We all know that people are a rare resource.
A labor shortage has begun to show a dramatic strain on growth for small- to medium-construction companies.
Most contractors continue to operate with the approach, “If they have experience, hire them.”
Studies conducted at Michigan State and the University of Iowa, Tepp/Jackson/Rothstein, illustrate this traditional interview-hire process has a job performance predictive validity factor of 0.14 to 0.15 (with zero equaling the toss of a coin).
The vast majority of companies continue to rely solely on this process.
How do you find the talent you need to make your business a success? Every person you hire has talent.
People build their lives around habits that eventually become their life themes.
These themes are a direct result of their natural behavioral style (how they behave), their attitudes and values (why they behave the way they do) and their motivations (the catalyst or fuel behind their attitudes/values).
If you develop an understanding of these styles and unique behaviors, you will be able to recognize the behavior, attitudes/values and motivations that make up those themes.
Today, it is possible to place the right person in the right position almost every time.
Your organization can do this by identifying the life themes appropriate for successful job performance through the right screen to empirically measure specific themes and compatibilities.
No system is foolproof, but let me give you a quote from one of my most recent clients: “I am happy to report that our completion of applicants through all phases of training and on the floor has gone from an average of only 15 percent to 85 percent. This can be directly attributed to your process.”
By developing a thematic approach, using behavior, attitudes/values or motivations, you can clearly define what you need in a position and recruit the right person to fill that position.
The life theme analysis is a seven-step process when you use the free tests available at www.lifethrive.com/freeassessments/.
Here’s how it works:
• Define the position with a complete list of responsibilities. Present an example of one characteristic or competency a worker might need to fill the position and ask yourself if this person has the ability to go through each of the 15 steps necessary to complete the job?
• Isolate your best performers, preferably empirically. If you have statistics or a computer-generated analysis of specific performance issues, begin by referring to them.
• Interview your top performers and a few supervisors to complete work environment studies and/or task analysis for the job descriptions. This process will provide you with information you will not obtain from the assessments.
• Establish hiring standards based on analysis of top performers. Find people who have similar results on their tests to your top performers now.
• Develop appropriate questioning for a screening process based on behavioral, psychological and motivational needs of the job descriptions and the behavioral traits necessary for successful task completion.
• Develop a career path or outline. Very few people will accept a position, regardless of the pay, if they do not know what the future holds for them. People, for the most part, are highly resistant to change, unless you prepare them for that change.
• Help develop applicable recognition and/or incentive programs.
Thematic hiring may not cut your turnover 70 percent, as it did in my client’s case, but it will have a dramatic effect on your employees’ performance.
Think about it — don’t you perform better when you enjoy what you’re doing?
You and your employees possess unique behaviors. That behavior has given you special life themes. Use those themes to have fun when you work.
Who knows, you may even want to whistle while you work.