I’m all about spending money on fun stuff. And I’ll buy something pertaining to one of my hobbies far in advance of when I really need it.
Yet when it comes to a necessity, a preventative, or something I consider boring, I’ll procrastinate. Does root canal come to anyone’s mind? What sounds better: $250 for a filling or $1,250 for the drill and destroy? Of course $250 sounds better to the rational person. But we are not always rational when it comes to spending money on something that is considered preventative. After all, there’s often nothing shiny to show for it. Remember the commercial years ago about replacing Fram Oil filters during each oil change that went: “you can pay me now or pay me later.”
Such is the case in employee hiring and promotions. You can spend a little money up front or spend a lot later in terminations and re-hiring. Why am I so sure of this outcome? Because there is a fundamental flaw in the hiring and promotion process; a flaw that costs municipalities and American companies, millions of dollars per year.
Here is the problem. Jobs are often given to those who are most likable during an interview. We imbue “attractive” or likable people with all sorts of positive qualities whether these attributes are actually there or not. The result is often a lack of job fit.
And what about the inherent flaw in promotions? Simple. Promotions are given to people who have performed admirably, but usually in a technical sense. A promotion to a supervisory position however means that more people skills are required. On average almost 70% of supervisors are given failing marks by their employees and the reasons usually have to do with an overall lack of people skills.
For those who are initiated, job fit testing has rapidly become sine qua non for hiring. These assessments reveal a ton about a candidate’s intellectual capacity, behavioral tendencies, manageability, decision-making ability, attitude, energy level, sociability, and assertiveness to name just a few. Most importantly, the assessment can give decision-makers a clear picture of the candidates abilities compared to a benchmark of successful employees in like positions around the country.
Whenever I hear an interviewer say “I have good instincts about people,” I get nervous. Study after study has shown that we are terrible judges of people and their abilities. We are even worse at predicting their future success. I’ve used these assessments for the past 10 years with overwhelming success. The primary adjustment we’ll all have to make is in trusting the instrument and spending the dollars up front on putting the right person in the slot. Extracting them later is like getting a root canal; painful and preventable.
Visit our Municipal Training and Development section on the toolbar above. And let us know if you have any questions.
I’m all about spending money on fun stuff. And I’ll buy something pertaining to one of my hobbies far in advance of when I really need it.
Yet when it comes to a necessity, a preventative, or something I consider boring, I’ll procrastinate. Does root canal come to anyone’s mind? What sounds better: $250 for a filling or $1,250 for the drill and destroy? Of course $250 sounds better to the rational person. But we are not always rational when it comes to spending money on something that is considered preventative. After all, there’s often nothing shiny to show for it. Remember the commercial years ago about replacing Fram Oil filters during each oil change that went: “you can pay me now or pay me later.”
Such is the case in employee hiring and promotions. You can spend a little money up front or spend a lot later in terminations and re-hiring. Why am I so sure of this outcome? Because there is a fundamental flaw in the hiring and promotion process; a flaw that costs municipalities and American companies, millions of dollars per year.
Here is the problem. Jobs are often given to those who are most likable during an interview. We imbue “attractive” or likable people with all sorts of positive qualities whether these attributes are actually there or not. The result is often a lack of job fit.
And what about the inherent flaw in promotions? Simple. Promotions are given to people who have performed admirably, but usually in a technical sense. A promotion to a supervisory position however means that more people skills are required. On average almost 70% of supervisors are given failing marks by their employees and the reasons usually have to do with an overall lack of people skills.
For those who are initiated, job fit testing has rapidly become sine qua non for hiring. These assessments reveal a ton about a candidate’s intellectual capacity, behavioral tendencies, manageability, decision-making ability, attitude, energy level, sociability, and assertiveness to name just a few. Most importantly, the assessment can give decision-makers a clear picture of the candidates abilities compared to a benchmark of successful employees in like positions around the country.
Whenever I hear an interviewer say “I have good instincts about people,” I get nervous. Study after study has shown that we are terrible judges of people and their abilities. We are even worse at predicting their future success. I’ve used these assessments for the past 10 years with overwhelming success. The primary adjustment we’ll all have to make is in trusting the instrument and spending the dollars up front on putting the right person in the slot. Extracting them later is like getting a root canal; painful and preventable.
Visit our Municipal Training and Development section on the toolbar above. And let us know if you have any questions.
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