A few years ago a major manufacturing company realized that it was ‘breaking up’ with employees regularly. They weren’t firing the employees per se, and they didn’t have a traditional employee retention problem either. They were a great company hiring great candidates – candidates that looked perfect on paper and had solid-gold references. But the great candidates all had different work styles and personalities didn’t always mesh well together. That was leading to interpersonal conflicts and more than a few workplace ‘separations.’
Slowly, the company began to realize that there was a certain type of employee that ‘clicked’ within the organization, and they wanted to find more of them – people that had the skill set, work style and personality that made for a great working relationship.
They needed to apply an old-fashioned idea adapted to today’s world. They needed a match-maker for modern business.
The concept of match-making, of course, has evolved significantly in modern times. Evaluating the number of sheep a family owns and the woman’s childbearing potential have (thankfully and wisely) fallen out of popularity in favor of identifying compatible personality characteristics and life goals.
In fact, eHarmony, the well-known online dating site that surveys singles before suggesting potential mates, claims to be the “#1 Trusted Relationship Services Provider” in the U.S. It also claims to match its members with compatible persons for a long-term relationship.
So, why should finding the perfect employee be any different?
Just as there are new technologies and techniques available to daters, there are methodologies that organizational consultants are providing to employers to create today’s perfect job match. And those matches are saving a lot of money – because the average hiring mistake costs as much as three times the person’s salary in lost knowledge, skills, contacts and productivity.
The goal is the same as eHarmony’s: to find a strong candidate with whom you can have a long-term relationship.
A key part of the match-making process for businesses is job benchmarking. As Bill J. Bonnstetter at Target Training International (TTI) would tell you, benchmarking is the process of “letting the job talk” about its personality, requirements and accountability so that organizational consultants, the match-makers of business, can identify what its perfect employee compliment would be.
The process begins by talking to subject matter experts and identifying not only the skill set needed for the job, but other requirements like values, motivators, and affinity for things like troubleshooting, projects and tasks.
When that information is collected and averaged you arrive at a benchmark metric – or a profile of the job’s personality. Then, you can ask your top candidates to take an online assessment that is matched to that metric. Ultimately, you’re looking for a good fit between job expectations and what candidates bring to the table.
The process works because people that get satisfaction from their work are more satisfied at work. Understanding values like what motivates them and what’s important to them enables you to make an informed decision about that fit. The more they like what they’re doing, the more productive and successful they are going to be.
According to eHarmony, nearly 240 of its members get married every day in the U.S. as a result of its matching technique.
If it works for them, why not use benchmarking to find your perfect match?
Maureen Dorgan-Clemens is vice-president of organizational consulting services at Perspectives Ltd. She has more than 24 years experience consulting with organizations around management development, team development, conflict management, performance coaching and leadership training, and EAPs. Find out more about Maureen on LinkedIn.
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Tags: benchmarking, Bill J. Bonnstetter, cost, eHarmony, employee, employer, hiring, job benchmarking, job hunt, match-maker, office, office mate, organizational consultants, productivity, subject matter expert, Target Training International, TTI
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