At times of need that borders on desperation, a worker may be hired or promoted to fill a position for which he or she is behaviorally unsuited. If the company has an up-to-date organizational chart (See Chapter 22), then each position should have a job description developed specifically for it. Before placing a new or current employee into that job, management personnel should determine if the person has the right combination of personal and professional skills to be successful. Both the employee and the company suffer when there is not a proper match between the person and the needed job performance.
Whether measured during the hiring process or observed on the job, the personality of an employee can be categorized. At the risk of oversimplification, but to illustrate the point, we all know people who are characteristically positive and upbeat, as we know others who are usually reserved and often negative about life or situations. We can all think of people we have known who are aggressive, take-charge types, and others who are more comfortable as followers or working alone. To exemplify the match between personality types and job performance, consider the following possibilities:
Although these examples oversimplify the complexities of human personality, they serve to illustrate the concept of fitting employees to the job that offers them the best opportunity to enjoy their work and perform it in a way that benefits all members of the customer-company – employee triangle.
