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Client Highlight Blue Wave Ultrasonics Eliminates Hiring Errors with ProfileXTTM |
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Roger Stoneking, general manager of Blue Wave Ultrasonics, Inc., of Davenport, Iowa, was mentally berating himself over a hiring mistake he had made when he noticed a schedule for a Profiles International seminar about assessments. He knew he had to attend. “After the session, I left my card, and the guy was in my office before he left town,” Stoneking said. “We had 13 or 14 employees, and we all took the assessments. We used that as a benchmark for future hiring, and it’s paid off very well.” This was over a decade ago. In 1995 Stoneking acquired the company with Jeff Hancock, who is director of sales and marketing. Blue Wave designs and manufactures part-and-tool-cleaning systems for customers worldwide. “We support a number of market niches, most of them global,” Stoneking said. “We design the equipment to customer needs, then build it, ship it and support it.” Blue Wave's environmentally safe, water-based process removes soils from various materials without harmful chemicals, using high-frequency (ultrasonic) sound waves with a cleaning agent (soap or detergent) to safely remove dirt, oil, grease, etc., from metal, glass, ceramic, fiberglass or material. Ultrasonic cleaning removes tough contaminants without harming the parts, making it a valuable means of cleaning delicate and intricate aircraft parts that could not be cleaned by any other method. “It’s an extremely environmentally friendly process,” Stoneking said. “The use of hazardous solvents is eliminated.” Many of Blue Wave’s 19 employees are engineers; others have technical degrees in specialty areas; and some are high school graduates with special training. Stoneking uses Profiles’ Step One Survey IITM for an initial assessment of candidates and the ProfileXTTM to narrow the pool. Blue Wave is a client of Muno, Summers & Associates, owned by Profiles’ strategic partners Debbie Muno and Jeff Summers of Tampa, Fla. Muno and Summers have about 18 years of combined experience with Profiles. Stoneking said he gets valuable insight from the assessments, which help prevent errors. “In 11 years, we have not made a real hiring mistake,” he said. With the assessments he realized early on that those who are now key employees would achieve their status. He believes the customer, the product and the employees are most important to the company and are equal in value. ON THE WEB Blue Wave Ultrasonics, Inc.: Muno, Summers & Associates: http://www.munosummers.com |
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December 2006 Volume 1, Issue 2 Annual Subscription Rate: $36.00 |
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This newsletter is courtesy of Robert A. Cameron & Associates Strategic Business Partner of Profiles international Phone 954-385-8701 Email Robert@racameron.com www.racameron.com |
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Employer’s Advantage is published monthly. Edited by Barbara Elmore © 2006 Profiles International Profiles International Profiles Office Park 5205 Lake Shore Dr Waco, TX 76710 254.751.1644 www.profilesinternational.com |
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CORNER |
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technical |
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Last month Technical Corner looked at the first Department of Labor guideline on occupational assessments. This time we’ll look at the second guideline, which advises that assessments use the “whole-person” approach. This means the assessments employers use should measure more than limited aspects about candidates. For example, they should examine behavioral traits, occupational interests and thinking style. Profiles offers the effectiveness and convenience of all three in the ProfileXTTM. With this tool employers can see how candidates match qualities they have identified as being common to their top performers. They want to hire others who will also perform at top levels, so employers provide this ranking to Profiles to build a job match pattern. Once the formula is set for identifying top performers, several aspects must be identified about the person by looking at 20 scales across the three sections. Profiles also offers other “whole-person assessments, including the Step One Survey IITM and the Profiles Sales IndicatorTM. The SOSII tests job candidates for reliability, integrity, substance abuse and work ethic. Using this report empowers employers to objectively obtain better information, identify top candidates and conduct better interviews. The PSI helps select, manage and retain salespeople, measuring five key qualities of successful salespeople: competitiveness, self-reliance, persistence, energy and sales drive. Profiles can customize the PSI in several areas. Profiles’ assessments meet or exceed DOL guidelines, and we work diligently with our clients to help them understand these tools and use them correctly and efficiently. |
Using the ‘Whole-Person’ Approach with ProfileXTTM
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Employers who must submit the EEO-1 report, also called the Employer Information Report, need to know about upcoming changes in the survey that will take place in September 2007. The survey is a government form that requires many employers to supply an employee count by job category, ethnicity, race and gender. The report goes to several government agencies. This report must be filed by employers with federal government contracts of $50,000 or more and 50 or more employees, and by employers who have 100 or more workers, even if they do not have a federal government contract. The report is due Sept. 30 each year and must use employment numbers from any pay period in July through September of the year it is filed. The new report adds additional race categories and defines race and ethnicity categories this way: Hispanic or Latino: A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American descent or other Spanish culture or origin. White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. Black or African American: A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand and Vietnam. American Indian or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliations or community attachment. Two or more races: All persons who identify with more than one of the above . Self-identification (employee-provided) is the preferred method of obtaining this information. If employees refuse to provide it, employers can use employment records or observer identification. Applicants should be told that submitting the information is voluntary. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suggests using the following language: “The employer is subject to certain governmental record-keeping and reporting requirements for the administration of civil rights laws and regulations. To comply with these laws, the employer invites employees to voluntarily self-identify race and ethnicity. Submission of this information is voluntary, and refusal to provide it will not subject you to any adverse treatment. The information is kept confidential and is only used in accordance with the provisions of applicable laws, executive orders and regulations, including those that require the information to be summarized and reported to the federal government for civil rights enforcement. When reported, data will not identify any specific individual.” The new EEO-1 report has job categories divided into two levels based on an employee’s responsibility and influence in the organization. These two levels will be: Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers: These employees plan, direct and formulate policy, set strategy and provide overall direction. In larger organizations, they are within two reporting levels of the CEO. First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers: These employees direct implementation or operations within specific parameters set by Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers and oversee day-to-day operations. The revised report also moves business and financial occupations from the Officials and Managers category to the Professionals category to improve data for analyzing trends in the mobility of minorities and women within Officials and Managers. To provide consistency, uniformity and economy, the EEO-1 report was developed jointly by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. |
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Update: Changes Coming to EEO-1 in 2007 By SCOTT HANEY, Esq., Corporate Counsel |