Why Adding Behavioral & Cognitive Assessments Actually Expands Your Talent Pool

We hear this question a lot:

“If we’re already struggling to find candidates, why would we add a behavioral and cognitive assessment into our hiring process? Won’t that just shrink the pool even more—and leave us with empty seats?”

It’s a fair concern. But here’s the truth: hiring anyone who can “fog up a mirror” is a false economy.

The Real Cost of a Bad Hire

Let’s break it down.

When you add up the time and resources it takes to advertise, interview, hire, and onboard—plus the impact a bad hire has on your team and culture—the cost is staggering.

In fact, studies show the cost of a mis-hire is often equivalent to that person’s entire annual salary—sometimes more.

That’s why we built a free turnover calculator (link below). Plug in your own numbers and you’ll see just how expensive bad hiring decisions can be.

👉 Bad Hire = 1x Annual Salary (or more)

The Smarter Play: Expand Your Candidate Pool

So instead of wasting money on the wrong person, the smarter move is to invest in expanding your candidate pool.

That could mean:

• Improving your Glassdoor ratings.

• Enhancing compensation and benefits.

• Marketing your culture more effectively.

• Building relationships with universities and trade schools.

• Offering employee referral bonuses.

• Or yes—even adding ping-pong tables… or office puppies. 🐶

The point is this: there are dozens of ways to increase your pipeline. And once you have a stronger pool of applicants, assessments give you the clarity to choose the right candidate—not just any candidate.

Why Behavioral and Cognitive Assessments Work

This is where tools like The Predictive Index Hire module—and even the Design module—come in.

They cost just a fraction of what a bad hire will drain from your organization, and the benefits are clear:

• Better job success predictability.

• Higher employee engagement and retention.

• Stronger alignment between talent and strategy.

In short, assessments help you build a team that doesn’t just survive—but thrives.

👉 Predictive Index = Higher Success + Lower Turnover

The Bottom Line

So next time someone asks: “Why add another step to the hiring process?” remember this—assessments aren’t an extra cost. They’re an investment that saves you money, time, and culture in the long run.

If you’re ready to calculate what bad hiring is really costing your organization, try our free turnover calculator [link].

And for more insights on smarter hiring, retention, and talent strategy, check out our PI Hacks series—where we turn talent strategy into your competitive advantage.