So far we have considered recruiting staff to fill a particular position in your company or organisation. Looking at particular skill sets that are required to perform certain tasks in the company and defining what those tasks and duties are is essential to attract the person who would best be able to perform those tasks to the standards required.

We have looked at defining job descriptions and person specifications, interview questions and procedures and how to conduct interviews to select the best applicant for the position.

However, those are not the only methods of conducting the selection process. There are a variety of other selection procedures, including assessment centres, peer interview procedures and a process known as interviewing for company/organisational fit. Each of these methods presents their own particular set of concerns and procedures.

We will consider the issue of Person-to-Company-Fit in this segment.

We have previously stated that selecting the right individual to join a company or organisation can entail high costs, so getting it right the first time is the primary objective. Person-to-Company-Fit stresses that people’s behaviour and performance is strongly influenced by the environment in which they find themselves. Being successful in a job at one organisation does not necessarily imply success in a similar job at another.

Advocates of the person-organisation-fit approach stress that an important consideration in recruitment is how suited the applicant is to the organisation, in regards to its style, approach, pace of change and formal and informal ways of working.

In certain circumstances, managers may decide to take a broader perspective on a specific position and look at whether there is a role within the company or organisation for a person who shares those qualities as well as having the required technical skills, experience, knowledge and attitudes. This approach suggests a greater need to describe the context of the job to applicants, including the difficulties and pressures associated with it. In such cases, managers should consider factors such as the overall company culture, direction and goals and whether the individual demonstrates the necessary attitudes and characteristics to be able to ‘fit’ into that setting. Thus, a manager may consider whether an applicant demonstrates initiative, forward planning, proactiveness and ability to manage self, as well as the technical skills to perform in the job, when assessing their fit with the culture of the company. This method of recruitment carries with it some risks, particularly in larger organisations where there is a danger of excluding suitably qualified candidates because their ‘face does not fit’. But an owner or manager seeking an assistant who would be the only employee may find such considerations beneficial.

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