Hiring employees is never an easy task. The pressure to hire someone quickly can be tempting. But before you make an offer to the second person that walks through the door. Wait. Consider this. Every job has a personality. That’s right. Every job has a certain style or way of doing things. Let’s consider a sales position. A sales position has certain traits or characteristics. Here are some of the qualities of a sales position; approaching people (even people they’ve never met), establishing rapport quickly, listening to people with empathy, being enthusiastic and being persistence.
Knowing what the sales position is, why would you hire a person that doesn’t enjoy talking with people they don’t know, is not comfortable with surface relationships and has a quiet disposition? Sounds ridiculous. Yet it happens all the time. But if we truly understand the sales position characteristics then we can look for similar characteristics in the employees we hire.
During the interview process, the DISC personality assessment is a valuable and useful tool to hire the right person for the job. The DISC personality assessment has been widely used for many years.To summarize, there are four personality styles. People posses all four styles but we use them differently. The four styles are Driver, Influencer, Steady and Cautious. [Please note: the personality style names vary, such as Driver, Expressive, Amiable and Analytical but the characteristics are the same.]
The Driver is quick to make decisions, determined, forceful and competitive. The Influencer is enthusiastic, social, inspiring and persuasive. The Steady is consistent, predictable, complacent and patient. The Cautious is analytical, careful, orderly and systematic.
These descriptions are just basic boiled down descriptions. Remember, we posses all four styles. So when we start mixing the styles together, that’s when the fun starts. The analysis of the personality assessments is fascinating. It can help unlock the mystery of why people don’t perform well in their jobs. Or why there is so much tension in the office.
The moral of this story, take your time to hire the right person for the job. First, clearly identify what the position is. Second, clearly identify the characteristics that are needed to make the new hire successful in that position. Thirdly, don’t settle for anyone less. It may take some time, longer than you had anticipated but know you will find the right person. Once you make the decision and hire the person who will best succeed in that position, step back and watch productivity increase and enjoy a harmonious work environment.
