.

SOLUTION

Identifying successful retail staff and store managers

A business impact study of the recruitment assessment processes would assist the client to decide whether to continue using the system.

We analysed existing employee psychometric assessment scores against their sales performance over a six month period. By comparing actual sales performance against predicted performance indicators, we measured the assessments’ effectiveness in identifying successful candidates.

The business impact study revealed to the client that its existing system failed to effectively assess candidates. Specifically, it didn’t measure competencies that correlated with sales performance. This was because it wasn’t a fit-for-purpose assessment tool tailored to the company’s needs.  Our client engaged us to develop a bespoke process that would provide confidence about its hiring decisions.

We created a two stage psychometric screening solution to predict a candidate’s suitability for a sales team or manager role and measure key competencies. We designed the process to meet the client’s brief of reducing manual input.

The first stage measured candidates’ logical reasoning. The second, a behavioural selection assessment, identified potential high performers.

After implementing the new process, Davidson completed another business impact study to measure its performance and suitability.

OUTCOMES

The new assessment and selection process increased sales and productivity.

• Staff who met the new assessment benchmark were 39% more effective in sales performance than those who did not.
• Revenue generated from staff who met new assessment benchmark achieved an annual average that was $62,400 higher per employee than those who did not.
• Candidates reported an improved recruitment experience.
• Automating the system shortened the process by an average 25%. This reduced time to hire while increasing hiring quality.