Why You Should Hire For Potential, Not Experience

Great Fastcompany article By Dinah Wisenberg Brin

When you’re hiring, look past the experience candidates come with, to the potential for them to grow into the perfect fit for your company.

An electronics retailer hires a CEO who seems to possess the ideal credentials and skills, only to find him ill-prepared to handle changing market dynamics.

A small brewery, in contrast, picks a project manager lacking in relevant industry experience, based on a hiring consultant’s feeling that the man will succeed. The new hire quickly ascends to a key role in a strong management team that turns the company into a conglomerate.

What’s the difference in the two hires?

Read article to continue

If you want to accelerate talent, contact John Inman at john@johninmandialogue.com or at 425-954-7256

A Data-driven Approach to Organizational Change in Healthcare

A Data-driven Approach to Organizational Change in Healthcare is copied from the September 2014 issue of  PI Worldwide News and Insights.

Data-Driven

 

In a new era of healthcare technologies and policies, American Health Network (AHN) medical group recognized it needed more effective procedures and methodologies to help its employees navigate the nuances. The organization turned to workforce analytics to optimize its business structure and enable leaders to guide the change process effectively while reducing turnover, enhancing employee morale and strengthening clinical teams. AHN’s approach leveraged PI Worldwide’s 4 Pillars of Successful Change Initiatives.American Health Network

Pillar 1: Communication and retention: By leveraging the Predictive Index® (PI® ) behavioral assessment to understand employees’ motivating needs and behavioral drives, AHN was able to develop a targeted communications strategy in line with individual styles and needs. This helped increase employee engagement and minimize turnover. AHN’s Training and Development Manager Monica Wearren explains, “With nearly 2,000 employees and 75 offices, a ‘one size fits all’ approach will not work. It is important that we can communicate to different people in different ways to ensure everyone gets the message.” AHN believes PI enables their leaders to communicate in ways that resonate with employees so they provide the very best patient experience.

Pillar 2: Managing culture shift Workforce analytics helped AHN create a culture of action plans and productive discussions around personality differences which led to noticeable changes. An employee survey conducted by AHN following the implementation of workforce analytics showed:

  • 80% of respondents cited increased self-awareness of personality and motivational style as the number one tool they incorporate into their daily jobs.
  • 75% feel they can use the increased self-awareness to adjust behavior/communication.
  • 75% feel they can share results of their own assessments with managers and peers.
  • 53% of respondents cited an improvement in satisfaction with their job and the company overall.

Pillar 3: Strategic Workforce Planning AHN turned to workforce analytics to assess current behavioral fits and gaps and inform future talent needs. Armed with this insight into their existing workforce, the organization was better able to set internal goals that would align with the changes happening in the industry. For instance, AHN used the PRO™ job analytic to reevaluate the behavioral requirements of several critical positions. This provided managers with stronger job targets that could be used for hiring, development and coaching. According to Wearren, the broader program incorporating workforce analytics has helped reduce turnover as AHN has been able to hire more strategically and successfully redirect employees into other positions or reshape their jobs as needed. P

illar 4: Conflict resolution With greater awareness of their own behavioral styles and those of their peers, employees are reporting increased confidence when communicating. Furthermore, managers cited (1) Communication (2) Resolving Conflict and (3) Team building as the top priorities for which they would like to further apply behavioral data. Wearren notes, “With the Predictive Index insight, we can better anticipate personality clashes and thus surround our clinicians with the appropriate personnel and resources that will not impede on efficiency or patient care.”

“The PI is and will continue to be helpful in smoothing some of the edginess that comes with change by enabling our leaders to communicate information more effectively and in ways that resonates with the employees. As new initiatives come down the pike in the market and in our company, the PI will be instrumental in making these processes much more manageable.”
-Monica Wearren Training & Development Manager American Health Network

If you would like to learn more about this process, workforce analytics, and people big data and how it can transform an organization, please contact John Inman at john@johninmandialogue.com or at 425-954-7256.