Job Fit is the process of putting the right employee in the right place in an organization. The personality job fit theory posits that matching person personality traits with the job greatly motivates a person to greater heights of performance. How well a person fits in and work determines that person’s psychological health i.e. happiness, motivation and commitment to perform. A misfit however will cause frustration and dissatisfaction resulting in poor performance and high turnover. Job fitting has been a challenging task all along. Many have yet to truly realize the importance and implications it has upon the company’s bottom line and results.

Here we use the KYKO way to explain them.

KYKO 10 personality types and their preferences

The use of KYKO Psychometric Personality Assessment tool is to identify human differences.

Normal Personality type prefers working with ideas and concepts, work using intellectual skills and jobs with something new to learn and has opportunities for growth while the neurotic personality type prefers doing easy, simple and routine jobs that does not require little effort and thinking process.

The sociable personality type enjoys work dealing with people, working in teams, and jobs that requires cooperation, support , synergy and symbiosis while the asocial personality prefers working alone and would avoid work needing social interactions and dealing with people.

The pragmatic personality prefers working during office hours, enjoys working with their hands, prefers paper and administrative work and tasks that require accuracy and precision. The adventurous personality dislikes a routine nine to five job. This type prefers to work independently without supervision preferably outdoors in the fields.

The assertive personality prefers challenging and important work and tasks that require them to take charge lead, decide and control over others while the submissive personality prefers simple, routine ordinary jobs that do not require them to make decisions and to push others.

The dynamic personality enjoys strategic work that requires analytical skills, persuasive power and the ability to mobilize resources to make things happen while the static personality prefers to do simple jobs that require them to deal straight with others.

Each personality has its own job preference. Matching the job preferences with the right personality constitutes a job fit. A misfit occurs when one is given a job that does not fit his personality, for example placing an asocial personality to deal with people such as in customer service.

Identifying the employee personality traits

Each personality type possesses a distinct cluster of traits. The magnitude of each trait corresponds with the intensities of the dimension. For examples:

Normal type (High Self Actualization): Hardworking, responsible, fair, ethical, enthusiastic, motivated, desires self-improvement, knowledge seeker, etc.

Neurotic type (Low Self Actualization): Slow paced, uncommitted, low moral ethics, lacks initiatives, lacks motivation, not keen to learn, etc.

In between normal – neurotic type (Average Self Actualization): Erratic, inconsistent, moody, moderate pace etc.

Dynamic type (High Manipulative): Inquisitive, has helicopter vision, perceptive insightful, adaptable, unpredictable, persuasive, convincing, influential, etc.

Static type (Low Manipulative): Lacks awareness, has tunnel vision, open, predictable, straightforward, naive, gullible and easily influenced, etc.

In between dynamic – static type (Average Manipulative): Partial vision, quite flexible, fairly influential, etc.

Assertive type (High Egocentric): Dominant, takes charge, status conscious, prestige, confident, respect, etc.

Submissive type (Low Egocentric): Passive, gentle, soft, humble, prefers to follow, etc.

Fairly submissive type (Below Average Egocentric): Quite gentle, fairly lenient, somewhat permissive, etc.

Sociable type (High Sociocentric): Affectionate, caring, helpful, supportive, collaborative, approachable, team player, etc.

Asocial type (Low Sociocentric): Aloof, detached, prefers to work alone, etc.

In between social – asocial type (Average Sociocentric): Lukewarm relationship, moderately cooperative, etc.

Pragmatic type (High Security): Detail-oriented, meticulous, careful, loyal, obedient, etc.

Adventurous type (Low Security): Needs freedom, spontaneous, forgetful, messy, careless, takes high risks, etc.

Fairly pragmatic type (Fairly High Security): Quite organized, somewhat meticulous, quite careful, etc.

Matching the responsibilities and competencies of a specific position with the personality traits

It is vital to match the natural talents of a personality in line with the person’s responsibilities and competencies. For example, consider a consumer Sales Professional.

Responsibilities and Competencies

• Fully understands the customer’s organizational structure and the dynamics of power and influence within the organization at a business unit and group levels – HM (Inquisitive, Helicopter Vision, Perceptive Insightful, Adaptable, Unpredictable, Persuasive, Convincing, Influential) + HSA (Hardworking, Responsible, Fair, Ethical, Enthusiastic, Motivated, Self-Improvement, Knowledge Seeker);
• Develops relationships and credibility at the appropriate operational level i.e. mid-management and senior levels within an organization to affect the outcome of the immediate opportunity – HM+HSA+HSO;
• Communicates in the appropriate style and language to suit the situation, the audience and the business level – HM;
• Gains “insider status” at the appropriate level in order to influence the customer’s buying process – HM+HSA;
• Leads company -to-company relationships to protect the account from any competition by fully utilizing company tools and programmes i.e. events, initiatives and incentives – HM+HSA+HE+HSO;
• Creates superior relationships with senior level executives and influential stakeholders to sustain a long term relationship both internally and externally – HM+HSA+HSO;
• Positioned as a trusted business advisor to the customer for technology, products and solutions – HM.

Identify the right person

It is crucial in job fit to identify the “right person” for the job.

The right person is a person with a high or fairly high desire for achievement, growth, fulfillment and to find meanings in life. This is to ensure that the person is a good or fairly good performer who is responsible, committed, trainable, motivated and trustworthy.

The wrong person is a person with low or fairly low desire for achievement, growth, fulfillment and to find meanings in life. Such a person is neurotic, shirks responsibilities, lacks interest in self-improvement, unmotivated and is prone to temptations.

Importance and implications of job fit

It is vital to get the right person for a job.

A Normal or HSA person placed in a job that fits his/her personality can only bring about positive results and greater opportunities of success for the organization. The impact of this is immense when this occurs in every department of the organization.

On the other hand, hiring a Neurotic or LSA person to any job or hiring a Normal or HSA person to a job that does not match his/her personality is considered a job misfit. This situation creates many negative impacts upon the organization.

Implications of job fit and job misfit

Regression: Wrong person on the wrong job

This is the worst case scenario that every organization should avoid. This is about hiring a neurotic or LSA person to do a job that he/she detests. The person finds the job dull and boring and shows no interest in the job. He/she works grudgingly and is unreasonable. When more neurotic people are hired, the negative impacts on the organization are magnified many times over. The organization’s progress will not only halt but will deteriorate and over time it regresses to a point of no return. Some key examples of indicators and symptoms of regression from these phenomena are as follows:

• Increased level of ineffective communication;
• Alarming Increase in work conflicts;
• Alarming increase in customer incidents;
• Greater occurrences of not meeting goals- Very poor performance;
• Higher level of employees’ complaints and dissatisfaction;
• Uncontrollable increase in quality related issues;
• Increase in customer’s cancellation of orders;
• Losing customers rapidly.

An organization that functions in such a chaotic state and always seems to be in the maze is definitely in the state of regression.

Example: A person with a personality profile LSA+LM+HE+LSO+HSE hired to do a job of customer relations.

Confusion: Wrong person on the right job

This is about hiring a neurotic or LSA person to do a job that fits his/her personality. The neurotic person should score a high in the manipulative and egocentric dimensions of his personality profile to be able to fit in the right job. He/she takes credit from others, is stubborn and hard headed. He/she is also a good pretender, blows things out of proportion and uses others for self benefit and makes empty promises. Such a person can only bring confusion to the organization. Some of the key examples of indicators of this confused state are as follows:

• Higher incidences of fraud;
• Increase number of destructive conflicts;
• Increase in disciplinary problems;
• Unclear tracking of plans;
• Unclear directions;
• Frequent changes of directions;
• Frequent changes of objectives and goals;
• Slow progress.

An organization plagued with these is confused as to what steps to take next to progress. It is not straight forward. This state of confusion retards the organization’s progress against the objectives and goals set.

Example: A person with a personality profile LSA+HM+HE+LSO+LSE hired to do a job as a purchasing executive.

Frustration: Right person on the wrong Job

This is about hiring a Normal HSA person to do a job that does not fit his/her personality. Though the person is hardworking, responsible and committed, he/she will not be able to function to his/her optimum when he/she is placed in a job that does not match his/her personality. This is job misfit. It creates frustration to the person and the many who deal with him/her.

Imagine a normal HSA person who is low in his/her sociocentric, manipulative and security dimensions of his/her personality profile and doing a sales job. He/she is asocial, impatient, unemotional, frank, straightforward, and takes risks in all his/her dealings with the customers and the people around him. Customers and people around the person will find the person unfriendly and difficult to deal with and prefer not to deal with him/her. In the process, all the parties feel frustrated and a lot of time and effort are wasted.

The organization ends up being unproductive and frustrated as well. It may even terminate the employee’s service when this is not the solution. Some key examples of indicators that illustrate the state of frustration are as follows:

• Unhappy closure of deals;
• Sense of agitation during meetings;
• Failed closure of deals;
• Disagreements – very common;
• Strong remarks of dislikes;
• Moody working atmosphere;
• More complaints;
• Negative and unhealthy interactions.

Example: A person with a personality profile HSA+LM+LSE+LSO+HE hired to do a job as a salesperson.

Progression: Right person on the right job

This illustrates hiring a Normal or HSA person to do a job that fits his/her personality. This harmonious balance allows the person to contribute to the organization at his/her best. The results expected of him/her are constantly achieved. This triggers progress within the department.

An example of this positive implication is illustrated below. The HSA person has positive behavioral traits like being hardworking, committed, responsible, and result oriented. When this is combined with high sociocentric, high security, high manipulative and low egocentric dimensions of his/her personality, and if the person works as an accountant, he/she is able to get the job done very well. He/she has a helicopter view of the job expectations. He or she is committed to work along with people to get the job done within the rules, regulations and system set up.

His/her progress as reflected in the results attained, spurs progress in his/her department. This has direct implications on the overall progress of the organization. Some key examples of indicators that illustrate such progression are as follows:

• Performance goals are regularly achieved;
• Improvement in the customer incidents measurement;
• Productivity improves;
• Time management improves;
• Resources are effectively utilized;
• Experiences good quality and yield improvements;
• Responses to customers are recognized and appreciated;
• Conducive working environment;
• Discussions are meaningful;
• Drastic drop in complaints.

Mulplication: Right people on the right jobs

This illustrates hiring of Normal or HSA people doing the jobs that fit into each and everyone of their personalities. This is a perfect situation that occurs across all departments and covering every level of the organization. This synergistic effect impacts the organization’s growth exponentially.

Such rapid growth in all departments and at all levels of the organization creates the positive multiplication effect on ALL its performance measurements.

Some key examples of indicators that illustrate the effects of multiplication are as follows:

• Constantly achieving good results;
• Highest motivation ever;
• Accepts challenging goals willingly;
• Nil conflicts;
• Great job satisfaction;
• Competitive edge all around;
• Perfectly conducive working environment;
• Zero customer incidents;
• Rare quality issue occurrences;
• Rapid and harmonious closure of any issues;
• Welcomes changes for the better;
• Breakthrough performance and development are common;
• Fantastic working rapport and interactions;
• Synergistic teams.

Conclusion

Over the years many management gurus have expressed job fit as a fundamental requirement for any organization. Most have expounded its importance and share how it affects the morale of the individual and the organization. As shared above, though the task of job fitting may be common sense, most organizations lack the ‘How To’ process. They have attempted many approaches and ways to best meet this requirement but few realize the objective method to accomplish this.

KYKO has developed what is currently the most objective instrument that is capable and can accurately identify the right person for the right job i.e. matching the person’s personality to the job and ultimately the right people to the right jobs within the organization to reap all the great benefits that come along with good job fit.

Job fit provides the competitive edge needed by the organization to meet and fulfill its vision and objectives to not only survive through the current turbulent dynamic environment but to stay ‘ahead of the pack’ of competitors.