Skills and experience are usually the elements we focus on when we try to hire the right person for a job. Yet, there are other crucial considerations that we often overlook:

• How the person’s instinctive abilities influence how they will approach tasks;
• Whether the hire’s natural strengths match – or clash with – the way they are expected to perform the job;
• How the hire’s innate working patterns will integrate with the rest of the team.

These factors impact the likelihood of success, regardless of the candidate’s other qualifications. The problem is, we often don’t know how these factors will play out until the person is already on the job.

Luckily, the Kolbe Assessment can provide these insights upfront and improve our hiring decisions.

Watch the video or read on to learn how the Assessment helped Gary, a respected M&A Advisor, find the perfect Executive Assistant.

SCIENCE-BACKED INSIGHTS TO FIND THE RIGHT-FIT CANDIDATE

Gary had made several failed attempts at finding the right candidate for the position, mostly relying on requirements and skills assessments to evaluate potential hires. The many false starts had made him resistant to the process, yet he needed the help.

In Kolbe’s terms, he is a Quick Start. He jumps right into projects, initiating action through brainstorming, experimenting, and innovation. This is how he excels. However, his Quick Start tendencies also cause him to take on multiple projects at once. And because of Gary’s low score in Follow Thru, he was not inclined to finish all the projects that he had begun. This would often leave him with a work overload: everything was a work in progress, and nothing was getting finished.

He needed someone who would be comfortable with the fast-moving, jumping-from-thing-to-thing nature of how he works and would also help him complete projects.

Kolbe gave us the tools to define what he was looking for. He no longer had just an idea of the job requirements; he had science-backed insights on the kind of candidate who would best fit the role.

GARY’S KOLBE A™ INDEX:        COLLEEN’S KOLBE A™ INDEX: 

While I am not a recruiter, I was working with Colleen on a few projects when Gary was searching for an assistant. Knowing her Kolbe scores, I immediately saw she could be a great fit.

At first, Colleen had some reservations. She had spent 30 years in Corporate America in draining roles that had affected her work-life balance, and she did not want to end up in a similar situation. However, Kolbe’s hiring tool, RightFit™, told us she would find the job energizing and stimulating because it was playing right into her innate strengths while allowing her to branch out and learn new things. Plus, Gary is a terrific guy, and I had a hunch she would love working with him.

ONBOARDING THE NEW HIRE USING KOLBE’S INSIGHTS

I had a Kolbe onboarding session with Colleen and Gary when they first started working together. We talked about Gary’s and Colleen’s patterns and how they were likely to come into play on the job. I provided specific suggestions for the two of them to work together efficiently. Kolbe has a terrific report called Comparisons: A to A™ Report, which also provided many insights on leveraging their talents to create a strong working relationship.

Their scores are not too far off, yet they are different enough to provide an advantage when they team up. For example, Gary’s 6 in Fact Finder is reflected in his tendency to explain things in detail. People with a lower score would find it exhausting or unnecessary and would get frustrated with Gary’s approach. On the other hand, Colleen is a 7, which means she needs just as much data and will appreciate all the details Gary gives her.

Colleen has a higher Follow Thru score than Gary, so she would ensure work was completed and she could easily adapt to Gary’s way of working while helping him carry projects across the finish line.

Months after the initial onboarding, Gary and Colleen reported that the insights were spot on, and they still rely on them to collaborate most effectively. Colleen says she’s never been more excited to get up and go to work every day.

TAKEAWAYS

Colleen is a skilled professional with a wealth of experience. That plays a big part in how well she performs on the job. Kolbe provided the missing piece to ensure she and Gary would complement each other’s natural strengths and make the most of their partnership.

Are you hiring qualified talent only to find out they are not a good match for the job?

Would you like to be more confident in your new hires’ ability to fit in with the rest of the team?

Let’s talk.

–

Kolbe A™ Index and Action Modes® are the trademarks of Kathy Kolbe and Kolbe Corp. All rights reserved. The description in this blog is my interpretation of the Kolbe System™. Here is an overview to gain an understanding of Kolbe’s approach and wisdom.