RETAIL EMPLOYMENT Computers take applications and size up potential workers

Some companies have replaced paper applications with a computer system that quickly grades applicants.
RALEIGH NEWS & amp; OBSERVER
When 25-year-old Jeremy Simo applied for a job at Home Depot recently, the paperless -- and faceless -- process surprised him.
Instead of filling out the traditional application, he entered routine information into a computer and answered questions designed to gauge his work ethic and aptitude.
"I don't know if I'd say it was fun," said Simo. "It was different."
The old-fashioned paper application form is quickly becoming an anachronism, as computerized tests to hire employees for hourly retail jobs become mainstream.
"In the old days, you and I would use ink to find a job," said Mitch Potter, an attraction-retention analyst with Mercer Human Resource Consulting in Minneapolis.
"This whole trend is about digitizing information. Once it's digitized, it's more useful, it's more mobile, it's more valuable."
Saves time and money
Although companies wouldn't divulge the monthly cost, retailers say the systems quickly pay for themselves because they save time and money by instantly identifying qualified employees who will work hard, fit in and stay longer.
In the past six years, more than 12 million e-applications have led to more than 8 million hires nationwide, according to employers.
The Fresh Market, an upscale grocer, perched kiosks on tables in its 33 stores last month. It is too early to judge their effectiveness, but the company is optimistic, spokesman Bill Bailey said.
Home Depot, meanwhile, installed a futuristic-looking version with a built-in seat in 1999 and was instantly pleased, spokesman Don Harrison said. Most of its 40,000 annual hires will be done via a kiosk. Paper, he said, is out: "We've gotten beyond that."
So have 75 other companies, including Target and Blockbuster. Now, about 80 percent of hourly applicants use the system developed by Unicru, formerly Decision Point Systems. An application is processed every second during the work week, Unicru says.
In the old days
That's a change from when stores passed out applications like Halloween candy, about half of which were completed and returned. Now, employers know those who finish are at least moderately interested in the job and have basic computer skills, imperative for today's computerized cash registers, Harrison said.
When a job-seeker comes into Home Depot, a short film starts the process. The movie outlines job requirements and warns that the Atlanta-based company requires heavy lifting and working some, if not most, weekends.
"We want people to know what to expect up front," Harrison said.
Home Depot's next step is where Unicru starts. Applicants provide the basics: name, Social Security number and a brief r & eacute;sum & eacute;. Then potential hires answer a blend of true-false and multiple-choice questions tailored to their personalities and that gauge ethics.
Questions range from Unicru's "I can argue hard but still keep it friendly" to Home Depot's inquiring whether someone would tell managers if a co-worker stole merchandise.
Four industrial psychologists have tweaked Unicru's tests since the first one was installed in a Houston Express clothing store in 1997.
Some questions are asked several times in different ways. Potter, the Mercer consultant, said the system might not catch tiny fibs, but it will identify deviants.
Simo said he didn't lie, but there were cases where he wanted to explain his answers.
Being evaluated
Even before the applicant decides whether to be honest, he or she is being evaluated. If the person declines a drug test or won't work weekends, the test is shorter, said Adam Mertz, Unicru's Grocery Market manager.
By then, about 10 percent of applicants are ruled out. Next, the Social Security number is verified and a criminal background check is performed. That eliminates less than 1 percent of candidates.
Companies almost instantly know whether those still eligible will receive an interview.
Within a few minutes of the test's completion, the store is e-mailed or faxed a color-coded score and a detailed answer application.
Green is a good sign. In some cases, the manager is paged to chat with the candidate before he or she leaves the store. Yellow candidates are borderline. The report urges managers to question certain issues, such as employment gaps or lack of references.
Red candidates, about 30 percent, are usually not introduced to a manager or interviewed, Beasley said.