Call center candidates’ previous work experience is a poor predictor of attrition, a recent Evolv study asserts. You can’t predict how long a hire will stay based on whether he or she job-hopped or was unemployed in the past. The study does show that personality, aptitude, work style, and skills are much better predictors of tenure, and even on-the-job performance.
Our research into win-win selection decisions also finds that past work experience alone does not predict future performance. The hard part is implementing a selection process that assesses things like aptitude and skills effectively. Where most companies go wrong is asking candidates to describe, rather than demostrate, their skills and work style.
In many cases, the shift can be simple. Instead of using all interview time on behavioral questions (i.e., asking the candidate to describe how he or she responded to particular situations in the past), use some of the time to ask the candidate to work through an example problem or question.
