DRS 255 SKILLS IN JOB MATCHING AND PLACEMENT

Introduction

The majority of hiring and placement decisions are made by managers or executives who have "gut feelings" (Strong feeling) about people. Yet, often those placements lead to impulse (instinct) hiring, unforeseen training costs, and high turnover rates. What is the solution? Job matching.

What is Job Matching?

Job matching is basically common sense combined with objective assessment data. Common sense plays a role because you would not put a social, high-energy person behind a desk as a data entry clerk. In the same way, you would not ask an introverted, (Reserved, shy or quite) number cruncher (somebody whose job consists of performing large quantities of arithmetic calculations) to be an event planner. Too often, employers hire based only on work experience, education, and qualifications. Why aren’t personality and internal motivation considered? That is the role that objective assessment data plays. Appropriate job fit is essential for employees and managers to be high achievers.

By using assessment tools, you can measure a person’s personality, behavior, learning style, and interests. If you combine this information with a person's resume, then you have a more comprehensive picture of the candidate. People often take jobs because they need a job — not because they like to do the job. Most people are capable and resilient enough to learn how to do many jobs, but they probably prefer only certain types of jobs. High turnover is the result of people taking jobs that are not a good match for them. Retention is achievable when qualified people are matched with jobs that fit who they are as a person.

Developing Job Match Patterns (shapes and forms)

All companies should have multiple job match patterns. Patterns are typically developed by evaluating the results of top-performing employees in a particular position. For example, you may have a sales team that has three successful sales people. Job patterns are created by averaging the scores of those top performers. This will enable you to create a job pattern for that particular job. Then when you assess applicants, you will be given an auto-generated report that states how closely the candidate’s characteristics match your top performers. If the candidate has a high percentage, they are likely to do well in a sales position. If they are a low job match, they may struggle to be successful. This does not mean that the person with a low percentage will make a bad employee; it means that the candidate is better suited for a different type of job.

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Management Application

Managers across the board encounter difficult selection and organization decisions. Assessments are a tool that can be used to clarify and solidify placement decisions. They provide the best possible insight for those seeking deeper information about employees. Assessments can be used in both the hiring or development processes.

Maybe you already hired the wrong person for a particular job. How do you remedy the situation? You do exactly what you would do with a new hire — have your employee take the assessments and then you place the assessment results next to the resume. Then you will have two options: You can use the coaching and development reports to help that employee be the best he can be in a position that doesn’t completely suit him. Or, you can identify a new opportunity for the employee and transfer him to a position in which he is able to excel.

Job matching is not only objective, it is also efficient. Job matching will help you hire the best person for a particular job. Appropriate job-fit is essential for employees to succeed and companies to be productive.

Employee Selection Process

By including job match as a key factor in your employee hiring process, your allocation of human capital will be significantly more effective. Most employee hiring decisions are made with inadequate information, but Profiles International assessments will deliver the information you need to know before tendering a job offer and making a hiring mistake.

Matching People & Jobs - Burning Glass Approach

The approach to matching people and jobs is based on a simple concept: that by analyzing tens of millions of actual career transitions, we can identify the specific skills, experiences, and credentials that lead to placement in any given job. What this adds up to for job seekers are job matches that fundamentally make sense. For recruiting professionals, this means the ability to search a database or screen a flow of applicants and immediately identify those candidates most suited for the job.

The concept may be simple, but the technology that makes it a reality is anything but. In order to put theory into practice, Burning Glass developed a unique artificial intelligence engine that reads, parses, (Explains) and analyzes resumes and jobs in order to deliver intuitively relevant matches based upon past patterns of placement. Rather than relying on keywords or broad occupational categories, our technology determines potential matches based on its knowledge of the job market and a detailed, in-depth analysis of both resume and job description – just like an experienced recruiter. For us, resumes aren’t merely collections of words – instead, they are both the history of careers in progress and the key to future placements, based on the timing and sequence of the experience, skills, and other qualifications they describe.

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It’s an innovative approach, but one that’s borne out by our customers’ significantly improved outcomes – the recruitment agency that tripled the number of placements from their resume database, the job bank that has seen nearly two-thirds of registered job seekers receive enquiries from employers who found them through Burning Glass, or the nearly 2,000 placements made by a job matching program Burning Glass administers for a statewide unemployment agency.

Top 5 Strategies for Identifying & Hiring Great Employees

In a time when creative growth and technological advancements are crucial to business success, companies are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of hiring and retaining talented employees. Talent management is one of the most difficult tasks an organization faces as fewer workers with the required skill sets are entering the marketplace. Developing an effective hiring strategy will help to ensure that your business can respond to challenges such as the emerging talent crisis, job applicant screenings, interview question preparation, and background check implementation. Identifying and hiring top talent is not easy. It can result in stress, anxiety and fear of change. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, solid hiring strategies can be simplified with methodical, step-by-step processes. This guide will provide you with the Top 5 Strategies for Identifying and Hiring Great Employees:

1. Identify Your Hiring Challenges

2. Review Your Hiring Methods

3. Manage Employment Interviews

4. Manage Background Checks

5. Conduct Pre-Employment Assessments

Identify Your Hiring Challenges

The first and most critical step in identifying and hiring great employees is being able to identify the challenges you are currently facing in your hiring strategy. Once you’ve done that, you can find solutions that will help you solve those challenges. Here are some common challenges faced by organizations in the hiring process:

• Finding interview questions that will determine if a candidate is going to be a fit for the job and a match for the company culture.

• Background checks that provide references and past histories on candidates.

• Making hiring decisions without screening job applicants for both personality and abilities.

Did you know that most hiring decisions are made within the first 4 minutes of an interview?

Don’t set yourself up to make this same mistake!

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Review Your Hiring Methods

Your hiring process is one of the most strategic and valuable places for cutting costs and maximizing productivity—if your process works correctly the first time. Utilizing a proven employee screening system is essential to ensuring that your hiring process works effectively. Your own experience tells you that you have hired some excellent employees, but some of them have also failed. Now think back: Did you use pre-employment screening methods to assess job candidates? What made you choose a particular applicant to fill a particular position? We have found that employers use the same hiring methods for all positions.

This suggests that your existing employee selection process may result in inconsistent hiring results and increased turnover. Best practices for hiring start with a focused approach to defining job requirements. This practice is often neglected in the hiring process because hiring managers tend to focus on the job tasks performed by a candidate instead of the characteristics that a candidate must possess in order to be successful in the position. By clearly defining the skills and traits necessary for success in a particular job, you’ll be better suited to evaluate candidates so that you get the best match.

An estimated two-thirds of employee hiring decisions may be hiring mistakes! Peter Drucker a

management Guru.

Manage Employment Interviews

Employment interviews are an indispensable part of the hiring process, and when they are done properly they can be an excellent tool for screening applicants. The more methodical and systematic the interview process, the more likely it is to produce the kind of information needed to make good judgments about a job candidate’s chance for success. All interviewers should be taught proper interviewing techniques, and they should be clear about what they can and cannot ask. During an interview, the interviewer should have the opportunity to:

• Directly observe certain aspects of an applicant’s behavior, such as communication skills, alertness, personal grooming standards, self-confidence, and understanding of necessary technical concepts.

• Obtain additional information about the applicant’s education and work experience.

• Assess the applicant’s knowledge, skills and other competencies by asking about past performance and achievements.

• Preview the job to the applicant so the applicant can determine whether he or she is truly interested in the position.

• Promote a good public image of the employer.

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Manage Background Checks

A national organization of fraud examiners estimates that the average loss to a business from employee fraud and theft is $9 per employee, per day. That amounts to about $2,000 per employee. Problematic employees at all levels of the organization can engage in detrimental behaviors, including theft, fraud, embezzlement, selling intellectual property to competitors, and more. Using background check services to find honest job applicants who are drug free, reliable and hardworking will help you make hiring decisions you won’t regret later. Employee Background Check services use technology that delivers criminal background checks and pre-employment screening information so that you can hire honest, qualified employees. Employee

Background Check services deliver the following information:• General Information reports

• Driving Records

• Workers’ Compensation reports

• Credit reports

• Criminal History

• Education Verification

• In-Depth reports

• Rush Services

• Custom Service

Conduct Pre-Employment Assessments

Many companies use pre-employment assessments to screen applicants. Employee assessments that measure ability, personality and medical conditions can lower the incidences of theft and work-related accidents. They can also reduce the likelihood of negligent hiring suits. Additionally, they also may reveal certain job-related skills or abilities that are not apparent on an application or resume. Specific pre-employment screening assessments are available for departments such as sales and customer service, and general assessments are available for other departments. By combining reliable data derived from pre-employment screening assessments with customized job analysis surveys, you can create a benchmark by which you can hire an employee who matches both your job and your company.

Pre-hire assessments can help you formulate questions that will help you determine if a candidate will be a fit for the job and a match for the company culture. Once a candidate passes the first interview, he or she can take a pre-hire assessment. You will be provided with a detailed, legal set of recommended interview questions to ask the candidate in the next job interview. These customized interview questions can be used in tandem with the insights provided by employee assessments to help you make a well-informed hiring decision.

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Why Smart Employees Underperform: 7 Hazards to Avoid

Introduction

We’ve all been there. After an extensive and thorough search for a line manager, one candidate stands out. This candidate has the right experience, solid qualifications, and a relevant work history, and she gave an impressive performance during the interview process. She said the right things, put forward some great ideas and generally presented very well. You hired her. Three months later, you begin to question your decision. Your new hire’s team appears disgruntled, morale is low, and output and productivity are well behind the figures from the previous quarter.

After investigating further and speaking with a few key team members, you realize there’s a disconnect — a mismatch. While she looked impressive on paper and presented well during one-on-one interviews, your new hire’s style, approach, and behavior on the job are simply inconsistent with the values and expectations of your organization. Her modus operandiis foreign to her colleagues. Your new hire is not a good cultural fit and one or more of the following hazards may be the cause.

1. Inadequate capability

2. Poor job fit

3. Fuzzy goals and accountabilities

4. Poor relationship with manager

5. Poor relationship with co-workers

6. Health and wellness issues

7. Physical and environmental factors

1. Inadequate capability

Don’t judge a book by its cover, and don’t believe what you read on a resume!

Capability refers to the skills, tools and experience that a person needs in order to successfully perform her job. When any of these factors are missing, there is an increased chance that the employee will underperform. It isn’t uncommon for hiring professionals to overlook these basic factors, especially if a candidate has solid academic credentials and comes across as intelligent and confident in a job interview. Furthermore, it’s no secret that most candidates exaggerate their abilities on their resumes and job applications.

Diagnostics that help you identify if an underperforming employee has adequate capability:

Skills — Do you know what skills are needed to perform the job and whether the employee possesses those skills? If she doesn’t possess the necessary skills, how will you help her acquire them, and how long do you expect that process to take? Skills training take time and money, and

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results are never guaranteed unless there is adequate commitment from both the manager and the employee. It’s in everyone’s best interest for the manager to set appropriate expectations for the employee from the beginning. This is especially true if the job requires special technical capabilities.

Tools — Even if an individual has the skills and experience to do the job, does he have the tools to deliver peak performance? For example, a highly skilled and experienced web designer can’t build a website without adequate computer hardware and software. The tools don’t have to be the most up-to-date, but a system that crashes can be incredibly frustrating and unproductive, even to the best performer.

Experience — Just because an employee has the skills to do a job doesn’t mean that he has the experience to apply those skills in his specific position. This is especially true for recent graduates, outside hires from different industries and internal hires from different departments. While the required skills may be similar from one job to the next, differing applications and terminology may require that the new hire take time to learn the nuances of his new position.

2. Poor job fit

“Fit” reflects the behaviors and interests needed to succeed in a job

Many people fall into the trap of choosing a profession or job that is a bad fit. We are who we are. Our “mental DNA” is influenced both by our genetics and our early life experiences, and it is almost completely formed by the time we are 20 years old. Rather than trying to understand ourselves so that we can choose a calling that builds on our strengths and aligns with our interests, we choose jobs because of peer pressure and societal influences. You probably know a medical doctor that trained at a prestigious school and worked for several years at a modern hospital. Despite adequate skills, tools and experience, he is aloof, insensitive and has a terrible bedside manner, and you only see him if no one else is available. He might have been better suited as a lawyer so that he could cross-examine a witness on trial. In short, he really doesn’t possess the innate compassion that would make him a great doctor. He is a poor fit for his job.

Skills can be taught, but behaviors are much more difficult to change

A doctor can improve his bedside manner through training and mentoring, but it takes tremendous effort and motivation to change natural behavior. If an individual isn’t motivated to change, then he probably won’t. It is important to understand a person’s innate behaviors and interests when trying to match him with the right job. Know the job, know what type of person is successful in that job, and then hire others who have the behavioral traits that fit that job. This is easier said than done because it is difficult to gauge behaviors in a job interview, but behavioral assessments can be extremely helpful.

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3. Fuzzy (unclear, vague) goals and accountabilities Why Smart

Clear goals help focus and motivate employees to achieve the desired results

Employees need to be very clear about their responsibilities and about the results you expect them to achieve. Daily work and priorities are easily affected by the crisis of the day, new requests or changes in direction. Setting and tracking SMART goals helps your employees focus on what is most important to your business, and clear accountabilities help ensure that the work gets done with minimal conflict.

Use SMART goals to create clarity and improve the employee’s performance

Specific–Your employee has a much better chance of accomplishing a specific goal than a general goal. To set a specific goal, the employee must answer, at a minimum: Who is involved? What needs to be accomplished? When is the deadline? Why is this goal important?

Measurable–Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the thrill of achievement that motivates you to keep working toward your goal.

Aligned–The individual’s goals need to support the organization’s priorities. Otherwise, the employee is not channeling his efforts in the most productive manner for the organization.

Realistic–To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress. Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished, or if you have accomplished something similar in the past.

Timed–A goal should be grounded within a time frame; otherwise there is no sense of urgency.

4. Poor Relationship with Manager

A poor relationship with one’s boss is the number one reason for failure at work. There are two common flashpoints that adversely impact performance.

1. The employee is unclear about the manager's expectations Goals should cascade down from a manager to his employees so that everyone understands how they contribute to the objectives of both the team and the organization. If an employee does not understand the goals she has been given, or if she hasn’t been given goals at all, the onus is on her to seek clarity. Asking a simple question such as, "What are the top three priorities in my role that you would like me to focus on? “Can help everyone on the team gain clarity. Employees should also ask "Why is this so important?" as the answer will give them a lot of good clues for developing the relationship with their manager.

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2. Managers fail to adapt their styles to the employees’ preferred styles. Every employee/manager relationship is unique and requires a different management approach. For example, the approach taken by highly decisive boss working with a highly decisive employee should be significantly different from the approach taken by this same boss when working with a less-decisive employee. The decisive employee thrives on quick decisions, while the other employee will be more methodical in his or her decision-making approach. The less-decisive employee will potentially enter into conflict with the faster-paced manager. A "one-size fits all" management approach will likely result in frustration for everyone.

Managers and employees who understand each other’s preferred styles will better understand how to communicate and work together effectively. We have identified seven factors that strongly predict the compatibility between a manager and her workers. These are: self-assurance, self-reliance, conformity, optimism, decisiveness, objectivity, and approach to learning. Assessing a manager and her employees allows her to use objective information about herself and her workers so that they can work more effectively toward a common goal.

5. Poor Relationships with Co-wokers

There are four primary factors that harm relationships among co-workers:

1. Insensitivity toward others–Insensitive co-workers damage any sort of team dynamic and potentially expose the employer to hostile work environment and employment discrimination law suits. Any remarks that might be interpreted as discriminatory with regard to gender, age, sexual orientation, race, or disability contribute to a hostile work environment. Managers who sense this hostility need to take quick and decisive action to prevent it from continuing.

2. Unclear accountability–Conflict between interdependent employees or groups emerges because they are unclear about business objectives, priorities, and deadlines, as well as processes and resources for delivery. Additionally, mixed messages create incongruence that actually encourages departments to pull against each other in the interest of achieving their own objectives—to the detriment of the greater organization. When accountabilities are unclear, balls get dropped, turf wars rage, confusion reigns, and productivity plummets. This leads to frustration and indifference, and ultimately underperformance.

3. Poor cultural fit-Cultural fit refers to the employee’s compatibility with the organization's values and mode of operation. While the employee presents well on paper and performs well during one-on-one interviews, the employee’s style, approach, and behavior on the job are simply inconsistent with the values and expectations of your organization. Their modus operandi is foreign to their colleagues.

4. Incompatible styles – Co-workers have communication styles and natural behaviors that

simply don’t mesh well with one another, and neither is willing to adapt his style. This creates

conflict and hostility, which creates stress and distraction for the entire team.

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6. Health and Wellness issues

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

Approximately $260 billion in output is lost each year in the US because of health-related problems. Whether they are absent from work altogether, or present but working at a reduced capacity, employees suffering from physical or mental illness have difficulty performing at their peak. Employees spend approximately 36% of their total waking hours at work. This makes the worksite an ideal place to provide workers with the knowledge and skills needed to help improve attitudes and behaviors concerning health.

A comprehensive worksite health promotion program typically contains six elements:

1. Education about—and encouragement of—healthy living, focusing on overarching lifestyle changes. Disseminate information and build awareness of healthy living issues, preferably tailored to employees’ interests and needs.2. Supportive social and physical environments. This includes implementing policies that promote healthy behaviors and reduce risk of disease.3. Linkage to relate programs that help employees balance work and family life.4. Worksite screening programs ideally linked to medical care that ensures follow-up and appropriate treatment as necessary.5. Processes for supporting individual behavior change with follow-up interventions.6. A continuous improvement process that enhances the program’s effectiveness.

6. Physical and Environmental Factors

Numerous behavioral studies have proven that a pleasant and comfortable work environment improves worker productivity and reduces turnover. For example, indoor temperature affects several human responses, including thermal comfort, perceived air quality, sick building syndrome symptoms, and performance at work. Researchers in Finland showed that when the interior air temperature was 30oC, worker performance was 8.9% below worker performance at the optimal temperature of 22oC.

Physical Factors1. Workplace layout encourages efficient communication flow but minimal disruption 2. Ergonomically correct workplace reduces fatigue and distractions to reduce errors and injury 3. Safety awareness and concerns that can cause stress and accidents

Environmental Factors1. Temperature2. Air Quality3. Lighting Conditions4. Excessive Noise5. Traffic

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Indeed, it has been found that a productive work environment requires that management be able to positively motivate its employees in an infrastructure that is amenable to employees’ needs.

Job Matching, Placement and Incentives

This component provides matching and placement services to clients who are unlikely to succeed in conducting their own job search, even with support, because of poor work habits, market perception, barriers or interpersonal skills.

In Job Matching, Placement and Incentives, clients expect:

Help in matching their skills and interests with work opportunities Help in facilitation of work opportunities and negotiation of the employment relationship

on their behalf Experiential or on-the-job training Placement support in identifying and resolving workplace issues that may affect their

success If necessary, financial support to remove barriers to participation

Employers expect:

Assessment of a client’s skills, aptitudes and interests in relation to their workplace business needs

Help in developing a work experience or on-the-job training plan that is realistic for the cinet and consistent with the workplace requirements

Experiential or on-the-job training Support in identifying and resolving workplace issues with the participant that may

impact the employer’s ability to meet business goals Financial incentives to offset some of the costs of their commitment to an effective work

experience or on-the-job training placement, where appropriate and necessary.

As well, employers must commit to:

Developing a relevant training/work experience plan that will help the participant achieve his/her labour market/employment goal and the employer achieve business goals, in conjunction with the service provider and participant

Providing feedback and assessments of a participant’s skills level, where required Having potential for long-term employment/contract position for the participant Demonstrating the ability to provide the participant with adequate supervision, and

training/work experience Placing the participant on the company`s payroll and provide the same employment terms

conditions and benefits as for all regular employees.

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