The Client
Linvatec Corporation is a leading arthroscopy/power surgical instrument equipment manufacturer in the United States and a top market share leader globally. On December 31, 1997, Linvatec was purchased by CONMED Corporation, a medical device company based in Utica, New York.
Linvatec, headquartered in Largo, FL, is at the forefront of technology for a growing range of least-invasive and orthopaedic surgery procedures. Orthopaedic surgeons use Linvatec arthroscopic instruments for diagnostic purposes, for minor surgeries and complex reconstructions of knees, shoulders, and small joints such as the wrist and ankle.
Linvatec’s Hall Surgical line of power surgical instruments are used for oral/maxillofacial, otolaryngology, hand surgery, podiatry, thoracic surgery, and neurosurgery. Additionally, many procedures are supported by a variety of endoscopic and fiber optic products also made at Linvatec. The company has 1,000 employees.
The Solution
Personality Characteristics Inventory® (PCI): The PCI forecasts job-related behavior, enabling hiring managers at Linvatec to match personalities to specific hourly positions in this highly team-based culture.
Developed by personality experts Murray Barrick, Ph.D., and Michael Mount, Ph.D., the PCI provides occupational scores for positions such as managers, sales people, clerical employees and production workers. This instrument links five key personality dimensions, known as “The Big Five,” to successful job performance. The Big Five measure: agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroversion, stability, and openness.
Regardless of job type, the core personal characteristics measured by the PCI are critical factors to the long-term achievements of employees. Using the Big Five and its 12 personality subscales, Linvatec can predict an employee’s behavior and likelihood of success in specific hourly positions. The implementation of the test and other internal process improvements resulted in a decrease in turnover from 30 percent to 11 percent.
Turnover for Manufacturer Drops 19% in 1 Year
Resumés may give you insight into a person’s work experiences and skills tests can measure their abilities, but neither provides you with an indicator of whether a candidate’s personality will mesh with your corporate culture. They don’t tell you if that person is outgoing or introverted, if they have leadership skills or take direction well. So, on their own, these tools really aren’t enough.
At least that was the case for Linvatec, the Largo, Florida-based, manufacturer of arthroscopy power surgical instruments. Until the late 90s, the company relied on skills tests, resumés and interviews to make hiring decisions. It was an intensive application process, but too often the people they chose didn’t have the right personality for the job. “The skills tests are good for proving technical proficiency, but they don’t offer any indication as to whether someone will fit the environment,” says Todd Gladden, Training & Project Manager. “We have a team-based culture where personality is crucial.”
And even though they were hiring people with the right education and experience, turnover was 30 percent in 1999, largely because the organization was not hiring people who fit the company’s culture.
Late that year, the company decided the hiring process for its hourly workers, which make up half of the 1,000 positions, needed an overhaul. An evaluation team was tasked with finding a tool that would give recruiters a detailed personality profile of potential candidates. They chose the Wonderlic Personal Characteristics Inventory (PCI), which measures five key personality dimensions—extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, stability and openness. These traits and their 12 personality subscales are linked directly to successful job performance across a range of occupations.
“Of all the tests we looked at, the Wonderlic PCI was the most versatile and thorough product,” Gladden says. “No other test gave us so much detail and information.” The team also liked the detailed profile reports that Wonderlic delivers with each set of test scores because they clearly explain what those scores mean and what jobs that person would be most suitable for. Wonderlic also sets ideal PCI score ranges in each category for thousands of jobs, which means Linvatec knows exactly what scores are required for each position. “Having those parameters is more helpful than just looking for high scores,” Gladden says, “because sometimes a low score is a good thing.” For example, production workers should score high on agreeableness and stability, but low on the need for recognition.
Gladden was further impressed with the customer service and customization Wonderlic could provide. Initially, when recruiters submitted tests for scoring, they received 20-page reports detailing the candidate’s profile characteristics. Once they got used to reading the summaries, it became clear which areas were the most important, Gladden says, and they didn’t have to page through the reports to find it. Wonderlic responded by customizing a one-page summary for each set of test scores that highlights the sections of interest to Linvatec recruiters, allowing them to glean the most important information in the shortest amount of time. “We came to Wonderlic for the test but we stayed for the customer service,” he says.
Linvatec doesn’t eliminate people based on test scores; instead managers use the scores in the interview process. They have defined sets of questions that address specific low scores in each category. For example, if a candidate scores badly on agreeableness, recruiters may ask the candidate to share an occasion in which they lost their temper at work. This helps recruiters identify and explore potential problem areas before a person is hired, he says.
Since implementing the PCI in 1999, turnover at the manufacturing company has dropped to 11 percent annually, in an industry that averages 30 percent. That drop saved the company $300,000 in recruiting costs, and Gladden attributes it at least in part to the PCI. “We’ve had a lot of success with Wonderlic. I’d recommend them to anyone.”
