Personnel selection: Personality and motivation must also be right

"Darn, the new sales rep can't connect with key customers." "Crap, the new IT manager is rubbing the department heads the wrong way." These are the kinds of complaints you often hear from HR managers in companies some time after they have filled a vacant position in their organization. It is not uncommon for the former "dream candidate" to turn out not to be the right one after all. That's why they part ways again after a few weeks or months.

Also pay attention to the personality

But why do the "dream candidates" so often turn out to be flops? One of the main reasons for this is that the selection of personnel often focuses primarily on the professional qualifications of the applicants or candidates. This is because it is relatively easy to assess these on the basis of their (work) references and the challenges they have mastered to date. The situation is different for factors such as:

• What motivates the applicant, what drives him?
• Does he connect with the company's customers, employees or suppliers?
• Does he have the necessary stamina to lead even difficult projects/projects to success?

Determining this takes time and energy. But the effort is worth it when you think of the costs and consequential problems of miscasting.

Create a detailed requirements profile

In the run-up to a personnel selection process, you should therefore also determine exactly which personal skills and characteristics the "newcomer" should possess - for example, by interviewing the previous job holder or his/her colleagues. In this way, you can identify challenges that are typical for the advertised position and that the future job holder will have to master. For example, his or her work situation is usually characterized by a high degree of time pressure and little ability to plan. Then a requirement might be: "The future job holder works in a goal-oriented and concentrated manner even in a hectic work environment." This also makes it easier for you to formulate job advertisements in such a way that they appeal to exactly the right applicants.

It usually proves helpful to consult a personality analysis tool such as the MSA Motivational Structure Analysis when determining the personal skills and characteristics that the new hire needs. Otherwise, dimensions that are important for professional success are quickly forgotten. Using the 18 basic motives examined in the MSA, you can determine, for example: On a scale of 1 to 10, how pronounced should team orientation, pragmatism, self-confidence or willingness to take risks be in the new employee?

Job interviews are sales pitches

You should derive an interview guideline from the written requirements profile and use it in all selection interviews. This ensures that you can compare the applicant profiles well at the end - because all applicants have answered the same core questions.

But be careful when evaluating the answers, because job interviews are ultimately sales pitches. In it, the company tries to present itself in as positive a light as possible in order to profile itself as an attractive employer. The same applies to applicants: they, too, will give you embellished answers. For example, no applicant will say in an application or job interview:

• "When faced with resistance, I'm quick to throw in the towel." Or:
• "I react to critical feedback like a mimosa." Or:
• "The thing that motivates me the most is money.

This is another reason why it is advisable, at least when key positions in a company are to be filled, to use a personality test such as the MSA to determine: Do the results of the analysis match the impression we had of the candidate during the interview, or should we check again on certain points?

You cannot change the personality

This is also important because practice shows: If necessary, you can usually still impart missing specialist knowledge to new employees in training courses. The situation is different with regard to personality and motivational structure. Companies cannot change these - which is why an insufficient fit in this area almost inevitably leads to the decision at some point: We're parting ways again.

To the author: Michael Schwartz heads the Institute for Integral Living and Working Practice (ilea), Esslingen near Stuttgart (www.ilea-institut.de), which trains MSA motivational consultants, among others. Before becoming a consultant, the graduate physicist worked as an executive and project manager in the (software) industry.