Have you ever had an interview where the person told you they could not do the job? Or have you ever had a person who “stretched” their abilities in the interview and as a result you were cleaning their messes for days, weeks or months after?

A best practice simulation provides you “Point-to-Point Correspondence” with the job. When the activities found in the simulation are a replica of activities required on the job, you get an accurate portrayal of a candidate’s skill level.

Simulations are also critical to training and a must-do in all continual development. Do you really want salespeople “practicing” on customers? Of course, you do not! General George Patton once said, “The more my troops sweat in peacetime the less they bleed during combat.” Simulations are a must in all continual development.

When recorded, simulations help reduce, if not remove bias and subjectivity in the hiring process in one BIG way, “The eye in the sky does not lie.” You do not want he said/she said situations in any business scenario, especially in simulations.

Here is a great example of the benefit of recording simulations: A hiring manager who got a ‘good hit’ off a candidate in an interview might get a completely different feeling after watching a recorded simulation. The candidate might be the most charming person in the world, but when the time came, he did not have the skills he trumpeted. This is a potential hiring disaster that can and MUST be avoided.

Recorded simulations are irreplaceable in training as well. There is nothing better than being able to go back and review specific areas for either praise or correction. Plus, reviewing an individual’s recorded progress or regression is an immensely powerful training tool.

The War for Talent is upon us; there are only so many A-Players out there. The mistake most organizations make is purposefully making the hiring process easier out of fear of losing the candidate.

Thomas Payne said, “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value.” Being with the BEST requires paying the PRICE. Candidates learn respect for the position and respect for the company by demonstrating how seriously the company takes the hiring process. The best candidates don’t want to be with some company rolls over. Remember everybody wants to belong to The Club that is nearly impossible to join.

87% of people who voluntarily leave a company do so because of a lack of growth and development opportunity. It is human nature to want to improve, to develop new skills, succeed and advance. If you have good people, make them better. Use simulations to train and develop your team continually. And you know what they call the company with the top employees? The BEST!