Behaviors tell us how a person will go about doing her work, while values and attitudes help us pinpoint the reasons why she will perform well and remain engaged. However, if we do not know what the job requires, how can we match a person to the position? This is precisely where most businesses make their first mistake. They focus on the type of person they want in the job rather than the type of work the job requires. They shouldn’t be focusing on the type of person they wanted, but on what the job required in terms of skills, behaviors, values and attributes.
Many companies go through this grueling process every day with no thought as to why turnover continues and why training produces few results. Some companies actually study and assess their top performers to benchmark the qualities needed in new hires. The problem with this system, however, is that one company’s top performer is another’s mediocre performer. That’s why people who are very successful at one company sometimes crash and burn at another. Conversely, some people will fail at one firm, and become superstars at another.
Do you know your behaviors and values – your employees’?
Email: performance@kabachnick.com.
