When Jobs Talks: Listen

By Allyn Cutts, President
Cutts Group, llc

Okay. Jobs can't really talk. But if yours could, what type of information would it divulge? Would the job focus on talent alone?

Or demand specific soft skills like effective listening? What would it say about the importance of behaviors, values, soft skills, competencies, or cognitive reasoning?

Would the job reveal details that might improve all aspects of recruitment, selection and training? How would that information contribute to more effective hiring practices, to better performance and enhanced satisfaction for the organization and the individual?

In fact, jobs communicate with us all the time. The "dialogue" may be subtle, and even go unnoticed, but the feedback can be vivid, if you pay attention.

How Jobs Communicate

Performance - Here's where the job really tells it like it is. Levels of performance send important signals about how well an individual and a job fit together. The person placed in a job may have experience, be smart, demonstrate the hard skills that fit the job description and may be giving full effort, yet for some reason just isn't meeting performance standards.

It happens all the time, talented individuals with dynamite resumes and impeccable recommendations turning in mediocre, or worse, performance. The gears don't seem to mesh. Timing always seems "off." The job needs to go faster, but the individual just can't seem to get into synch. In fact, it seems the harder the person tries, the more distractions or mistakes occur; the more things fall through the cracks.

What the job is saying: "No matter what the resume indicates, this is the wrong person for me."

On the other hand, you may find that a person with fewer job skills and less experience keeps everything flowing. In this case, there seems to be perfect harmony between what's being done, how it's being done and what the job dictates should be done. Even though job knowledge and skill sets are still developing, performance is high. It may even exceed expectations.

What the job is telling you: "It's a natural match! Send me more like this one."

Job Satisfaction - It's simple to keep a job satisfied. Perform the specified tasks with proficiency within the right time frame, at the right pace. Repeat. That's it. When that happens, everything moves forward. Your organization profits.

If the job isn't properly satisfied, however, it growls, snarls and bites into your bottom line.

Motivation - Call it the Joy of Working, team spirit or plain old enthusiasm, motivation is the sparkplug that brings a job-and profits-- to life.

When an employee brings a naturally charged motivation to the job, an amazing energy is released. That energy can often pull the individual to exceptional levels of achievement or excellence.

Why Does It Matter What The Job Has To Say?

"Listening to the job" can help explain what is working and what is NOT working in a job-employee relationship. Understanding the requirements of a job is a first step to recognizing how to place the right skills, interests, attitudes, values and behaviors in the right job, every time.

By listening with acuity, we can determine the full range of characteristics and behaviors that will better and more fully satisfy the demands of the job. We can help elevate the job, and its function within the organization, to the highest levels of its potential.

Evaluating what's needed to do the job right and accurately assessing the individual doing the job, or applying for the position is critical. So, how do you go about doing it all?

Matching the Right Person
To The Right Job Is A Complex Task

The right systems and procedures can make it simple, according to Allyn Cutts, business consultant and creator of Proper People Placement.

"A comprehensive, proven effective system with a suite of detailed diagnostic and assessment tools can make it easier for you to develop a hiring strategy that's right for your organization," adds Cutts. "The right strategy can ensure you'll select the right person for the right job, every time."

The Cutts Group recommends Proper People Placement (PPP), a highly refined, detailed method for identifying, predicting and understanding how people behave in specific work environments. It not only details the ways different behavioral styles respond to problems, processes, pace - it also measures and benchmarks person interest, attitudes, values, soft skills, competencies, and cognitive reasoning.

The foundations for many of the methods recommended by the experts at the Cutts Group are based on understanding how all these characteristics tie to superior performance.

"Using the research and validated tools, we've delved even more deeply into professional development and superior performance," says Cutts. "Understanding these characteristics and how they apply to your organization can provide you and your group with essential tools necessary to build an extraordinary work environment."

According to Cutts, an "extraordinary work environment" is one that nurtures high-performance individuals and teams.

The diagnostic and evaluative information you can extract using systems like Proper People Placement (PPP) for instance, arms you with richly detailed reports that identify the natural and adaptive characteristics a person brings to the job.

This gives you important data about how that person is performing-- or will perform-- once he or she is part of your team.

With valuable insight like this, you can anticipate, thus avoid or dissipate, potential conflicts or problems. Understanding human behavior, personal interest, attitudes, values, and soft skill competencies is like having a detailed map that explains how to work with each member of your group in a way that maximizes strengths and minimizes weaknesses.

A good report should further chart how individuals "blend" their styles with others, including yours. All of this is important information you need for building cohesive, high-performance teams.

The Cutts Group, a well-respected professional development provider, offers seminars, consultation, coaching and the "best-in-class" assessment tools for individuals, institutions and organizations. For complete details, including sample reports and your own free demonstration, go to http://www.cuttsgroup.com or call (800) 482-7280, or (610) 437-4106 outside the U.S. and Canada.

The Cutts Group partners with clients who are committed to continuous growth. We provide the organizational development, team building, employee selection, executive coaching, and sales training resources our clients demand for measurable results and return on investment. Satisfaction and investment are always guaranteed, always.