One of the performance-killing problems I hear about most often is the cost of bad hires. In recent keynote talks to leaders in manufacturing and healthcare I have seen executives wince visibly at this one when I start listing my “7 Talent Problems That Kill Profits.” There is widespread agreement that one of the ways new hires hurt most is their inability to work with their team. Not only do these ineffective employees perform poorly, but they also disrupt the productivity of an entire unit.

I’ve been researching a tool that can significantly increase the likelihood of selecting candidates who will collaborate effectively with their new colleagues. Role-Based Assessment (RBA) is an online instrument that evaluate’s a job candidate’s ability to play nicely with others. This tool, developed by The Gabriel Institute, has been shown to predict where and how a person is most likely to succeed on a team.

For example, executives in a multinational manufacturer used RBA to evaluate internal candidates for a key senior sales management job after a series of people failed badly in the role. Ironically, RBA suggested an employee in a middle management purchasing job would be the best choice, even though she had little sales experience. Top management initially doubted this recommendation, but eventually they put her in this problematic role. As a result, sales output soared and costs of sales dropped drastically. The new sales manager’s ability to build a team that produced great results surprised everyone. Within several years she became the company’s COO.

Obviously, Role-Based Assessment is no magic bullet for hiring great team players, but it has been shown in years of validation tests to reduce the uncertainties involved in hiring people for their “teaming” characteristics. You can learn more and even try the instrument out by contacting them here.