Candidates were asked to take a 20-minute online test, measuring seven personality traits: determination, carefulness, influence, teamwork, curiosity, ownership, and behavior. This test is named “Koru 7”. The candidate's results will then be matched against the company's profile to see if they are a good match.
Koru co-founder and CEO Kristen Hamilton said: “Our service has helped companies solve many problems. They find it difficult to hire candidates with the same experience.”
“When a company has a large number of applicants, they often screen candidates based on two criteria: the name of the university the candidate graduated from and their scores. This process has eliminated a lot of potential candidates. Not only does it misrepresent a candidate's future performance, but it also destroys the company's diversity," she said.
Below is what Hamilton and co-founder Josh Jarrett shared about the test process they used.
Before a candidate takes the test, Koru takes a "fingerprint" of the recruiting company. This means that Koru will go to the recruitment company and analyze their entire current employee profile. After that, Koru will make data about current employees and compare them with future candidates.
After setting up the "fingerprint", the company can apply the Koru test to its vacancies. When candidates submit their application, they will be sent an email with a link to the test. The test is not timed, with candidates taking an average of 20 minutes to complete.
Step One: Past Experience
If candidates have used a skill in the past, they'll use it better in the future, says Jarrett. Koru doesn't just look at general information about a candidate's academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and past work. What Koru wants to see are the specific skills that the candidate used in the above activities.
If applicants say they've run a trip to France for their university football team, Koru will test their budget management skills. If the candidate has worked as a manager at McDonald's, Koru will test their enthusiasm and ability to motivate others. These are skills that can be applied to other jobs in the future.
Step two: Working style
Jarrett gives the following example: “You will solve a difficult problem with Excel or discuss in groups to find a solution. If you choose option one, it shows that you have a better analytical mind. If you choose the second option, it shows that you have a better teamwork and cooperation spirit."
Jarrett believes that not everyone can do everything well. Everyone has their own preferences and interests. He wants to know what the candidate's strengths are and whether those advantages match the employer's requirements.
Step three: Work scenario
“We came up with a short scenario like this: You really worked hard, staying up all night writing reports and submitting them to your boss. But she didn't even look, threw it in the drawer and didn't say thank you even once. What are you going to do?”, said Jarret.
The choices presented are: A. You will endure and keep working hard. B. You will go to her superior boss and complain. C. You will find the right opportunity to talk to your boss about this. D. You'll go out for a beer with your friends and whine about your terrible boss
According to Jarrett, depending on the answer, the company can evaluate the candidate's ability to manage emotions and how to treat people.
Result received
With recruiters, they can view all candidates for a vacancy in one directory. Candidates can be filtered using a variety of criteria. But most importantly, they can be filtered by matching the company's "fingerprint".
“There are many factors to consider and the human brain will have to work hard to evaluate many factors for each candidate they see. That's what our machine learning algorithm can do with greater efficiency," Jarret shared.
Based on the collected data, Koru's directory will provide advice to employers to interview candidates more effectively. Koru also offers an “after-sales” program for its service. For example, Koru would track the achievements of the recruits based on their recommendations. This feedback will help them better tune and improve the algorithm.
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