get fit to reduce turnover

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article from Advantage Hiring 4Q99 Newsletter -- "Get FIT to Reduce Turnover"

http://www.advantagehiring.com/newsletter/n99Q4_3.htm 09/09/2004 02:49:06 PM

Advantage Hiring 4Q99 Newsletter

Get "FIT" to Reduce TurnoverRuth Moskowitz, Ph.D.

Senior Consultant -- Advantage Hiring

The dictionary defines FIT as "adapted to the environment so as to be capable of surviving."So, Webster, (a very accomplished hiring manager) is telling us that fit is critical for survival.Long term survival of employees and organizations is what preventing turnover is all about.

Hiring managers have become more sophisticated in identifying the candidate whose credentialsbest match the requirements of an open position. However, the right education and workexperiences are not enough to ensure employee survival. A national survey of executivesconducted by Caliper (a psychological testing and human resources consulting firm) identified themain reason for turnover as lack of job fit. Reasons for quitting included lack of challenge, slimpotential for advancement, insufficient recognition, too much stress, and just not liking the job. Toavoid costly turnover, today’s hiring managers must look beyond the candidate’s ability to perform and make sure the candidate is also motivated to perform in the work opportunity.

What is fit?

Advantage Hiring, Inc. defines Opportunity Fit as:

"Having a positive orientation to the nature of the work to be performed,the characteristics of the work environment, and the other demandsand conditions of the work opportunity."

In other words, if there’s good fit, a person will be satisfied with the work, the organization, andthe working conditions. The person’s values, needs, and preferences will match the requirementsof the work situation. There are three aspects of fit that contribute to a person’s overall jobsatisfaction:

Satisfaction with the work itself (job fit)Satisfaction with the work environment (organization fit)Satisfaction with other conditions of the work opportunity (e.g. location, salary)

How can fit help prevent turnover?

When the goals and values of employees are aligned with those of their work group and theoverall organization, they are less likely to want to leave. Research has shown that new hireswhose values fit well with the values of the organization and culture tend to adjust more quickly,feel more satisfied, and intend to remain with the organization longer (O’Reilly, Chatman, andCaldwell, 1991). Conversely, poor fit has been associated with job dissatisfaction, higher levels of

job-related stress, and intentions to leave the organization (Lovelace and Rosen, 1996).

The Model of Turnover, presented previously, highlights employee satisfaction as one importantfactor affecting an employee’s decision to stay or to leave. Although companies with the highest





turnover rates often report dissatisfaction over compensation as the major reason for leaving, lackof job fit is often cited as one of the next leading causes. In contrast, within organizations whereturnover rates are low, monetary rewards appear to be less of an underlying factor thansatisfaction with the work itself job fit (a study conducted in 1998 by William M. Mercer, Inc). Astudy of recruitment and selection benchmarking practices conducted by DDI (August 1999)concludes that money and benefits help attract candidates to an organization; positiveorganizational culture and learning environment, however, are the main drivers for employeesatisfaction and retention.

The relationship between good fit and employee retention is even more important in today’scompetitive labor market where the best talent has many options. When an individual has morechoices, it takes a much lower level of dissatisfaction to motivate a job search for a better fit.Organizations must do everything possible during the selection process to ensure that the personselected fits well with the work itself, the environment, and the conditions of the offer. Otherwise,the money invested in hiring is lost when a work opportunity with a better fit woos their talentaway.

How can we ensure fit through selection decisions?

During the hiring process, there are a number of ways to make sure the preferences andmotivations of the selected candidate are an optimal fit with the realities of the work opportunity.However, before collecting any candidate data using the methods described below, it is importantto define the aspects of the work, the organization, and the job offer which will have the greatestimpact on job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Experienced managers can usually articulate themost critical motivational factors by thinking about past employees that experienced problems orleft the position due to dissatisfaction. In this way, motivational requirements for the job areidentified to supplement the knowledge and skill requirements.

Once the motivational requirements are identified, the hiring manager (or team) can gatherinformation on the preferences and dislikes of the candidate and compare these to themotivational realities of the work opportunity. Candidates whose preferences most closely overlapthe realities of the work opportunity will have the best motivational fit for the position.

One effective way to gather candidate information to determine fit is to target interview questionsto the most significant factors in the work environment that lead to satisfaction or dissatisfaction.These questions can focus on the work itself, the work environment, or other conditions of the joboffer. Examples include:

This work requires__________ (frequent customer contact // working with peoplefrom diverse backgrounds). Have you performed this type of work before?How do you feel about performing this kind of work?

In this work environment, you will be expected to ____________ (make decisionsquickly // take risks). Have you worked in this type of environment before? How doyou feel about working in this kind of environment?

This work opportunity_________ (is contingent upon acceptance of a non-compete agreement // requires relocation to Pittsburgh).What questions or concerns do you have about these requirements?

Instead of focusing interview questions on a specific aspects of the work opportunity, theinterviewer can ask more general questions focused on past work experiences, in order todetermine what was most satisfying or dissatisfying to a candidate. Examples include:

When were you most satisfied or dissatisfied in your work? What was mostsatisfying or dissatisfying about that?





Tell me about a time when work would have been more enjoyable if somecharacteristic of the company or organization had been different (e.g., policies,culture, structure).

To help interviewers tailor interview questions more specifically to a particular candidate, thereare inventories available (e.g., DDI’s Ideal Job Inventory) that ask the candidate to indicate workpreferences. Based on responses to the inventory, a candidate motivational profile is created.The candidate’s profile is then compared to the motivational profile of the open position. Theseinventories are very useful in identifying the overlaps and discrepancies between the candidate’spreferences and the work situation. The hiring manager can then follow-up, during the interview,to confirm or disconfirm any concerns they may have about the candidate’s fit.

Regardless of the method used, hiring managers must take the time to clarify the motivationalrequirements of the work opportunity and compare these to the candidate’s motivations.Considering fit during the selection process has big payoffs. Not only will you avoid costly hiringmistakes due to poor fit, you'll also be confident that you're choosing the candidate with the bestchance of survival for the long haul.

References

Anonymous. (1998, May). Turnover can be expensive. HR Fact Finder, 12(1), 1 .

Anonymous. (1999, July). Why employees quit their jobs. HR Fact Finder, 13(3), 8.

Lovelace, K. & Rosen, B. (1996). Differences in achieving person-organization fit amongdiverse groups of managers. Journal of Management, 22(5) , 703-722.

O’Reilly, C.A., Chatman, J. & Caldwell, D.F. (1991). People and organizational culture: Aprofile comparison approach to assessing person-organization fit. Academy of Management Journal, 34(3) , 487-516.

Rioux, S.M. and Bernthal, P. (1999). Recruitment and selection practices survey report .Pittsburgh, PA: Development Dimensions International, Inc. Center for AppliedBehavioral Research.

Schneider, B., Kristof-Brown, A., Goldstein, H., and Smith, D.B. (1997). What is this thingcalled fit? In N. Anderson and P. Herriot (Ed.), International Handbook of Selection and Assessment (pp. 393-412). John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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