Screen model - is it right for your company?

What is a sieve model?

This is one of the models for selecting employees for an enterprise. This model assumes that the employee is already a formed individual and it is very difficult to change his habits or develop him. The company tries to select the best employees in the market, so often the company hires them through recruitment with the help of personnel consulting agencies. These agencies use the most effective selection methods, such as competence interviews.

Sieve model - advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage is the opportunity to assemble a team of top specialists who will perform the assigned projects conscientiously and at a very high level. Employees , who have gone through a multi-stage recruitment process, are aware that the employer has set high requirements for them, but can release them from this position at any time, so they work at full capacity and are as efficient as possible. As for the newly recruited but highly experienced, they transfer their work culture, know-how and behavioral patterns to the new company. Another argument in favor of choosing the sieve model is the low need for money spent on training. A new employee is practically immediately ready to take part in projects. A standardized hiring policy clearly shows candidates who will be hired - only the best.

Disadvantages include high staff turnover, which negatively affects well-being and relations among employees. Repeated induction of new employees is as costly as training. The constant flow of new people results in uncertainty about retaining a position and affects unhealthy rivalry among employees. As for recruitment, it should be mentioned that job applicants with high potential but currently lower qualifications and skills will be rejected by recruiters. Despite the fact that they may be excellent specialists in the future, the company selects only a narrow group of the best selected employees. The hired employee has practically no opportunity to upgrade his professional skills, thus he does not bring any new skills since his employment that would help the company grow.

The lack of a sense of responsibility among rank-and-file employees also negatively affects the

development of the company, which depends only on the decisions of a narrow group of managers.

For whom is it beneficial?

Such an employment policy will not work for all companies.

Such a model works best for companies in an employer labor market, i.e., one in which there are more people willing to work than vacancies.

This is a good strategy for a company with an aggressive policy based on low manufacturing cost, for which the only possible cost reduction exists in the HR area.

The period of employment is short, as weaker links are replaced by stronger ones. Expenditures on training are very low, but demands on employees are very high.

The ideal candidate

In addition to formal requirements such as experience, education and specialization, the future employee is checked by a qualification and competency test. Sometimes there are also psychological tests to show recruiters whether the future employee will be stress-resistant, assertive, creative or a flexible person. Such tests have long been a mandatory part of recruiting police officers, military personnel or airport workers. Unfortunately, a poorly administered test can discourage employees from being recruited. For example, one recruit encountered a question about how many people he could date at once, and there were even questions from a more private sphere.

As for personal competence, the ability to lead a team and the ability to anticipate events that could jeopardize a company in the future are tested.

Soft skills are currently the most sought after by employers, especially - developed emotional intelligence. They are therefore ready to conduct a much longer and demanding recruitment process.

The most popular methods of competency testing

1. Aptitude tests - can be classified into numerical, verbal and personality tests
2. Competency interview - the candidate talks about specific situations that happened at work and his answers and behavior are compared to the previously created profile of the ideal candidate
3. Assessment Centre - consists of qualification through participation in various types of presentations, scenes or group discussions

When running a business whether using the sieve model or other concepts operating in the market, you should always keep in mind how important the human aspect is. The right choice of a model requires analyzing all available options, because its choice affects the entire staff of your enterprise, and it is on the right employees that your success depends.