 |  |  |  |
Medical Lab’s Strategic Hiring System Trims
First-Year Failures, Promises Even More
Reductions
Like many such operations, a mid-sized medical laboratory that employs over 400 people, relies heavily on
students to fill skilled entry level positions (phlebotomist, specimen processor, etc.) As a result, they expect a
higher turnover in these positions, as students matriculate and leave for other pursuits. Before embarking on a
strategic hiring program, however, their first-year failure rates for all hires ran a steady 33 percent, a number
they deemed undesirably high and costly.
Partially through fiscal 2004,
the laboratory initiated an
assessment program,
screening all new hires with
the Step One Survey II™,
and began developing
ProfileXT™ success patterns
for their most critical job
categories. By FY 2005, the
program was well-developed,
and ProfileXT™ patterns
were in use for a majority of
their hires.
Against a background overall
turnover rate hovering
between 12 percent and 15
percent annually and relatively
stable over four years, the
graph clearly shows the positive effects of their assessment efforts. First-year failures declined from their base
rate of 33 percent to only 15 percent in FY 2005, a number matching their background turnover.
This success brought additional opportunities. By the end of 2005, the lab had accumulated significant data on
the single most critical position, phlebotomist (from a first-year failure perspective and in terms of the effect of
failure on the operation). Careful analysis of the data, using the ProfileXT™ and their success pattern, revealed
an opportunity to further reduce early failures in this position by adopting a criterion that eliminated candidates
who failed to match the overall pattern at 70 percent or better. By also eliminating candidates who matched the
Thinking Styles section at less than 70 percent, they could expect to reduce their early failures by 35 percent
without eliminating any candidates likely to succeed. This same criterion should reduce their failures in the first
six months by over 45 percent. (Currently, just over half of new phlebotomists fail to reach the six-month
mark.) This approach, based on solid statistical evidence of the job-relatedness of the criterion, will be extended
to other critical job categories as sufficient data becomes available. The immediate goal is to reduce first-year
hire failures across all categories to the 12 percent level or below, while continuing to improve the productivity
and performance gains produced by better job fit. Their goal, a distant possibility a year ago, now seems very
near and reachable.
About MaxImpact
MaxImpact is a training and development organization based in Rochester Hills. Their products and services
connect teams to a shared vision. For information on MaxImpact, visit www.getmaximpact.com, call 248-802-
6138, or write rick@getmaximpact.com.
©2008 Max Impact Corporation
First-Year Failures, Promises Even More
Reductions
Like many such operations, a mid-sized medical laboratory that employs over 400 people, relies heavily on
students to fill skilled entry level positions (phlebotomist, specimen processor, etc.) As a result, they expect a
higher turnover in these positions, as students matriculate and leave for other pursuits. Before embarking on a
strategic hiring program, however, their first-year failure rates for all hires ran a steady 33 percent, a number
they deemed undesirably high and costly.
Partially through fiscal 2004,
the laboratory initiated an
assessment program,
screening all new hires with
the Step One Survey II™,
and began developing
ProfileXT™ success patterns
for their most critical job
categories. By FY 2005, the
program was well-developed,
and ProfileXT™ patterns
were in use for a majority of
their hires.
Against a background overall
turnover rate hovering
between 12 percent and 15
percent annually and relatively
stable over four years, the
graph clearly shows the positive effects of their assessment efforts. First-year failures declined from their base
rate of 33 percent to only 15 percent in FY 2005, a number matching their background turnover.
This success brought additional opportunities. By the end of 2005, the lab had accumulated significant data on
the single most critical position, phlebotomist (from a first-year failure perspective and in terms of the effect of
failure on the operation). Careful analysis of the data, using the ProfileXT™ and their success pattern, revealed
an opportunity to further reduce early failures in this position by adopting a criterion that eliminated candidates
who failed to match the overall pattern at 70 percent or better. By also eliminating candidates who matched the
Thinking Styles section at less than 70 percent, they could expect to reduce their early failures by 35 percent
without eliminating any candidates likely to succeed. This same criterion should reduce their failures in the first
six months by over 45 percent. (Currently, just over half of new phlebotomists fail to reach the six-month
mark.) This approach, based on solid statistical evidence of the job-relatedness of the criterion, will be extended
to other critical job categories as sufficient data becomes available. The immediate goal is to reduce first-year
hire failures across all categories to the 12 percent level or below, while continuing to improve the productivity
and performance gains produced by better job fit. Their goal, a distant possibility a year ago, now seems very
near and reachable.
About MaxImpact
MaxImpact is a training and development organization based in Rochester Hills. Their products and services
connect teams to a shared vision. For information on MaxImpact, visit www.getmaximpact.com, call 248-802-
6138, or write rick@getmaximpact.com.
©2008 Max Impact Corporation
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