Safari Solutions Newsletter
September 2005, Volume #21
If you understand behavioral style, you can use this knowledge to define job profiles, write ads, interview candidates and communicate with employees. Read on to learn more!
Ann Clifford
Dos and Don'ts
Can you refuse to hire someone just because you do not like him or her?
(Answer provided at the end of the newsletter.)
Jobs have Personalities!
Do sales people apply for accounting positions or engineers for customer service roles? Probably not!
Jobs attract people not only with technical skills that match, but also with personalities that match. DISC is an assessment tool that can be used as a framework for understanding behavioral style. Follows are four (4) distinct behavior types:
Dominant Directors: People-oriented and task driven. Direct, impatient, assertive, and results-oriented. Company owners and sales “hunters” typically display these characteristics.
Social Influencers: Highly extroverted. Open, friendly, talkative, animated, yet mindless of details. Sales and public relations staff may fit this mold.
Steady Relaters:
People-oriented, yet introverted when it comes to sharing their feelings or opinions. Calm, listens well, and likes to get along with everyone. Customer service reps, administrative assistants, and middle managers often demonstrate these characteristics.
Cautious Thinkers: Introverted and task driven. Reserved, quiet, detail-oriented, cautious and logical. Accountants, engineers and IT professionals typically fall into this category.
Know the behavioral style that is best suited for the position you need to fill. Use descriptive words in your job ads that attract candidates with the right style. Ask interview questions targeted to behavioral attributes that fit the position. Use assessment tools to confirm a top candidate’s natural behavioral style.
(Source: Ann Clifford, President of Safari Solutions)
Manage with Style
As a business owner, have you ever tried to rally your troops only to find that your message failed to strike a chord? If you want to praise, recognize, or provide feedback that will motivate employees to step up to the plate, then choose your words wisely. Tailor your comments to fit their behavioral style!
Dominant Directors: Recognize their productivity, speed, and decisiveness. “You are always the person I can rely on to get results!”
Social Influencers: Pay homage to their ideas, creativity, and charisma. “You have more ideas in a week than I have in a year!”
Steady Relaters: Praise their relationship skills and teamwork. “If my entire staff worked with others as well as you do, my job would be a piece of cake!”
Cautious Thinkers: Laud the quality of their work, thoroughness, precision, and efficiency. “I admire how you develop systems and procedures that make this place run more smoothly and logically!”
(Source: Complimenting by Style, by Dr. Tony Alessandra)
Safari Interview Tip
Have your top performers complete a DISC behavioral assessment, providing valuable insights into the behaviors that make these people perform successfully in their jobs. Recruit new employees that demonstrate these success factors.
Safari Success Story
A positive referral from a client of Safari Solutions led Single Source Systems to engage Safari Solutions for their 2005 hiring needs. Successful hires include an IT Network Administrator and two Application Consultants. Active projects include Account Managers and Software Developers.
Did You Know
Forty-seven percent (47%) of employees say they are more likely to push for more generous salary and benefit packages in the next 12 months than they were in the previous 12 months.
One-in-five hiring managers attribute their difficulty in finding qualified staff to the inability to offer competitive compensation packages.
(Source: Survey conducted in August 2005 by Robert Half International Inc. (RHI), a specialized staffing firm, and CareerBuilder.com.)
Safari Quiz
Forty-six percent (46%) of new hires fail within 18 months, according to a new study by Leadership IQ. What is the top reason why?
A. Coachability
B. Emotional Intelligence
C. Motivation
D. Technical Competence
Click Here for the Answer.
Answer to Today's Dos and Don'ts
“Can you refuse to hire someone just because you do not like him or her?”
Several intangibles will play a part in your decision to hire someone. As long as your own personal prejudices are not directed toward people in a protected class, it is reasonable to consider whether you “like” or would enjoy working with a particular individual.
(Source: Susan Williams, President of HR Choice, a Phoenix HR Consulting Firm)
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