How WWII Taught Us A Little Known Lesson

WWII taught us a lesson that few are aware of. Not all people fit in all jobs!



Prior to the war, the attitude had been, "anyone can do virtually any job it they have good training". During the war, the military realized the fallacy of this attitude and its enormous cost in dollars and lives. Subsequently, millions of dollars of research were poured into developing a process for assigning people to jobs in a way that would increase the probability of success.



This was the birth of the behavioral assessment tools we have today. Over 50 years later, employers have effective tools that can take much of the risk out of hiring. Tools that can profile a job and an applicant and tell who is a match and who is not. Unfortunately, many employers are still attempting to hire based on a resume and an interview alone. Their high turnover rates and low productivity are the result of the lack of insight gained by the traditional process.



Behavioral assessments can give an employer insight into both the job and the applicant. While many employers understand the skills needed to do a job, few can accurately describe the type of person who can do it well. By profiling the job, an employer gains an understanding and a clear description of the type of person who is likely to be successful and happy in that position. The Predictive Index (called PI), for example, allows multiple people to collaborate on the development of a job profile, resulting in a better understanding of the needs of that position. In many cases, this is the first time the company has looked at this aspect of success and the process alone stimulates valuable discussions.



Once the job profile is developed, the search can begin. As internal and external candidates take the assessment, the company gains valuable insight into these individuals. They are able to see who fits where and why. They can see the struggles that an individual may undergo if they are placed in a particular job. They will see how that person is likely to fit with the rest of the team and gain insight into their potential for advancement. They can even see what stresses the person has been under in adapting to their current position. While clear in the assessment, stresses are seldom obvious on the surface and may be critical to a job placement.



Behavior assessments can show the difference between the person you see and the person inside. In PI we call this the Self and the Synthesis. Research has shown that people have a core behavioral style that they develop in their teenage years. It typically remains unchanged throughout their lives. What does change is their perception of their need to adapt to the environment around them and the affect this has on the person we all see. These pressures can be either positive or negative. Two people may each be adapting to job pressures by taking the same actions and look to their boss as if they are going in the right direction. An assessment might reveal that one is suffering significant stress from this effort and is unlikely to be able to sustain the change. I’ve heard many managers say, "They looked great in the interview, but then it was like someone else showed up for work!" The most likely cause was a person who’s adaptation or Synthesis was a match for the job but who was straining to make the change and quickly returned to the behaviors of their core self.



Assessments work with existing employees, too. When we assess our client’s current staffs, we often find situations where people are straining to do the job and heading for burnout. By addressing these issues early, employers can improve job performance, boost moral, and reduce expensive turnover. The insight gained from behavioral assessments can aid in team building, improve communications and raise every manager’s effectiveness.



Imagine if your managers understood how to talk to each employee to get the best results. If they knew what motivated each individual and how to tap into that drive. If they knew how to adjust the work environment to dramatically boost productivity by making a few simple changes. Each of these seemingly impossible tasks are easily achieved by managers who use and understand behavioral assessment tools.



It is even possible to assess a given business metric and determine what type of person will drive it up or down. For example, one of our clients wanted to grow their sales team and increased sales per head. An analysis of their team showed that those with a slightly different behavioral pattern sold 5 times as much as those without that pattern. By simply recruiting and hiring more of the correct pattern, sales increased dramatically.



In another situation, a client needed to prepare their company for more rapid change. They had been hiring people who were doing a great job, but were not innovating and adapting to dynamic market. By analyzing the behavioral patterns of change-oriented people, they were able to bring in enough change agents to keep ahead of the market. They also used their knowledge of their existing team to make the transition as smooth as possible, eliminating unwanted losses of key people.



Many companies are looking at process improvement tools like Six Sigma or Lean to improve their bottom lines. By adding behavioral assessments to the mix they will be sure they have the right people in doing the right things in the right way. That’s the key to success in today’s market.



Steve Waterhouse, the President of Predictive Results, helps companies and individuals increase their sales through employee selection and sales training.

You can learn more in his blog at Customer Focused Sales