If your molecular diagnostics or life science company employs people based on experience rather than proven ability to perform, you may be ignoring ideal candidates.
Similarly, hiring focused on specific traits does not guarantee you will wind up with someone who can perform the work you need to be done. This results in a higher turnover than is healthy for business.
The key to attracting, hiring, and retaining the best possible people is to design a hiring process that will attract potential employees who are a good fit for the job. If you can identify top-tier candidates who can not only do the job you want them to do but will fit in with the company culture, retention is more likely. This is where a performance profile comes in. When a job can be explained based on the desired performance, you will attract only the best rather than hiring a below-average candidate.
Performance Profile
A performance profile describes what is expected from a new employee. It differs from the traditional job description because it emphasizes expected results instead of responsibilities. This method is highly effective when recruiting in life sciences and molecular diagnostics.
Creating a Performance Profile
When hiring new employees, the goal is to find individuals whose accomplishments demonstrate that they can successfully achieve the results specified in the performance profile. The job description should be grounded in the performance profile.
To create an effective performance profile, the following criteria should be identified:
The critical business results are associated with the position. The goals are what you expect employees to deliver for you to retain them. Focus on the most critical outcomes.
Actions that are necessary to drive those key results. By connecting actions with specific outcomes, you are defining what you want employees to accomplish rather than having them engage in unfocused motion.
Technical skills. Include a list of hard skills like computer capabilities and equipment operation needed to do the job successfully.
Expertise and educational achievement. Experience and education/training requirements are ultimately important in making the final hiring decision. However, a lack of experience or education should not be a deciding factor unless that experience or education is required to be successful.
By designing an accurate performance profile, you, as the employer, will stop your first impressions and personal bias from blinding your decision-making. This will result in a more productive workforce.
Better Applicants
The performance profile will attract candidates interested in knowing what opportunities and challenges are available to them in a job as opposed to what qualifications and traits the employer is looking for. The talent you are interested in hiring will apply based on what will fulfill them personally rather than which job offers the most money. This makes the hiring process a lot easier, and your only task is to make your ideal candidate an attractive offer.
Higher Retention Rate
Finally, the performance profile only works when it is consistent with job expectations, the hiring process, and daily work. Since the hiring decision is based on the candidate's ability to fit the profile, job duties must also be in accord with the profile. Remember, the new employee came on board because she or he was interested in performing the specified job tasks. Retention will depend on following through with those expectations. Motivation may be lacking if the duties don't match the performance profile.