Biodata

Why don’t more large companies use biodata in their recruitment and selection processes? If you recruit large numbers of people who take on work with similar job descriptions and responsibilities, and if you run a decent performance management system, grading employees in terms of their competence and performance against objectives, you’ve got the basis for a very effective recruitment tool.

Biodata (derived from ‘biographical data’) can start with a statistical comparison of information found in your standard application form (such as number of school qualifications, academic institutions attended, etc.: basically any ways of distinguishing between people based on their résumés) with the measured performance at work of the people concerned. Or it can compare the answers to specially-designed biographical questionnaires with job performance. Either way, the statistics used for this are complex and require training to apply and interpret, so this work is usually undertaken by specialist Occupational Psychologists or Psychometricians.

The output of this comparison shows which parts of applicants’ biographies actually correlate with high work performance. This correlation does not perfectly equate to prediction, but with some common sense you can assume that you’ve found a few real distinguishing factors with mark out your best applicants from the also-rans.

Biodata needs large sample sizes (so small companies can’t benefit from it) and some up-front funding for the initial statistical research (so the HR team needs to have a strategic role and the respect and support of the CEO and board). But it can – in the long term – help you recruit more effectively, taking less time to judge each candidate, but doing so with far more effectiveness. Take some time to see whether it can help your organisation.