Simulation Assessments for Hiring

Whitepaper from PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Simulation assessments for hiring drastically increase the chances of a good hire, while decreasing the risk of turnover. A few years back we wondered what the academic community thought of the use of Simulation Assessments when selecting new employees (Salespeople, Customer Service, Inside Sales or Managers) within organizations.

Since 2002, we have proven to ourselves and many clients that too many hiring mistakes were taking place. Organizations were losing money due to traditional hiring practices. One thing was clear, Simulation Assessments (sometimes known as Job Simulations, Work Simulations or In-Tray Exercises) work.
We approached a well-known Industrial-Organizational Psychology program in a top university where Simulations were studied and analyzed to validate this type of hiring process. From this discussion a whitepaper was produced by the university.

Based on nearly a century of organizational research, we know that a typical selection system can only predict the differences in job performance across a candidate pool with about 40% accuracy. And that’s only if the selection system is well implemented! Clearly, there is a tool missing from the typical selection system!

The missing tool from the typical selection system is the simulation exercise. The simulation exercise is an assessment method that requires candidates to demonstrate their actual behavioral skills in an activity that resembles an actual organizational situation.

The Whitepaper provides an objective third party view on the valid reasons for using Simulations when hiring key professionals such as Salespeople, Sales Managers and other within an organization.