There’s a Remedy for Firms With Evaluation Problems

For businesses hiring new employees, it’s supposed to be like a test drive. The idea is to use a temporary staff company’s screening procedures to evaluate probationary employees before making a final decision.

Some job applicants at companies like LA Cellular are being sent to Remedy Intelligent Staffing for initial tests and then monitoring for 90 days or so. During that time, they are Remedy employees, and “the [hiring] company in fact has no liability,” says Remedy spokeswoman Diane Leduc.

San Juan Capistrano-based Remedy, whose 1996 revenue rose 37% to $286 million, likes to emphasize its thorough behavioral tests. Technical skills aside, secretaries need different attitudes at accounting firms than at construction companies, says Remedy Vice President Bill Herbster.

To establish a “baseline” of desirable attitudes and skills, Remedy tests the employer’s best employees in various job categories. That yields a personality profile for measuring applicants.

This “human performance technology” testing has been good for Remedy. Because of it, the financial hit to Remedy when its employees don’t work out for clients has been cut by 6%, Herbster said.

Applicants who are tested should watch out for loaded questions. If asked to predict tardiness, prospects generally should say, “Sometimes I’m late, but usually I’m on time,” Leduc said. A “never-late” reply might indicate dishonesty, she said.

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E. Scott Reckard covers workplace issues for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7407 and at [email protected]