Why is Finding a Great Job Fit so Difficult?
Over the past decade I have had the honor of working with dozens of organizations and individuals around the topics of maximizing productivity, increased self-awareness and more. One thing that consistently happens whenever I visit any type of organization is that there are always employees are more engaged than others, and some that are actively disengaged.
What do I mean by actively disengaged?
These are folks that are in such bad job fits that they can’t stand their job and bring down the morale of the entire team. One consultant I worked with years ago referred to these team members as organizational terrorists. Yikes! After working with so many groups over time a few things stand out to me about these folks.
- They are likely in very bad fits for their unique talents.
- They may have a lot going on in their personal lives.
- They are stuck.
- They will not leave without help.
Managers who bring us in to work with their teams can almost always identify these folks on their groups and want some outside confirmation that what they are seeing is accurate. You know what? Most times it is.
Why you Are Disengaged
What happens if you go to work everyday and for the majority of your day you do not get a chance to do what you do best? You are going to become disengaged, and perhaps, actively disengaged. This is a bad job fit.
I read somewhere over time people who are put on performance plans (Human Resource speak for a last change) have only a 10% chance of rebounding – 90% end up getting fired or quitting. Why? Because we have waited until the bitter end and patterns have developed that are hard to change.
If the essential functions of your role do not line up with who you are wired to be, you have little chance of making that job a place where you will be highly engaged. So what can we do about this?
- Hire the right people in the first place
- Change the role to fit that persons unique talents
The second option is very challenging because many companies do not have the margin to make it work for that employee. Which brings us back to #1 – hire the right person in the first place!
How to Hire the Right People
When I look at hiring processes most rely almost exclusively on skills and experience and talk little about natural talent. If you do not tap into people’s natural abilities it might be an accident if you select the right person.
Some of the pressure here is on organizations to change how they do Human Resources, but some of this is on us as prospective employees to know what we might bring to a role. I think there a few more blog posts forming in my head but for now I leave you with this:
Know yourself inside and out or you will end up in a job that is not a great fit.
Organizations must do a better job of hiring for talent or they will not have the most engaged workforce.
Have you seen examples of hiring being done well? If so, please share below. Have you seen examples of hiring being done poorly? If so, what is making that process not effective?
