In our previous post, Why Job Analysis Is the Key to Valid Skills-Based Hiring, we explored why a scientifically grounded approach is essential to fair, predictive hiring. Job analysis forms the foundation of that process—it defines the skills and behaviors that truly drive success in a role.
This time, we’re taking the next step: how partnering with Harver helps organizations gather valid insights and turn them into measurable business outcomes.
The Link Between Validity and ROI
The more valid your hiring model, the more likely you are to hire the right people. The logic is simple:
- Higher validity leads to more accurate predictions about candidate success.
- Better predictions lead to higher performance, lower attrition, and stronger engagement.
- Together, those outcomes drive ROI.
Conversely, any kind of bias or noise in your hiring process threatens that validity. Every deviation from job-related criteria introduces risk, inconsistency, and wasted investment.
That’s why ROI in skills-based hiring depends entirely on the scientific rigor of the model—and the expertise of the partner helping you build it.
Establishing Validity from the Ground Up
As we discussed in Part 1, job analysis is the process of breaking down a role into its essential activities and identifying the specific skills and proficiency levels required to perform them. But turning that analysis into an actionable, predictive model takes collaboration, structure, and continuous improvement.
At Harver, our team of I/O psychologists helps organizations put this rigor into practice with a step-by-step approach designed for scale and sustainability.
Step 1: Gather and Analyze Information
We begin by reviewing all available job information—internal data such as job descriptions, performance plans, and training materials, as well as external sources like industry benchmarks and occupational databases. This ensures we capture not only what the job is today, but also how it’s evolving within the industry.
Step 2: Collaborate with Job Experts
Next, we connect with representative job holders and their supervisors to understand what success looks like day to day. Through structured interviews, observations, and surveys, we identify which skills and behaviors distinguish high performers from average ones.
Step 3: Define Competencies and Skills
Using these insights, we establish a clear list of competencies and behaviors tied directly to measurable outcomes. These form the building blocks of a skills taxonomy—an evidence-based framework that connects each skill to the performance metrics it influences.
This taxonomy becomes the foundation for everything that follows: designing assessments, refining training programs, and tracking outcomes over time.
Call out: “Once you understand what people actually do, you can define the skills required to do it well. From there, a partner like Harver can help you determine the best way to measure those skills, often through a combination of assessments that provide multiple signals of proficiency, supported by interviews or work samples to build confidence in the results.” — Dr. Ben Porr, Chief Science Officer, Harver
From Analysis to Action
Once the taxonomy is complete, Harver helps organizations operationalize it through targeted, science-backed assessments. These assessments measure skills, behaviors, and learning agility directly using objective, validated methods such as behavioral and cognitive assessments, situational judgment tests, and realistic job previews.
Each process is tailored to the organization’s unique roles and regulatory context, ensuring that every signal collected is job-related, reliable, and fair. In some cases, this involves combining multiple assessments to capture proficiency levels across dimensions; in others, we pair assessments with interviews or work samples to build a holistic, data-driven picture of fit.
Our focus isn’t just on what to measure, but how those measures connect to performance. We work closely with clients to evaluate their outcome data—performance ratings, attrition patterns, engagement metrics—and refine their models over time. Even when an organization’s data isn’t yet perfect, we help strengthen it through structured monitoring, feedback loops, and continuous validation.
This iterative approach transforms hiring from a one-time event into a learning system—one that becomes more predictive, more equitable, and more ROI-driven with every hire.
Scaling Scientific Hiring
Scientific rigor doesn’t have to come at the expense of scalability. Harver’s modular platform allows organizations to roll out skills-based hiring in phases, adapting as business needs evolve. Integrations with existing ATS and recruiter workflows ensure that the science operates behind the scenes, translating complex data into actionable insights.
For enterprise organizations managing thousands of hires, that consistency is key. It ensures every candidate is evaluated fairly, every decision is backed by evidence, and every improvement compounds over time.
Partnering for Long-Term ROI
Implementing skills-based hiring is an organizational transformation. It takes collaboration across HR, operations, and leadership to align around what success truly looks like.
Harver serves as both guide and partner in that transformation. We bring the science, structure, and technology to make SBH operational at scale—and we stay engaged to ensure the data continues to deliver.
Over time, our clients see the results: stronger job performance, lower attrition, and more equitable hiring decisions that stand up to scrutiny:
- 20-30% reduction in cost per hire via fast funnel
- 8-12 percentage points increase in first year retention
- 50% drop in legal/compliance spend on audits
- +25 NPS candidate experience uplift
With the right partner, skill-based hiring is a measurable way to build a better workforce.
Download the whitepaper: The Science of Skills-Based Hiring.
