GOVERNANCE

MAXIMISING YOUR RECRUITMENT PROCESSES

By Belinda Doveston • May/June 2017 • Issue 55

In a previous issue, we introduced the concept of using natural energy profiling in your recruitment processes. In the realm of recruitment and selection, it is vital to understand the boundaries of what is legally and morally acceptable regarding the application of any psychometric profiling system.

Psychometric tools are often utilised as an effective technique to highlight a candidate’s personality type, strengths, productive and non-productive behaviour, emotional intelligence and overall job alignment. While you cannot discriminate based on a candidate’s profile, it would be appropriate to focus on the types of natural energy that would accelerate the greatest return for the candidate and the company through that position.

We developed the Contribution Compass as a platform to support our clients and partners to make outstanding recruitment decisions, whereby new recruits are hired for their talent and given opportunities every day to shine and to maximise their contribution and return for the company. We do not believe that the Contribution Compass, or any profiling tool, should be used to stereotype or put people in boxes.

What the tool highlights is our dominant natural energy under pressure, to which we will naturally gravitate as a means of solving problems and seizing opportunities. If our natural energy or ‘zone of flow’ is aligned to the position’s path of value creation, then every pressure point or moment of stress creates opportunity to accelerate return, individually and collectively.

Clarify the Position
In applying the Contribution Compass to recruitment, the first step is to clarify exactly what the position entails. This is not a long, bulleted list of skills, knowledge and job to-dos. It is a precise understanding of how a position ignites value or the primary reason that this position exists to support the promise of the company. 

It is not to say that one profile cannot deliver a positive outcome in a role that is out of their flow. What it does mean is that in a time of crisis or stress, that person will revert to their natural energy without thinking. It is often in those moments of great tension that the greatest opportunities can be seized and the most disastrous mistakes made. If your flow and your role are aligned, the chances of opening doors of opportunity at the right moment and in the right way, increase exponentially.

One of our partners recently shared a position description that one of their clients had put to market. We evaluated the position outline to see if we could work out the profile they were looking for. From a pure work function perspective, the position advertisement described a person who should have strong attributes across all four types of natural energy. This included: being dynamic and innovative (a hallmark of an Activating energy); demonstrating excellence in leading and growing teams (Inspiring types are naturally talented in this area); following organisational processes and honouring company norms (a Sustaining strength); and being precise, detailed and analytical (attributes strongly in the Tempering domain). They had basically described a jack of all trades and master of none.

It is important to clarify that one does not have the luxury of hiring specialist employees only. Indeed, as employees, irrespective of our natural energy, there are skills and behaviours we should develop and demonstrate even if they are outside our ‘zone of flow’. However, as employers, if we put a position to market and we are not clear on the primary way that the position creates value, it makes the selection process enormously challenging and does not do justice to the candidate who is expected to be a master player of all games. Challenge yourself to create absolute clarity right at the beginning of the recruitment process and you will dramatically increase the return on your investment of time and resources.
Align Advertisement Language
The recruitment process can be an extremely expensive undertaking. Even if you do not use a recruitment agency, if you add up your team’s time to review, shortlist and interview along with the financial impact of poor recruitment decisions, it can be quite a staggering amount. If done well, the right person hired at the right time can unlock the next level of the game.
To improve your results and reduce the investment required in recruitment, we encourage you to be focused and specific in the way you advertise a position. A high Activating profile, driven by the quest for untapped potential, will be excited by words such as ‘dynamic, innovative, scope for growth, independent and driven’. If you write the position advertisement choosing language that will excite a Catalyst, for example, you will increase the volume of Catalysts entering the application process. If the same advertisement were to be read by a high Sustaining profile, such as a Custodian, they would tend to feel stress rather than excitement.

The challenge is that we tend to write position advertisements and most types of communication using our own natural energy or the way in which we would like others to communicate with us. A Catalyst will write a Catalyst position advertisement — usually in a rush and without thinking it through. A Custodian will struggle to get going with a blank page, yet will eventually articulate Custodian notions. Without consciously adjusting our language to the specific profile we seek, we will just get more of ourselves.

Listen Carefully, Shortlist Expertly
In the interview process you can also use the Contribution Compass to understand your candidates, clarify what they value and how they create value. In the initial rounds of interviews, listen carefully for those cues. Gear your questions around understanding how the candidate creates value and responds under pressure. 

A great question to ask is: what has been your greatest success in the workplace and what has been your greatest failure? Another might be: what are you known for or what are you famous for in the workplace? These questions will highlight self-understanding and indicate how they will naturally create value for your company and whether their ‘zone of flow’ is in alignment with the position you seek to fill.

Once you have your shortlist, you would then require each candidate to complete the Contribution Compass, which could then be used to inform and guide your reflection on the candidates before making a final decision.

As a closing thought, even if a candidate has the ‘right’ profile, it does not mean the person has developed the level of emotional maturity and self-awareness that will unlock their profile within your team. An immature Catalyst, be it the right profile for you now, may still not be able to deliver the value required. 

One of the best ways of using the Contribution Compass is to get to grips with that level of maturity. We ask candidates questions about their profile and the insights they have had on reading their report. It quickly highlights the person’s level of self-understanding, their honesty on their talents and where they yet have some road to travel. 
It goes without saying that as leaders we also need to develop new skills and enhance our recruitment processes. Instead of trying to quickly fill a gap or to employ the person we like, why not take the process deeper and increase the likelihood of a game-changing appointment. 
Align Advertisement Language
The recruitment process can be an extremely expensive undertaking. Even if you do not use a recruitment agency, if you add up your team’s time to review, shortlist and interview along with the financial impact of poor recruitment decisions, it can be quite a staggering amount. If done well, the right person hired at the right time can unlock the next level of the game.
To improve your results and reduce the investment required in recruitment, we encourage you to be focused and specific in the way you advertise a position. A high Activating profile, driven by the quest for untapped potential, will be excited by words such as ‘dynamic, innovative, scope for growth, independent and driven’. If you write the position advertisement choosing language that will excite a Catalyst, for example, you will increase the volume of Catalysts entering the application process. If the same advertisement were to be read by a high Sustaining profile, such as a Custodian, they would tend to feel stress rather than excitement.

The challenge is that we tend to write position advertisements and most types of communication using our own natural energy or the way in which we would like others to communicate with us. A Catalyst will write a Catalyst position advertisement — usually in a rush and without thinking it through. A Custodian will struggle to get going with a blank page, yet will eventually articulate Custodian notions. Without consciously adjusting our language to the specific profile we seek, we will just get more of ourselves.

Listen Carefully, Shortlist Expertly
In the interview process you can also use the Contribution Compass to understand your candidates, clarify what they value and how they create value. In the initial rounds of interviews, listen carefully for those cues. Gear your questions around understanding how the candidate creates value and responds under pressure. 

A great question to ask is: what has been your greatest success in the workplace and what has been your greatest failure? Another might be: what are you known for or what are you famous for in the workplace? These questions will highlight self-understanding and indicate how they will naturally create value for your company and whether their ‘zone of flow’ is in alignment with the position you seek to fill.

Once you have your shortlist, you would then require each candidate to complete the Contribution Compass, which could then be used to inform and guide your reflection on the candidates before making a final decision.

As a closing thought, even if a candidate has the ‘right’ profile, it does not mean the person has developed the level of emotional maturity and self-awareness that will unlock their profile within your team. An immature Catalyst, be it the right profile for you now, may still not be able to deliver the value required. 

One of the best ways of using the Contribution Compass is to get to grips with that level of maturity. We ask candidates questions about their profile and the insights they have had on reading their report. It quickly highlights the person’s level of self-understanding, their honesty on their talents and where they yet have some road to travel. 
It goes without saying that as leaders we also need to develop new skills and enhance our recruitment processes. Instead of trying to quickly fill a gap or to employ the person we like, why not take the process deeper and increase the likelihood of a game-changing appointment.