Pre-Employment Assessments: Being More Informed for Successful Hiring Decisions

Dear Colleagues,

Hiring the right person for the job is important to the success of any organization. For Johns Hopkins Medicine, providing quality patient care is directly tied to our ability to attract, develop and retain an engaged workforce. Our hiring decisions impact patient safety and patient satisfaction, and can affect employee satisfaction and retention.

Research shows that pre-employment assessments are a useful first step in the selection process to help managers make more informed hiring decisions. We believe that these assessments can greatly enhance our ability to identify those candidates most likely to be successful, because they provide additional insight into the skills and abilities of candidates beyond what may be represented in their online application and resume materials.

During the month of July, Johns Hopkins Medicine will begin to administer pre-employment assessments as part of the application process for all external and some internal applicants. This new assessment will replace any pre-hiring assessments currently being used. Candidates for positions with The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, Johns Hopkins HealthCare, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, Howard County General Hospital, Johns Hopkins Home Care Group, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and Suburban Hospital will take the assessments starting in July. Clinical operations positions in the school of medicine will begin on Aug. 1 or soon thereafter. Sibley Memorial Hospital and All Children's Hospital will implement the assessments in 2016.

The online assessments are designed to complement our traditional recruitment and screening processes. They will work hand in hand with SuccessFactors for Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System employees and with JHUjobs for school of medicine employees. The process will be seamless for applicants. Once candidates complete the online application, they will immediately be prompted to take the pre-employment assessment that best aligns with one of six broad-based job categories identified by our consultant, Developmental Dimensions International (DDI), that involve patient care, health care support and health care management. DDI will administer the assessments, analyze the data and provide a detailed report for each candidate to the hiring manager.

The way you work with your human resources recruitment team will not change; the pre-employment assessment will just provide more information to assist in your evaluation of each candidate prior to scheduling interviews.

You will receive more information and training on this new recruitment tool over the next few weeks. If you have questions, please contact Kim Wilson, career services manager, at kwilso32@jhmi.edu or 443-997-5030. For school of medicine questions, please contact Jaymie Hornberger, assistant employment manager, at jhornberg@jhmi.edu or 410-955-7523.

Sincerely,

Bonnie Windsor
Senior Vice President of Human Resources
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Cherita Hobbs
Senior Director of Human Resources, Health Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University
Interim Director of Human Resources, School of Medicine