Dallas, TX – As retailers build up their workforces to prepare for the upcoming rush of holiday shoppers, new research shows that hiring employees that possess the key competencies and personality traits needed to be successful – regardless of their age – can make or break the shopping experience for their customers.

Assess Systems, a leading provider of comprehensive employment assessments based in Dallas, studied the work-related traits of more than 500,000 job candidates of all ages to determine if there were trends specific to each generation. Research by its scientists and industrial and organizational psychologists found that possessing a certain set of personality characteristics and behaviors are most important for job success – and those characteristics are generally the same no matter the age of the employee.

In the retail industry, employees must know how to manage time, juggle multiple tasks, provide exceptional customer service, and tolerate high-frustration situations. And while some individuals may not be the right fit for the retail industry – perhaps they’re not able to cope with high-stress shopping hours, or are too bossy or overbearing with customers – this has nothing to do with the age of the employee, but rather with their individual personality and behavior.

“Stereotypes about millennials or older workers hinder a retailer’s ability to build a top-notch workforce,” said Carol Jenkins, Ph.D., Vice President of Talent Solutions at Assess Systems. “Through pre-hire assessments and predictive analytics, we have found that top performers don’t necessarily fall within a particular age group. By identifying the key attributes needed for success in the workplace, and then hiring employees who have those characteristics, retailers can meet the diverse needs of their customers while creating long-term brand loyalty.”
Through its research, Assess Systems also identified the key predictors for success in the retail industry. For hourly employees, they include sociability, accommodation to others, guest focus, frustration tolerance, drive & energy, integrity, multi-tasking, persuasiveness, pride in work, and teamwork. For managers, they include championing change, driving for results, managing others, coaching & developing, teamwork, problem solving, revenue focus, judgment, planning & organizing, and relationship management. Ensuring that hiring managers understand what leads to success, use pre-employment assessments that align to success, and target interview questions will enable retailers to hire the best.

A copy of the company’s White Paper, “Generational Differences: The Newest Way to Justify a Bad Hire,” can be accessed at https://www.assess-systems.com/lp/generational-differences-retail-white-paper/.

Assess Systems recently merged with Chequed.com, a leading provider of cloud-based Predictive Talent Selection™ technology, to establish a single cloud-based suite of talent management solutions to help source, screen, evaluate, and reference candidates, enhance employee development, and measure an employee’s impact on the job. Delivered on desktops and mobile devices and integrated with the major HR systems, the combined company’s solutions predict the success of candidates and employees from hourly to executive roles across industries.

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About Assess Systems.

Assess Systems is a global, innovative SaaS technology and services company providing talent selection and people development solutions. Focusing on person-job-organization fit, their assessment solutions help clients select, develop, and promote talent for improved business outcomes. For 30 years, Assess Systems has assessed millions annually across industries, spanning 42 countries and supporting 16 languages. Solutions include: selection process design; competency modeling; pre-employment assessments; competency-based professional, management, and sales assessments; eLearning; leadership & team development programs; 360-degree assessment and feedback; succession planning; and executive assessment and coaching. For more information, visit www.assess-systems.com.

About Chequed.com.

Chequed.com has one goal: No Bad Hires. Ever. From pre-employment testing and scorable interview guides to online reference-checking and passive talent sourcing, Chequed.com’s cloud-based Predictive Talent Selection™ platform is used by some of the world’s leading brands. Visit Chequed.com for more information, Start a Free Trial or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Contacts:

Assess Systems

Jason Ferrara, Vice President, Marketing and Product Management

(972) 764-0077 | jferrara@assess-systems.com

Chequed.com

Steve Janack, Principal, The Janack Group

(518) 810-8050 | steve@thejanackgroup.com