San Francisco — April 5

Evolv, a provider of data-driven workforce selection, announced results of a study by its advanced analytics group that looked at the relationship between previous work experience and future employment outcomes for hourly workers.

The study, which analyzed applicant data and employment outcomes from about 21,000 call center agents drawn from five major contact centers, found that agent work history is a poor predictor of future job tenure.

Employers of hourly labor in industries including fast-food dining, retail and contact centers often struggle with high turnover and the associated costs of constantly hiring and training new employees. A common screening technique used by recruiters is to weed out “job hoppers” — those candidates who have held many short-term jobs.

Despite conventional wisdom, Evolv found previous employment duration says nothing about how long a person will stay in their next job. The study revealed virtually no difference in employment outcomes based on how many jobs a person had, or how many short-term jobs they had previously.

In addition, there was virtually no distinction between the “perpetually unemployed” — applicants who had no jobs in the last five years — and applicants who had many jobs in that timeframe.

Evolv data shows other information gathered during the application process is predictive of both attrition and on-the-job performance. More predictive content includes the applicant’s personality, aptitudes, work style, technical skills and fit for the position.

Source: Evolv