Mangesh Surve, director at Envicare Technologies Pvt Ltd., a water treatment company in Pune, believes recruiting the right employees for your business is half the battle won. “It matters more for an SME [small and medium-sized enterprise] like ours because sometimes, we invest in a resource only to see them leave the company or fall woefully short of expectation.” What had compounded the problem is the absence of face-to-face interviews since the Coronavirus outbreak last March. This, say experts, is hampering the evaluation of a candidate’s attitude and preferences, as well as assess vital non-verbal cues.

Enter graphology. The term refers to the analysis of the patterns found in a person’s handwriting to identify his or her psychological state. Interestingly, the study of handwriting is now being used as a tool by many like Surve to help them read between the lines when choosing candidates. “We hired a graphology agency to help in the recruitment process. Since they are professionals, they are able to make a fairly accurate assessment by analysing signatures. We haven’t regretted our decision on candidates whom we hired using this tool.” Since 2020, Surve and his team  have hired five staffers with the help of graphologists. Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune, ranked among the top 14 Institutions of India in Business and Management Studies, also used graphology this year to glean insights into aspirants. ECRIVONS, a startup founded by Amya Mada, helped  panelists who interviewed the candidates virtually, in making the assessment.