Business Systems and Knowledge Modelling Lab

Media Release

Taking pain out of training and recruitment

A software package benchmarking the behavior of staff particularly in the customer service or front line sales areas has been developed by Rajiv Khosla, lecturer, La Trobe University.

The Sales Management System aims to take the trouble out of employing staff by setting benchmarks for candidates.

"What constitutes a good employee in one organisation is not necessarily good for other organisation. For example, a good sales person in organisation A is not always going to be a good sales person in organisation B," says Mr Khosla. "Every company has a different definition."

The system benchmarks new candidates before time and money is spent in training by taking the best attributes and skills from existing employees and entering them into a database. New candidates are then measured against the model.

"The system can basically tell an organisation what a good salesperson means to them, or what a good customer service person is. It gives an objective basis to set a benchmark."

Rajiv Khosla is critical of many of the current recruitment systems operating in organisations and believes not enough care has been taken to ensure the right person is selected".

At the moment you go to a recruiting consultant and they make a decision for you based on their experience. "But if you see the ads, they all look the same." The fact of the matter is different people will be successful in different organisations. "You need a benchmark."

The Sales Management System can be used to train new employees in the behaviors and success factors of a particular organisation, and allows human resource professionals to set a benchmark in recruitment and training.

The system is currently being trialed in many large organisations and costs

- La Trobe Bulletin, March 2002