Employee ‘fit’ gives edge in recovery
Talent management critical in helping firms succeed

By Shannon Klie

Excerpt:

As the economy improves and organizations move from survival mode to growth mode, it’s critical for organizations to hire people who fit with the organization’s values and culture, not just the job, according to Sean Slater, vice-president of employer services firm vpi.

When there is people-organization fit, employees willingly embrace and commit to the company’s strategic plan and this gives an organization a competitive advantage over organizations that don’t have that same fit, said Slater, who is based in Mississauga, Ont.

“The alignment between the people that work for the organization and their objectives and their values with the values, culture and objectives of the organization is key to being able to bring life to the strategy. Bringing life to the strategy is what ultimately helps businesses be successful,” he said.

Organizations with person-organization fit saw a 7.5-per-cent increase in revenue growth, 6.1 per cent faster profit growth and 17.1 per cent lower employee turnover, according to a 2006 study by Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

Unfortunately, too often organizations overlook person-organization fit in favour of person-job fit when hiring, said Slater, who is also co-author of the vpi report Emerge Stronger.

“It speeds up the hiring process,” he said. “They don’t understand the return on the investments of the additional time it takes upfront to really probe for appropriate person-organization fit.”

Continued…

To read the entire original article, published by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., visit the National Journal of Human Resource Management or VPI.

For more articles on Talent Acquisition and Retention, visit the Employer Resources page at www.redfishtech.com