Hiring For The Right Fit

Every organization has made a bad hiring decision at least once in the past. A recent article from Ronnie Reese, a Talent Management.com intern and contributor, notes that focusing on the right fit during recruiting and on-boarding can help minimize turn-over rates.

Some say there are only three things that need to be asked during an interview: Can you do the job? Will you love the job? and, rather importantly; Can we stand working with you? These questions discreetly address three major points – the candidate’s ability, motivation and whether or not they’ll fit in with the company and its employees. When things don’t work out, it’s usually because of one of the aforementioned points. This is especially an issue with such large unemployment rates, as people are taking jobs without considering their aptitude for the position. For organizations to succeed and thrive, finding the right fit is becoming more and more important. How can your organization hone in on finding the right fit for the company and the position?

Focusing on behaviors and values from the potential hire that match with your organization’s culture can increase the likelihood of retention. Your company needs to define what behaviors and values are core to organizational success. Defining your company culture will help weed out candidates with different values during interviewing, and will help all of the current employees understand the set expectations.

Managers should establish ongoing and transparent feedback early so people know if they have the ability to be successful over time. Talent managers need to let employees know what they’re doing well and how they can improve, and then allow them to adjust and respond accordingly.

Be conscious of the fact that most newly-hired employees need a little bit of time to grow and develop, to become comfortable within their new environment. Help them here – introduce them to co-workers and clients, give them a good dose of the company culture and environment. This is a good time for employees to see whether or not they feel like they fit within the organization, and a good time that they can ask questions.

The right fit is important to the organization and the individual. Everyone wants to be successful, and the key to that is listening, debating, and conversation about similarities as well as differences. A common culture and set of values unifies your workforce but without different personalities and skill sets, you have one big mass of the same, which won’t be of much use in the long run. Differentiating your workforce is important – the right employee for one position won’t necessarily be the same for another position. Your job is to find the right assortment of individuals for overall organizational success.

Successful hiring for fit is a two-part process, and the organization and the new hire have responsibilities. Organizations can use interview tools such as recruiting briefs and behavioral assessment to hold up their end. Further, they must be clear on the new hire’s role in advance to reduce conflict and have accommodations in place for an employee to hit the ground running on day one.

Be sure the candidate you hire understands your organization’s value and culture, as this will be an insight to whether or not they’ll be a good fit. Stress the organizational values and give the employee the information they need. Fresh ideas and perspectives can be a good thing for the company, but be sure these ideas are inline with overall culture. To read more about how to hire the right fit for your organization, click here to read the full article.

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