challenge
As one of the largest employers in Germany, the company is faced with more than 200.000 applications of young under-graduate school leavers every year who want to start their professional career with a technical or commercial apprenticeship. The company’s traditional approach was to screen applicants based on biographic data and school grades, followed by brief telephone or on-site interviews in one of their various locations in Germany.  A  smaller number of applicants were then invited to take a series of tests, followed by a structured interview and some assessment exercises. The process produced reliable and valid results, but was rather inefficient in terms of costs, administrative complications, and time-to-hire.

solution
cut-e consulted the client on the design of an online recruitment process including a series of psychometric screening instruments, measuring short-term memory (scales stm) and work style (shapes admin). In a predictive validation study, the screening instruments were administered to about 500 candidates. The results were compared to the candidate’s assessment scores at the on-site assessments, producing a set of rules that best predicted the client’s final hiring decision. The set of rules was then cross-validated with another segment of the sample.

benefit
Based on the screening tests, the client is able to filter 70% of the unsuitable applicants out without loosing one suitable new hire. The number of candidates that had to be assessed on-site for filling the apprenticeship vacancies was reduced by about 30%. As the client could replace its traditional pre-selection process, the online screening produced cost savings per year of about 500.000 €.