By Tony Traven

Most companies strive to create high performance, productive work groups and look to capture the elusive feeling that comes when management and staff work seamlessly to achieve the same goal. Ideally, management wants everyone to work together in a harmonious, cooperative spirit for the benefit of the company. But a flawed hiring process can create a workplace with startling similarities to the television series “The Office.” What’s been missing in the hiring process is a reliable system that realistically identifies candidates with the necessary skill set whose personal traits best fit the culture of the company. That’s where assessment tools come into play.

The one thing in common among exceptional companies is the ability to identify, hire, train and promote the right people. These companies have invested in the hiring process and have knowledgeable managers that have honed their interviewing skills, thereby improving their chances of hiring the right people. Of course interviewing skills are important, but most hiring managers use information that applicants provide (i.e. a resume) as the outline for the interview.

Even under the best of circumstances, the process can be limited. In most cases you can determine what the applicants have done and get a sense of their backgrounds and education. You’ll be clear about what they say they can do, but have limited insight into who they really are, how they think and how they will behave in the workplace.

Flaws in the Traditional Hiring Process

According to Hiring expert Richard Pinsker, traditional job descriptions aren’t effective for hiring the right candidate because they only focus on duties and responsibilities. Instead, he recommends creating a job profile that identifies specific results you want to accomplish from that position. This can objectively tell you whether a candidate can meet the requirements of the job. Pinsker points out that creating a profile can be a difficult job, but taking the time to determine what you want to accomplish from the position can save you from wasting time hiring the wrong people.

Challenges in Getting References

It is extremely tough in today’s litigious world to get references from previous employers. Throughout the country, managers and supervisors are told to refer everyone to the Human Resources department, or provide no more than dates of employment. So verifying specific information becomes difficult, if not impossible, with entry-level individual employees and can be challenging even for senior staff positions. Perhaps you can get around this process by seeking references outside the official channels. Pinsker recommends including references from former subordinates because they can tell you how the candidate delegates, how they handle conflict with people they work with and things like that. Subordinates are often more open and honest than people at higher levels, he added. It’s important to know the person you are hiring.

Getting the Right Hiring Criteria

Recently a good friend who is a regional director for an international construction company said after a bad hire, “He looked great on paper, had a ton of degrees and communicated well, but he just didn’t do anything.” It is common to hire based upon how well we like or relate to someone, basing the decision upon a feeling instead of objective criteria. This is human nature and is exaggerated during the interview process as managers understandably try to connect with the candidate and sell the value of working for the company instead of asking tough, probing questions. Once all the interviews are complete, the decision boils down to one person making a gut level decision regarding whom to hire or promote.

Fortunately, there is a more scientific way to gain insight into who a person is and to predict future behavior. Psychologists and psychiatrists debate how people become who they are and argue the virtues of nature vs. nurture as to which is the most important in human development. But they agree that personalities are set by the time one is 8 to 10 years old. This is the premise for creating an assessment tool that identifies candidates who already have personalities that fit the position and the culture of your company.

You can gain insight into who a person is through the use of statistically valid assessment tools. It does not replace the interview or background check, but will provide useful information into the make-up of individuals and how they will fit into your work environment and existing workgroup. There are several assessment tools available that can provide you with this information. Select an instrument you are comfortable with, has been statistically validated, meets EEOC guidelines, and is easy and cost effective to use. Most importantly, you should have confidence not only in the product but also the consultant.

Starting the Assessment Process

Some assessment tools start by having a professional work with you to create a questionnaire to determine what behaviors your position requires. Have at least three people familiar with the position fill them out. You may find that different managers have different ideas about what the job requires and this process will allow you to form a consensus. When you combine excellent interviewing skills following a process that includes deep probing questions to determine how the candidate thinks and acts, with statistically valid information, the chances of success skyrocket. It’s like giving a champion poker player access to everyone’s cards!

When you have the right people in right jobs, managing becomes almost effortless. The work environment is healthier and productive. As managers, you’ll find your best workers require little of your time while those who are struggling take up most of your time.

Once you have incorporated the use of an assessment tool into the hiring or team building process, you will find this information invaluable for finding and placing the right person in the right job. You will see employee morale and productivity improve significantly. This is immediately followed by increased profit.

There are several ways to identify the work traits needed for specific positions. The first mirrors what managers have said around the country: “If I could clone him/her, I would.” By asking a star employee to complete an assessment survey, you can identify the primary work traits and then go about hiring individuals with similar traits.

The second option is to develop a work-related profile for a position by clearly understanding the type of work that needs to be done and the type of attributes a person needs to have for the position.

Finally, you can assess/survey employees who are struggling, gain some insight into why they are not meeting expectations and identify the work traits for these individuals.

Now you are on the way to building a more productive workforce. But how do you use this information to build a great team? Anyone who watches sports has seen both good and bad teams. Great teams have the right chemistry and talent combined with a clear understanding of specific roles. But there is only one head coach regardless of the type of team. Then you have the various position players.

If you have too many ego-driven players on a team, the chemistry fails. Yet if you do not have strong leadership on the team, you lose. You need a balance.

Creating this balance and managing the process takes true leadership ability.

Strong leaders are not always easy to work for and, in my opinion, cannot be trained. They are constantly looking for ways to get better, questioning the status quo and inspiring people to do more than they thought was possible. They can hone their leadership skills and become better leaders, but they already have the primary traits that make them leaders. Period.

The same holds true for extraordinary salespeople. Those with the right stuff can be trained to be even better salespeople, but you cannot train someone to be a truly great salesperson without the right work traits.

Then you have the incredible individuals making sure the important work gets done and done right the first time. They make sure every detail is taken care of and that the quarterback does not drop the ball. They save the day by making sure nothing slips through the cracks.

Some truly believe you can train managers to change a person’s behavior through the implementation of better processes developed to ensure compliance. I believe this is true, but at what cost to the individual and those around them? When a person must dramatically alter who they are, it creates stress not only for the person, but also for those around them. It also takes a lot of time, money and focus, all of which can be better spent on finding the right people and training them well. As a result, your business will grow exponentially.

There are hundreds of variables in how works traits come together, but with every positive aspect of a work trait there is a corresponding negative component. It all comes together when you understand your employees’ or applicants’ traits and behaviors. Being able to balance the work-related traits within your workgroup, corporate division or team is the key to creating a functional and synergetic culture.

Tony Traven is a distributor for Culture Index in the Los Angeles metro area. He has spent 25 years in newspaper management working in six different corporate cultures. His professional management experience includes subscription sales, customer service centers, classified advertising, distribution/transportation and marketing. Tony Can be reached at 310- 543-0543.