EMPLOYEE TRAINING: Find Their Zone of Fit & Then Train

Employee Training is Incredibly Effective When Done Right….

and a waste of money when done wrong.

The Budweiser draft horses are going to be entered into the Kentucky Derby and the thoroughbred race horses will be pulling the wagon.  Neither will be successful (despite hours or years of training).

If you are an employer, Training or Retraining works as long as it matches or improves the person’s natural fit.  Put the person in their Zone of Fit and then train them.  Training will get you more return on your training dollars that way.  (Having spent twenty-plus years of my life in the training business.  I can attest to this truth firsthand.)

Let me give you some first-hand examples and distinctions.

Employee Training:  Why Does it Matter?

Solving the nature vs. nurture debate is only relevant to us because it impacts how you decipher Following Your Fit. Knowing which is the difficult part of “fit.”

Some things about a person cannot be added, subtracted, or changed by any amount of training.  Fear of loud noises, for example, is something everyone is born with, fear of flying is something you learn.

Let me make one distinction that may help you when you are thinking about your hiring for attributes.

Honor what is innate and train what is learned.

The researchers termed this phenomenon “instinctive drift”—the proclivity of an animal—regardless of training—to drift toward its “natural, inborn” state.

Employee Training:  Nature vs. Nurture:  Introversion or Shyness?

Here is another example of the importance of making the distinction.  The personality division between introverts and extroverts is virtually in every personality test because those two traits are assumed to be inborn.

But many people confuse the trait of introversion with the state of shyness.  Although similar in its expression, introversion is not shyness. According to researchers, “Introverts, like extroverts, do not fear social situations, but simply prefer solitary activities. Shy individuals would prefer to be with others but are restrained by the experience of shyness” 2

And why does the distinction matter?  Because shyness can be changed with training; introversion is assumed to be innate.

Mark the Introvert

Mark was, by nature, an introvert.  He really enjoyed his alone time and had a few close friends he kept in touch with regularly.  Big social gatherings bored him and left him feeling drained after most of them.

Since he was seeking investors for the expansion of his animation studio, the task required him to prospect for investors within many social venues.  Because of years in the corporate world where he had honed his social skills, he was more than capable of the task; but frankly, he preferred being alone on his own computer creating animations or with his family.

The goal, however, was important enough to him to do what was necessary.  Mark had created his normal work environment to fit his introversion; however, because he was introverted, not shy, he had developed the social skills to create his dreams.

When Mark was in the corporate world, he worked well from home and always fulfilled his tasks with excellence and on time.

Emily:  Painfully Shy

Contrast this to Emily who, by her own definition, is painfully shy.  Researchers would characterize her as highly socially anxious.  She “hides out” in her aloneness and often prods and scolds herself into trying to get out and meet new people.

She never does it, but always thinks she should.  Emily works in a warehouse, where she sorts and manages packages to get them out the door as fast as possible.  She enjoys her job but feels that her shyness has negatively impacted both her personal life and her professional opportunities.

Despite being shy, she is very organized and efficient and believes she could easily be responsible for a much larger section of the warehouse, perhaps even moving up to management.

Because of her social anxiety, however, she has never been asked or even considered asking for advancement or more money.  Emily’s shyness has negatively impacted her career but can be changed with training.

Employee Training:  Honor What is Innate

Introversion is not social anxiety or a lack of confidence.  It is simply a preference for a way of being in the world.  Many scientists and even actors are by nature, introverts.  Scientists love getting lost in hours of research and scientific exploration to come up with a scientific discovery.  Much of their work is done alone.

Actors often report spending much time alone as a child, with a very fertile imagination being the result.  That vivid imagination is part of what helps them create their dramatic roles.

If someone is introverted or extroverted, honor that innate disposition.  Make the distinction, however, about other parts of that employee that need training and pursue it.

The Profiles PXT Select tests for Sociability, which is an extroversion/introversion scale, though it is officially deemed Outgoing vs. Reserved.

References:

  1. Breland, K., & Breland, M. (1961). The Misbehavior of Organisms. American Psychologist, 16, 681-684.
  2. Henderson, L., Zimbardo, P., & Carducci, B. (1999). Shyness.

How to Hire the Right Person: Use This Customizable Tool

In order to hire the right person, you must hire for Fit. The right person will fit the job, the industry, the work culture, and the style of management of you, the CEO.

The PXT Select looks at the whole person, so there will be no surprises. It has strong validity and reliability and can stand any legal challenges in hiring. Hiring for Fit creates the Ideal Work Environment where everyone is engaged, productive, and “in the zone”.

Palletone (a client for over twenty-five years) uses the PXT Select and is a company of over 1300 employees, 20 locations, and is the largest new pallet manufacturer in the U.S. (it’s huge). But the assessment can also show you how to hire employees for small businesses and every size business in between.

The HR Manager of Palletone says she actually has people thank her after using the assessment. And this includes people she doesn’t hire because they don’t fit. They are grateful to know beforehand, just as the company is grateful to find out that it’s a “no fit.” Of course, she ultimately finds great fits.

What Does the Profiles PXT Select Measure?

Download The Complete Report Here

The PXT Select Measures 3 Things:  Thinking Style, Behavioral Trait, & Interests

Let’s examine each one.

1. THINKING STYLES: 4 Cognitive Abilities

Almost all assessments have some form of basic knowledge, but most companies only want to know a baseline has been met vs. these being superpowers.  Once again, it depends on fit.

If you are an accounting firm hiring, the candidate’s numerical ability and numeric reasoning would need to be high; if you are a marketing firm, verbal skill, and verbal reasoning would need to be high.

The key thing to remember about aptitude tests is that employers rely on them merely to establish that you have sufficient reasoning and learning skills. (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2015)

Research has found that success depends more on personality than IQ (after a certain baseline) (Baer, 2016).

(As an aside, the PXT Select also allows for the Thinking Styles to be eliminated if you feel that does not serve you as an employer.)

As a general overview for this category, the PXT Select is looking at how individuals approach problem-solving, decision-making, and critical thinking. It looks at how they solve problems, draw conclusions, and make predictions.

Here are the specific 4 the PXT Select Tests for:

A. Verbal Skill.   Every assessment has a vocabulary section because if you know a word, you know a concept.  Words are thinking tools and the more you know, the broader your thinking.  Can the applicant use effective and suitable word choice in communicating?
B. Verbal Reasoning: Analyzes and communicates verbal information. It tests how words are used to create relationships between concepts and how the candidate processes messages from others, reasons, and reaches conclusions.
C. Numerical Ability: Calculating numbers; yes, alas, Math
D. Numeric Reasoning: Applied Math.  How a person uses numbers and calculations to solve problems.

2. BEHAVIORAL TRAITS:  These are measured on a continuum; They translate to behavior in the workplace

A. Pace:  Steady vs. Urgency.  A steady person likes routine, predictability, and time to think things through carefully.  The urgent person works through tasks quickly, often multitasking.
B. Assertiveness:  Unassuming vs. Forceful.  Is the person comfortable taking the lead and pushing hard for the ideas they believe in?  Or is the person more easygoing?
C. Sociability:  Outgoing vs. Reserved.  Reserved prefer small groups in smaller settings.  Extroverted is much more social.
D. Conformity:  Strong-willed vs. Compliant.  Strong-willed are often trailblazers and not attached to convention.  Compliant people will follow the rules, even if they don’t understand the reasoning behind the rules.
E. Outlook:  Skeptical vs. Trusting.  Skeptical people are realistic but often suspicious.  Trusting people are optimistic and believe that most people and honest and good.
F. Decisiveness: Deliberate vs. Bold.  Deliberate people analyze carefully and methodically when making decisions.  Bold people make decisions quickly and have a higher tolerance for risk.
G. Accommodation:  Steadfast vs. Easygoing.  Steadfast people have strong opinions about how things ought to be done, while agreeable are pretty easygoing.
H. Independence:  Autonomous vs. Reliant.  Autonomous workers want to make their own decisions and like to come and go as they please. Reliant workers prefer more supervision.
I. Judgment: Intuitive vs. Analytical.  Intuitive people trust their own feelings and believe there’s often an emotional component to a decision.  Analytical people prefer facts, data, and concrete evidence.

3.  INTERESTS     When a person’s job matches their interest,  they will feel more aligned and intrinsically satisfied with the work.

A. Creative:  Imaginative, artistic, full of ideas, interesting in designing things.
B. Enterprising:  Enjoys leadership, presenting ideas, and persuading others.
C. Financial/Administrative:  This is a numbers person who is very process and detail-oriented.
D. People Service:  Collaborative, enjoys helping others and compromising when necessary.
E. Mechanical:  Someone who likes to build or repair things.
F. Technical:  Likes to interpret complex information, solve abstract problems and learn technical material.

How Does It Work?

Step 1.  Identify and assess your Top Performers

Jacklyn was loved by all the surgeons.  When Dr. Walker strolled into the room (late as usual), he introduced her and said, “I wish we had 10 of her.”  Cloning your best employees is what the PXT is about.
Decide who is outperforming peers, whether in terms of sales performance, output volume, quality metrics, customer satisfaction, or other important indicators.  You’ll be outlining the behaviors and traits that are most important to their success based on a given role.
This is your “Success Pattern” and you hire to match what you know works.

Step 2.  Create a Model for the Job

After you’ve identified the top performers and their vital attributes, you build what’s known as a “Performance Model”.  This is an objective picture of what it takes to succeed in this particular role that can impact on-the-job performance.

Step 3. Evaluate Future Candidates Against the Performance Model

This is the data-gathering part of the process.  Through careful assessment, you can gauge each potential candidate on how strong they are in the attributes identified in the model you just created.  You know just what to look for when trying to essentially clone top performers, your data is objective and you can even compare one candidate against another to see who fits the bill best.

Finally, three precautions before aligning your workplace with Fit.

1. As wonderful as it is to find top talent, one of the best benefits of the PXT Select is avoiding the wrong hire.  In the long run, avoiding the bad hire will save you more than getting the good hire.

2. Toxic work environments need to be adjusted because you do not want them replicated over and over again as you hire.  Fortunately, there is a solution with the PXT Select Assessment.  When you are creating your Success Pattern,https://bankyourknowledge.com/toxic-work-environments-not-every-problem-is-a-fit-issue/ you have the option to create a Performance Model that tilts your culture in the direction that you want.  The best part about this assessment is its flexibility and how customizable it is.
3. Before you spend precious employee training dollars, it’s best to get the right people in the right place.  And then train.  Employee Fit before employee training.

FAQ:  Frequently Asked Questions about the Profiles PXT Select

Can you Help Me in Hiring for Integrity?

Yes.  Hiring for Fit is critical, but so is Hiring for Integrity and Character.  Learn more here.

The best Integrity Test is the Profiles Step One Survey II.

It has proven results, is fast, and cost-effective.

Integrity tests are an essential component of all good hiring practices.  Obviously, some industries suffer more than others from theft and fraud; industries such as security, retail, construction, hospitality, or any industry that uses seasonal workers or has a high turnover.

FAQ:  Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why Do You Need a Pre-Employment Integrity Test? (4 Reasons)

Honest firms sell more and – despite higher costs – achieve higher profits. [1] Employee theft and fraud cost employers in excess of  $400 billion a year.  So, you can see that there is a big upside and a very big downside.

One of the measurements on the assessment is what dishonesty and lack of integrity will employees tolerate from other employees.  Unfortunately, choosing to “not see” the dishonest behavior has two important consequences for your culture:

     (1). Dishonesty Fosters a Toxic Culture.

     (2). Dishonesty is Contagious and Will Spread.

  • For instance, Cialdini’s team tracked the theft of petrified wood from a national park. When a sign mentioned that “many past visitors” had taken wood, theft rates spiked from below 3% to nearly 8%. [3]
  • Additionally, research has found if a senior team tolerates opportunistic behavior, employees are more likely to commit accounting fraud and insider trading [4] (which is why hiring for top positions needs to include both the Fit Test (PXT Select) and the Integrity Test (Step One Survey II®).

     (3). Fortunately, Honest Behavior is also Contagious and Will Spread.

Spending time, money, and effort to get honest employees pays handsomely in the long run.

On a positive note, If a company’s CEO has served in the military, for example, it is 70% less likely to engage in corporate fraud compared with similar organizations. [4]

     (4). And, Finally the Fourth Reason is Because People are Poor Judges of Others’ Integrity

    • Top Executives Were Not Always Accurate in Their Self-Evaluation of Dealing with Dishonesty:In a survey of 16,000 managers across nearly 500 companies, top executives were 24% more likely to say that they addressed unethical behavior quickly and consistently….
      compared with how well middle managers thought the C-suite dealt with unethical actions.[4]
    • Skeptical managers are poor judges of character [2]

2. What Does the Integrity Test (Step One Survey II®) Measure?

It has 4 subscales and measures the following:

  1. Honesty
  2. Substance abuse
  3. Reliability
  4. Work ethic

But, on a broader level, the Integrity Test (Step One Survey II®) will give you two overviews:

  • What am I willing to admit I’ve done?
  • What am I willing to tolerate?

These are two entirely different measures from each other, but both will impact your organizational culture.  Perhaps a person is honest himself but will ignore dishonest behavior when he/she sees someone else engaging in it.

3. What Does the Integrity Test Report Include?

All reports present the results in graphic and narrative form and describes the individual in a positive manner.

  • Section One of the report summarizes admissions of acts with which the employer might be concerned.

These might include theft, drug use, absenteeism, tardiness, etc.

This section also has a Verbal Interviewing Guide consisting of suggested interview questions. The interview questions should be asked in order to clarify your understanding of the applicant.

When an applicant openly admits to a particular behavior, discussing that behavior may prove valuable to the hiring process.

  • Section Two of the Step One Survey II® report describes the applicant’s significant attitudes

and compares them to the attitudes of people with histories of success as employees and with the attitudes of people who have been convicted of fraud, theft, and drug abuse.

In the process of constructing the SOS, the sample group made up of trusted, long-term employees tended to post high scores in Section Two.

4. Is the Integrity Test Reliable and Valid? (Convicts vs. Model Employees)

Yes, on both.  It is interesting how the study was conducted to get solid results.

They used two groups to validate the tool: Incarcerated individuals and model employees.

For the incarcerated group, their offenses grouped generally as 50% theft, 35% substance abuse, 5% other (kidnapping, murder, weapons offenses, etc.), and 10% unknown. At the same time, the same instrument was given to current employees of a major retailer.
This population comprised over 400 employees, with the “model employees” setting the standard.

For those incarcerated, none of the group scored higher than a 4 on any of the scales.  For the model employees, none of them scored less than a 5 on any of the scales.

Obviously, people fall on a continuum with honesty and integrity (and the assessment will pick that up).

For instance, in one study where the researchers were testing people’s willingness to lie to a partner in a game,

  • 14% of people always chose to be truthful (even if lying would have benefited them)
  • 14% chose to lie whenever they stood to gain
  • The rest reacted in variable ways to incentives, sometimes lying and sometimes not,
  • except for one participant who always lied, regardless of circumstances. [5]

5. The Fascinating Psychology of Integrity Tests: Why Would Someone Answer Honestly?

Integrity tests ask very direct questions about honesty and integrity.  For instance, one question might be:  Have you ever stolen? You might say to yourself, “Wouldn’t the interviewer just lie about having stolen?”  No and here’s why.  Dishonest people assume everyone is dishonest (just like honest people assume everyone is honest).  The psychological term is called Projection. Everyone projects onto other people what is inside of us.

Here’s their reasoning:

Question:  Have you ever stolen?

Reasoning:  If I answer “No,” they will know I’m lying because everyone steals.  So, I will answer it honestly.  By contrast, a honest person will simply answer “No.”

Though I find the psychology fascinating, the test has high validity and reliability, so its results can be trusted.

6. Are You Using Drug Screening & Background Tests?  This is an Inexpensive Alternative.

Any company that has a drug screening test and criminal background check.  These can be very expensive tests (often costing in the hundreds) and are used often just as a point of elimination.

A much less expensive option is to use the SOS II at only 32.00.

Use this assessment to eliminate the most egregious cases and then opt to use the more expensive options afterward (if they are still warranted).

7. Do you recommend using BOTH the Integrity Test (Step One Survey II®)

and the Hire for Fit Test for managers?

Yes.  Most companies use both because they measure entirely different things and most importantly, by using both together, you get closer to a healthy culture.  “More than 90% of North American CEOs and CFOs believe that improving their corporate culture would boost financial performance.

Most of these executives ranked a healthy culture as one of the top three among all factors — including strategy, innovation, brand, patents, and others — in terms of its impact on results.”

8. How Much Does the Integrity Test (Step One Survey II®) Cost?

32.00/each

Contact me if you wish to buy in bulk.

9. Integrity Test: Step One Survey II® Parameters

  1. Step One Survey II® is a pre-employment tool. It must never be used with your present employees.
  2. Never violate the privacy rights of job applicants. Federal, and many State laws, require the SOS reports and results be retained and protected in a confidential and proprietary manner. Survey booklets and reports for all applicants must be kept confidential.Only those directly involved in the hiring decisions may see them. Step One Survey II® does not detect or measure mental disorders, mental impairment, sexual deviance, or tendencies to commit violent acts. It will not identify or predict these types of behavior or conditions.
  3. SOS, or other integrity-type instruments, cannot be used in Massachusetts or Hawaii. Although Rhode Island allows integrity testing, the results of these tests cannot be used as the sole reason for rejecting an applicant

Integrity Tests are very inexpensive options compared to the costs of hiring dishonest, unreliable employees.

By pre-selecting persons with integrity, you set yourself (and your company) up to succeed.  You will create a healthy, honest culture that will attract more honest, hard-working employees.  Win-win.

References:

  1. Pigors, M. and R. Bettina, The competitive advantage of honesty. European Economic Review, 2016. 89: p. 407-424,https://bit.ly/3PKB4cN .
  2. Grant, D.A., Instead of Monitoring Employees, Try Motivating Them, in Psychology Today. 2013,https://buff.ly/2KDRF52 .
  3. Cialdini, R.B., et al., Managing social norms for persuasive impact Social Influence, 2005. 1(1): p. 3-15,https://bit.ly/483D49Z .
  4. Sull, D. and C. Sull, How to Fix a Toxic Culture. MIT Sloan Management Review, 2022, https://bit.ly/3tir7hD .

Gneezy, U., Rockenbach, B., & Serra-Garcia, M. (2012). Measuring Lying Aversion. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3NtwEHS

Case Studies of PXT Select™
ASSESSMENT

Case Studies of companies using the PXT Select.  One of the greatest
benefits of PXT Assessment is it’s customizable.  The cherished outcome is to
get to “Fit,” and sometimes that fit is dependent on location, manager,
industry, and a host of other things.  All of these variables can be integrated
into the assessment to get to Fit.

You’re only as good as the people you hire.” Peter Burwash

Napoleon: “What matters is not the total size of your army, but having the right troops, at the right time, at exactly the right point.”

Case Study: Hospital

A general hospital network operating in several Western states faced major challenges in hiring and retaining nurses in their Oncology Department.

Over time, the nurse retention issues got so bad that a third of new oncology hires in their RN (registered nurse) positions failed before their six-month anniversary; and a whopping 40 percent of new CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) hires failed before that point! The hospital’s own calculations placed the cost of each failed hire at over $80,000!

This case study demonstrates how using the PXT Select™ assessment to guide both their hiring and onboarding process, helped the hospital create a dynamic interview process, accurate Success Models, and a successful mentorship program, ultimately reducing their retention and hiring issues.

Case Study: Convenience Stores

Twelve convenience stores in the Dallas, Texas area used the PXT Assessment, but in order to get “fit,” a different Success Model had to be created for each store.

Wasn’t the job the same in each store? All twelve stores were owned by the same company and had the same name, but one important variable had to be factored in: Location.

Some stores were located in the very affluent Dallas suburbs; others were located in the rougher parts of the city.

A different type of manager was needed in the affluent areas where most of the patrons were well-paid, well-mannered, and respectful to the staff and managers. But in other areas, patrons held low-end jobs, were not respectful
to the staff, and the store had a high theft problem.

This case study demonstrates the customizability of the PXT Select™. The owners were able to refine the “fit”, not just to find the right person for the right job, but also for the right location. Turnover was dramatically reduced.

Case Study: Chevrolet Dealership

The business wanted to raise the productivity of its sales force. The average of the top-performing salespersons only attained 67% of what the company wanted them to achieve.

Initially, the company did not know exactly what variables (cognitive, behavioral or interest) needed to be tweaked. But the company used the PXT Select to refine the Fit.  First, they chose a group that they felt had the highest
potential to achieve, based on several criteria. They looked at those who had made the most progress (and seemed to do the best with what they had). They then coached them. This became the new Success Model.

One year down the road, they looked at the results again. They found that changes again needed to be made—some minor and some drastic.

They tweaked the Success Model again based on the new data. Eventually, they perfected the hiring instrument to get exactly what they knew worked in that field and that specific dealership.

This case study demonstrates that the PXT Select™ can grow with your company and can be refined as you go along.  It is an incredibly flexible hiring tool.

Case Study: Accounting Firms

A study found that at least eight distinct work environments exist for management accountants, each requiring a different set of personality traits to satisfy the demands of the job. A mismatch of personality traits and the work environment creates an undesirable fit (misfit) between the management accountant and the job. This caused job stress, job dissatisfaction, illness, lowered self-esteem, and intent to turnover (Cluskey, 1995).

One such mismatch was with a young accountant right out of college. She scored very high on the cognitive math score. She also scored high on extraversion. Her first job out of college was with an accounting firm where she was stuck in a small room by herself, basically doing data processing. She was not happy because she missed social interaction. Because of her extroversion, she would have been much better suited to being an auditor or a marketer of the business where her skills with numbers and people “Fit”.

In one study, the researchers found that in accounting firms reveals that new accountants in accounting firm, who join firms where the fit of their own values to the accounting firms’ culture is high, are more likely to be satisfied, productive, committed, and remain with the accounting firms two years later 2. They also adjust more quickly to the culture 3.

This case study demonstrates the value of using the PXT Select™ for new hires. By using it, the firm is more likely to keep its best talent and place them in the right “fit” from the beginning.

References:
1 Cluskey, G. R., Jr. (1995). Accounting position misfit, occupational job stressors, stress, and job strains on management accountants. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities & Social Sciences, 56(3-A), 1009.

2 O’Reilly, C. A., Chatman, J., & Caldwell, D. F. (1991). People and organizational culture: A profiles comparison approach to assessing person-organization fit. Academy of Management Journal, 34, 487-516. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/48fYWPH

3 Chatman, J. (1991). Matching people and organizations: Selection and socialization in public accounting firms. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36, 459-484. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/472JoNx

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