How to Increase the Likelihood of a
Good Person-Job-Organization Fit

One often unrecognized fact about hiring and promotional processes is that a job interview is a two-way evaluation. That is, the candidates as well as the employer have the opportunity to assess the goodness-of-fit between themselves, the job, and the organization. In order for both sides to make informed decisions, however, the employer must provide all relevant information, both positive and negative. To do otherwise would be a disservice to all stakeholders as well as to the organization.

If asked why they decline to mention the down sides to a given job, most employers say they don’t want to scare off good candidates.

I’ve got news for them: they’re going to lose new hires who discover their expectations will not be met. On the other hand, new hires who are poor fits are likely to stay, causing negative repercussions throughout the organization. Acknowledging the lack of fit earlier in the selection process rather than later will save you money and time, as well as avoid the costs associated with reduced productivity and employee morale, and unhappy customers.

Here are eleven actions you can take to provide candidates for hire and/or promotion with a realistic job preview:

Before the interview:

1. In the job posting and recruitment materials, be very clear about the negative as well as the positive aspects of the job and the organization.
2. Encourage candidates to speak with employees or incumbents.
3. When feasible, offer job shadow opportunities.
4. Formulate interview questions that assess the alignment between candidates’ personal values and the organization’s values.

During the interview:

5. Provide candidates with information about available career paths and realistic time frames for promotion.
6. Ask candidates about their job expectations. When there are unrealistic perceptions, re-set them by explaining why they are improbable or unlikely.
7. Ask job candidates why they want to work for your organization. If there are misconceptions, correct them on the spot.
8. Provide interviewers with a list of job and organization positives and negatives to communicate clearly to each candidate.

After the interview:

9. Review the interviewers’ notes carefully, noting any potential red flags that could indicate a candidate might not be a good fit – e.g., unacceptable behaviors, personal values that are at odds with those of the organization.
10. Call candidates’ references. If any red flags were raised during the interview, ask questions to elicit information about whether they are well-founded.
11. Speak with candidates before an offer is made to assess the accuracy of their understanding of the job and the organization. Correct any misperceptions.

While no one likes to lose otherwise good job candidates, hiring or promoting someone who is a poor fit for the job and/or the organization does a disservice to everyone. Who would you rather have serving your customers: people who went into the job with realistic expectations or those who are disillusioned because their expectations were not met?

To find other articles and resources that may be of value to you, I invite you to visit my web site at  www.BusinessAlignmentStrategies.com and my blog at www.OptimizeBusinessResults.com.

Alignment Solutions is a concise, bi-weekly newsletter written specifically to help organizational leaders optimize their business results. Your e-mail address is never shared with anyone for any reason. You may unsubscribe by clicking the link on the bottom of this e-mail.

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© 2016 Pat Lynch. All rights reserved.

How to Re-set Unrealistic
Workplace Expectations

Unrealistic expectations have widespread negative repercussions in the workplace. They establish impossible standards that even high achievers who are consummate problem-solvers cannot meet. Yet people try anyway, often to their own and others’ detriment.

Employees trying to meet impossible standards may take short-cuts or give up altogether. As a result, morale drops, self-confidence plummets, resentment grows, trust (in oneself and each other) is eroded, and people begin to question their own competency. Stress increases when employees perceive that even heroic efforts are not good enough.

To re-set unrealistic expectations, there are two audiences you must address: yourself and your employees. Some actions to counter unrealistic expectations are common to both groups:

1. Set reasonable expectations and standards up front.
2. Quickly re-set impracticable expectations as they arise.
3. De-bunk “facts” that reflect an altered reality.

Here are some audience-specific actions you can take to re-set unrealistic expectations:

Self:

1. Develop a realistic mindset. Recognize and own the fact that you cannot do everything. Model that mindset through your language and your decisions.
2. Distinguish clearly between what you can control and what you can’t. Focus on the former and release the latter. Teach others to do the same.
3. Set reasonable goals for yourself – i.e., those that are attainable even though they may cause you to stretch.
4. Resist the temptation to maintain a dual standard: an unrealistic one for yourself and another, realistic one for everyone else. People believe what you DO, not what you say. If you set yourself up for failure, you’re also doing so for others.

Employees:

1. Establish a culture of resiliency that allows for “failure” and embraces mistakes as learning opportunities. Define “failure” as something other than an imperfect outcome.
2. De-bunk the notion that 100% success is possible. Convey the message that not all projects or customer interactions will go perfectly despite everyone’s best efforts Replace this fallacy with the expectation that everyone will do everything possible within reason.
3. When mistakes are made, have employees identify what they learned and how they can apply that knowledge in the future.
4. When employees beat themselves up over a project or customer interaction that went badly, help them re-set their perceptions so they can remember what they did well, and the lessons they learned.

You can set yourself and others up for success by establishing realistic expectations and by consistently challenging those that are not. The workplace can be a stressful environment. Don’t make your and others’ jobs harder than necessary by setting, or allowing to others to create, impossible standards.

To find other articles and resources that may be of value to you, I invite you to visit my web site at www.BusinessAlignmentStrategies.com and my blog at www.OptimizeBusinessResults.com.

Alignment Solutions is a concise, bi-weekly newsletter written specifically to help organizational leaders optimize their business results. Your e-mail address is never shared with anyone for any reason. You may unsubscribe by clicking the link on the bottom of this e-mail.

Click here to Join Our Mailing List!

© 2015 Pat Lynch. All rights reserved.