Selecting High-Performers in High-Tech

Manufacturer Saves Millions through Improved Hiring Decisions

Scott Fuhr, Director of Marketing, SkillSurvey, Inc.

For Littelfuse, an innovative $600-million company with the premier circuit protection brand worldwide, finding committed, attentive and driven employees is an ongoing process required to uphold its global leadership position. Continually raising the standard comes with every job.    

To meet the challenge, Littelfuse relies on a web-based, reference-assessment solution that incorporates over 25 years of research in job competency modeling. The online survey tool, which operates automatically via e-mail, allows references to rate candidates on the very behaviors that have been validated to be predictive of success in specific job categories. The solution has had a dramatic impact on the company’s recruitment efficiency and hiring quality.

The Situation: So Much Required, So Little Time

From offices in over 28 countries, the 5,000 employees of Littelfuse deliver the right answers to their customers through a powerhouse of applied expertise, strong relationships and the most extensive product portfolio in the industry. The company’s products are found in virtually every product that requires electrical energy, from automobiles to computers to industrial equipment. Yet, only in the past few years has Littelfuse raised its level of sophistication concerning its reference-assessment process.

“It’s fair to say that we hadn’t been doing the best job of reference-checking,” said Holly Stanton, Human Resources Director for Global Talent and the Americas, at Littelfuse. “On rare occasions we found someone willing to tell us something about a candidate that actually made a difference. But, often we couldn’t justify time spent on reference-checking because it yielded little more than standard employment information.”

The Solution: A Broader Reference-Base and Better Data

Upon discovering the automated survey process, which is available as enterprise-wide software, Littelfuse tested it internally then piloted it on an actual applicant. After those initial trials four years ago, the company adopted the solution for a full range of positions across all functional and professional levels in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China and the Philippines. The company has never looked back, and internal feedback from hiring managers has been consistently positive ever since.

The method, made possible by Web 2.0 technology, involves having the candidate send his or her references—managers, peers, subordinates, and business partners—an electronic survey that contains approximately 20 questions. And, because the questions are specific to particular types and levels of positions, they pertain to the skills and behaviors that correlate with day-to-day success on the job.

References respond because the electronic format is easy and because the e-mailed invitation comes directly from the candidate. Since sources are released from legal liability and know that their responses will be aggregated and not personally identifiable, they are refreshingly candid in their assessments. References’ honest feedback is a closely-guarded and valuable asset to Littelfuse, so even after a candidate is hired, the company will not share the survey results.

“Our managers are amazed at the kinds of references people give, especially as we see a lot more negative references than we had expected,” Stanton said. “This may be, in part, because we had historically requested only two or three references. Our current system is set to require a minimum of five, two of whom must be managers. Candidates have had to broaden their reference base, which tends to produce more revealing information.”

The tool produces a report that displays detailed findings on the candidate’s evaluation for each of the behaviorally-based statements. Easy-to-read bar graphs reveal a candidate’s scores. “When a candidate scores low—and sometimes horrendously low—across most statements, it’s obvious we don’t have a match,” said Stanton. “Because we’re looking to hire the best, even if someone’s report shows low scores in just one area that’s critical to the job, we continue looking.”

Quality Selection Yields Measurable Results

In the past year, Littelfuse relied heavily on the automated solution to increase the quality of its hires and to also improve recruiting efficiency. Some statistics on usage reveal the strategic impact that human resources can have on its operations and quality-of-hire:

• 50 percent of the 416 reference assessments provided were from managers
• 5.22 references responded per candidate
• 89 percent of those references who were contacted responded
• The reference response time was less than one day
• 12 percent of candidates received scores showing “great developmental need,” providing insight into whom not to hire

Clearly, the process is quite efficient. But, Littelfuse considers the true value to be in how the system influences the company’s hiring choices. Since adopting the automated assessment process, Littelfuse has had greater insight into candidate competencies and has avoided hiring about 48 low-scoring candidates—candidates who might have otherwise been hired only to become poor performers. At an average annual salary of $83,000, this represents nearly $4 million in wages that could have been spent on employees the company did not want to retain.

Figure 1:  Developmental Need Indicators

Over a four-year period, about 24 percent of candidates received a low or medium score, indicating a great-to-moderate developmental need.    

Figure 2:  Overall Candidate Scores

Among the Littelfuse candidates for whom survey data was collected over a four-year period, 66 percent were highly-recommended and 9 percent were very highly-recommended.  The overall score is an aggregate of the responses to the questions in the survey.

“It’s the behavioral-based questions that provide the assurance we need,” Stanton said.  “There’s no doubt we’re making better-quality decisions, and we also feel that the objective feedback reflects better on the integrity of our selection process. It not only helps us identify the most optimal future employees, it also speaks well for the company.”

###

Scott Fuhr is with SkillSurvey® Inc., the inventor and leading provider of Web 2.0 reference assessment solutions that increase quality of hire and improve recruiting efficiency. Its Pre-Hire 360® solution received an “HR Product of the Year” award from Human Resource Executive® magazine. Fuhr can be reached at sfuhr@skillsurvey.com, or at 610-947-6300, ext. 1225.

Posted by Scott Fuhr on August 3, 2011. Filed under Recruiting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry