Hiring Right…the First Time

“PI® is the one hiring criteria we won’t wiaver on; if it says not to hire, we won’t hire. This is money very well spent.”Michael Sarno

New City Mortgage is a young brokerage firm located in Beverly, Massachusetts. It consists of the four brokers that founded the company.

Challenge:
The company was ready to add their first hire; an “originator,” who would sell strictly on commission. Being a small business, it was critical for New City Mortgage to get the right person in the job the first time around and it had to be someone who could work effectively with the four partners. A wrong hire would have major financial and operational ramifications.

Process:
Michael Sarno, one of the principals of New City Mortgage, had used PI® with his previous employer, knew its value, and contacted a local PI® representative to help with this hire. Guided by their PI consultant, the four principals used the PI-based PRO to define the behavioral traits of an ideal “originator.” With that agreed upon, they launched the recruitment process — administering the PI® to potential candidates and comparing its results to the desired traits previously defined by the PRO.

There were several candidates the founders liked but their PI’s did not support the behavioral characteristics they were seeking. According to Mr. Sarno, the partners wanted “Somebody a lot like ourselves: social, aggressive and intelligent. …detailed-oriented enough to do the job, but not so much that it slows you down…”

New City Mortgage was impressed with PI Worldwide’s high level of service. The PI® consultant quickly provided feedback on each candidate as well as insight on how to approach the candidate during the interview process.

Results:
Mr. Sarno feels that PI® for Small Business has had a huge value for his organization. With the support of the Predictive Index®, New City Mortgage had the confidence to hire a candidate who had the behavioral traits they were looking for but not the professional experience. Confident they could “teach” the right candidate the job, the partners are pleased with the decision. Mr. Sarno shared, “We feel in hindsight, this was the best decision for us. The candidate shows great promise!”

In addition to making a great hire, the principals were able to take the information provided by the Predictive Index® and apply it to themselves so they could understand each other better. This has fostered more effective communication. “It (PI®) just makes you understand personalities a little better and it gives you a little more tolerance with the other individuals because you understand their idiosyncrasies, personalities and ability to take risk.”