We’ve found it particularly useful to get early insight into a candidate’s core skills, discipline and general transferability in their career using the KPI and CSF methods.

1. You may be asking yourself, what is the difference between KPI and CSF or you may be asking what even are they? To begin understanding your candidates, you will need to get acquainted with what these phrases are.

What is a KPI?

I’KPI stands for Key Performance Indicators: KPIs are the specific metrics or numbers measuring a candidate’s process in areas such as revenue or sales. Viewing these metrics gives a clear view of a candidate’s strength in a specific area. For example, a candidate’s KPI will indicate whether or not they have met their sales target for 2010. If the results state they have met this target, they have reached their KPI.

Reviewing KPI information is good, and important; but any experienced recruiter can tell you that however well a candidate did in their last job, you never really know how well they might do in their next one as there are other factors to consider. KPIs give us an insight into a candidate’s work ethic and commitment to meeting targets, but will it translate over to how your business operates and the culture that you have? This is where effective interviewing and candidate assessing skills come in.

What are CSFs, and Why Do We Use Them?

CSF stands for Critical Sucess Factors: These are the specific actions or steps taken to achieve goals within a business. I’ve found that CSFs are a lot more telling, and a much better indicator of if a candidate has the core skills, flexibility, and discipline to make it in the long run in a new job.

You also know the team this individual will be joining and how they currently work. By asking about CSFs, you’ll understand how this individual works and be able to make a better judgement on how you think they will mesh with the working styles of the potential new team.

What to Ask in Interview

So, if past performance isn’t a guaranteed assurance of future achievement, what can we do to get insight into future performance? We suggest that instead of relying heavily on ‘what were your KPIs and did you meet the targets?’ when interviewing a candidate, instead ask ‘What were your CSFs, and did you meet your daily/weekly targets?’

Find the best candidate for your organization with one of CML’s top recruiters. For more information, feel free to contact info@cml.ky today for a confidential conversation.