People are hired for their skills and fired for their behavior!
People are hired for their skills and fired for their behavior!
for Their Skills and Fired for Their Behaviors. That is so true. We look for candidates to fill
positions who have the needed skill sets and then assume they can do the job quite well.
But why have they applied for that particular job? Based on my experience, it is often to ‘escape’
their current job. People seem to spend far more time running away from what they don't like
instead of thinking about what they want and then trying to find a job that matches their needs.
So, they begin a new job with some excitement and enthusiasm for their responsibilities. But,
very soon it becomes commonplace since it isn’t really what they want and they find their work
less enjoyable each day. And, when work is not enjoyable, people look for excuses to do
something else.
According to the 2004 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey conducted by Harris Interactive®,
most employees who fail to show up for work aren’t physically ill. In fact, the study found only
38 percent of unscheduled absences are due to personal illness, while 62 percent are for other
reasons including family issues (23 percent), personal needs (18 percent), stress (11 percent) and
entitlement mentality (10 percent).
If an individual is unwilling to think about what is best for them and simply seeks a job, perhaps
employers need to spend more time thinking about what they need from a candidate in a given
role. So, the better the employer understands what is needed for someone to successfully perform
a particular role, the more likely they are to find the right person. But, if they do not know what
is needed and the job candidates do not know what they want, the result is “the blind leading the
blind”.
Of course, a person needs skills to perform a certain job. But, by spending a little time
identifying the characteristics that are needed to successfully function in a role, the employer
removes much of the guesswork out of matching the right person to the right job, resulting in a
win/win situation.
Let’s consider the role of a receptionist. This is usually a job that does not require a lot of
‘concrete skills’ but is probably one of the most important roles in any organization. Because an
organization can’t do business if they can’t get ‘customers through the front door’ and the first
person the customer talks to is most responsible for making that happen—the receptionist.
This person must have a pleasant demeanor in order to successfully meet and greet people
whether by phone or in person. They must have an uplifted demeanor and be capable of making
the potential client feel that they have made the right decision by calling your firm. Secondly, the receptionist must have the ability to control conversations so that she can quickly get the caller or visitor to the appropriate person.
Think for a moment of your own experience in calling or visiting another organization and how
the receptionist treated you. Were you greeted with a pleasant demeanor and left with a positive
feeling or did you want to ‘strangle’ the person at the other end of the line or sitting behind the
desk? Is that person simply earning a paycheck or do they truly enjoy their job and find pleasure
in what they are doing?
So, to sum up my thoughts—hire employees based on behaviors and then train them to do the job
you need done. You will have to fire far fewer people.
People are hired for their skills and fired for their behavior - To learn more about this author, visit John M. Beane's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
I received a letter from a company recently that had this as the subject line: People are Hired
for Their Skills and Fired for Their Behaviors. That is so true. We look for candidates to fill
positions who have the needed skill sets and then assume they can do the job quite well.
But why have they applied for that particular job? Based on my experience, it is often to ‘escape’
their current job. People seem to spend far more time running away from what they don't like
instead of thinking about what they want and then trying to find a job that matches their needs.
So, they begin a new job with some excitement and enthusiasm for their responsibilities. But,
very soon it becomes commonplace since it isn’t really what they want and they find their work
less enjoyable each day. And, when work is not enjoyable, people look for excuses to do
something else.
According to the 2004 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey conducted by Harris Interactive®,
most employees who fail to show up for work aren’t physically ill. In fact, the study found only
38 percent of unscheduled absences are due to personal illness, while 62 percent are for other
reasons including family issues (23 percent), personal needs (18 percent), stress (11 percent) and
entitlement mentality (10 percent).
If an individual is unwilling to think about what is best for them and simply seeks a job, perhaps
employers need to spend more time thinking about what they need from a candidate in a given
role. So, the better the employer understands what is needed for someone to successfully perform
a particular role, the more likely they are to find the right person. But, if they do not know what
is needed and the job candidates do not know what they want, the result is “the blind leading the
blind”.
Of course, a person needs skills to perform a certain job. But, by spending a little time
identifying the characteristics that are needed to successfully function in a role, the employer
removes much of the guesswork out of matching the right person to the right job, resulting in a
win/win situation.
Let’s consider the role of a receptionist. This is usually a job that does not require a lot of
‘concrete skills’ but is probably one of the most important roles in any organization. Because an
organization can’t do business if they can’t get ‘customers through the front door’ and the first
person the customer talks to is most responsible for making that happen—the receptionist.
This person must have a pleasant demeanor in order to successfully meet and greet people
whether by phone or in person. They must have an uplifted demeanor and be capable of making
the potential client feel that they have made the right decision by calling your firm. Secondly, the receptionist must have the ability to control conversations so that she can quickly get the caller or visitor to the appropriate person.
Think for a moment of your own experience in calling or visiting another organization and how
the receptionist treated you. Were you greeted with a pleasant demeanor and left with a positive
feeling or did you want to ‘strangle’ the person at the other end of the line or sitting behind the
desk? Is that person simply earning a paycheck or do they truly enjoy their job and find pleasure
in what they are doing?
So, to sum up my thoughts—hire employees based on behaviors and then train them to do the job
you need done. You will have to fire far fewer people.
People are hired for their skills and fired for their behavior - To learn more about this author, visit John M. Beane's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
|||
John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
|||
Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to John's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Sale Systems Is your branding on the nose? Making Networking Work Online Marketing Tools Law of Attraction in Action |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 SEO Posts - 2007
Top SEO Posts of the Year | |
 |
Top 50 Productivity Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2009 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
