Analysis: People Who Use Firefox Or Chrome Make Better Employees

HughPickens.com writes: In the world of Big Data, everything means something. Now Joe Pinsker reports that Cornerstone OnDemand, a company that sells software that helps employers recruit and retain workers, has found after analyzing data on about 50,000 people who took its 45-minute online job assessment, that people who took the test on a non-default browser, such as Firefox or Chrome, ended up staying at their jobs about 15 percent longer than those who stuck with Safari or Internet Explorer. They also tended to perform better on the job as well. Chief Analytics Officer Michael Housman offered an explanation for the results in an interview with Freakonomics Radio: "I think that the fact that you took the time to install Firefox on your computer shows us something about you. It shows that you're someone who is an informed consumer," says Housman. "You've made an active choice to do something that wasn't default." But why would a company care about something as seemingly trivial as the browser a candidate chooses to use? "Call centers are estimated to suffer from a turnover rate of about 45 percent annually (PDF), and it can cost thousands of dollars to hire new employees," says Pinsker. "Because of that, companies are eager to find any proxy for talent and dedication that they can."

Comments

And when the "default" is the preferred option?

[RogueyWon]

Well... up to a point. I can follow the logical connection that would suggest that people who act as informed consumers are likely to make better employees.

However, I've recently switched back to Internet Explorer after more than a decade with Firefox and a short experiment with Chrome. I did so because I find that comparing across the latest versions of all three, IE was my favourite in terms of performance and user-experience. So I made a reasonably informed decision to use it.

Making practical use of data like this would be more justifiable if there was a clear case that the "default" option was inferior (which in fairness, IE has sometimes been previously).

Re:And when the "default" is the preferred option?

[jpapon]

You're missing the point of the analysis (as is this Housman fellow). Which browser is the better choice is irrelevant. The analysis shows that better employees are currently more likely to use Chrome or Firefox. Whether or not Firefox/Chrome are better doesn't matter, all that matters is that, on average, better people use them (according to their measures).

Re:And when the "default" is the preferred option?

[Anonymous Coward]

So... you are still using the same old default operating system?

Re:45% turnover rate IS the problem

[jellomizer]

However there is a skill, in finding empowerment even in mind numbing jobs. Installing Chrome or Firefox, is usually one way, as it is one of those things that are normally "officially" against the rules, but you do it anyways, because you know your browsing experience will be a little bit safer. Knowing when to bend/break the rules, and when follow them is an important skill.
I see too many people who just suffer their job and their performance hinders, because they so cautious on following the rules, that they cannot break out of the hum-drum activity. I also see people get fired for just going too gung ho and broke the rules just because they didn't like them.

But there is a line, It is one thing to use a different internet browser, then to say use a different email client.