Most leaders know that the ability to effectively match an employee’s skills and personality to a specific job function is a very critical function. More often than not, we have seen that organisations hammer square pegs into round holes which has proved to be very costly to them. Yet, effective deployment of employees is the first step toward realisation of a return on investment especially in this knowledge economy where labour is becoming the fastest growing expense. Employees’ talent is being likened to inventory and having too much or too little of this talent is costly for organisations.

The success of today’s corporates comes from their intellectual and systems capabilities than in their physical assets. The capacity to manage the human intellect and converting it into useful products and service is fast becoming the critical Executive skill of the age. In response to the growing importance of having to link an employee’s skills to the job, some corporate leaders have consistently found themselves failing to answer questions like “What skills do we want for a particular job and relatedly, how do we develop and leverage on it?”

Skills that reside in a person are at four levels, the know what, know how, know why and care why levels. The know what are those skills attained through training, they are essential yes, but on their own are far from being sufficient. The know how move a step further where an employee has to demonstrate ability to translate book learning into effective execution. The know why goes further by wanting to analyse the causal relationships and solve more complex problems and finally the care-why bundle looks at ones will, motivation and adaptability for success. It is important for leaders in corporates to note that it is this jigsaw that determines your organisation’s profitability levels.

The question often posed by many leaders is, “how we do that?” The obvious answer for most corporates seems to lie in recruiting the best. Not really! It is time for corporates to move away from the notion that employees in the workplace will have all the job skills required over the course of their career. This is unrealistic. Employers need to have a stronger involvement in and ownership of skills, and ensure workers are helped to develop and grow their skills by fully utilising them. There are strategic interventions like training needs analysis, which corporates can undertake to identify what skills employees have and also what skills they need. It is also crucial to note that most people do not stay in the same job until they retire. The normal situation is to expose the employee to several jobs in their working life. By so doing, an employee will be able to find a career that is right for them.

However, not only should skills be the determining factor to match one to the job at hand. There are other considerations like cultural fit, job fit, job content and personality which have to be considered together with one’s education, experience and training. In most cases as leaders we are only paying attention to the skills and experience one brings to the interview table. We need to also assess how the employee will fit into these other elements of the organisation. Considerations like job content will also help to determine whether the job at hand will utilise the candidate’s strengths. Without job fit, an employee will never experience much happiness and success as they deserve at work and will never achieve their true potential. Employees who experience job fit are productive, happy and contributing.

We recommend that organizations should always consider the following traits when interviewing to help determine whether candidates have got what it takes to be productive members of your teams. Communication skills: these include a combination of other abilities like listening, writing and speaking. An employee needs to be able to understand where peers, colleagues and strategic partners are coming from and going. Multi skilling: that ability to juggle in all projects of the employer is a highly valued skill. Tomorrow’s workers must be well equipped to juggle in multiple tasks. Employees need to demonstrate enthusiasm and decision-making capabilities. Problem solving is a skill at the centre of creativity and workers with this skill are not just strategic thinkers but stay on tasks. Probe on Integrity: that ability to be true and honest to oneself and others. If one knows their strengths and weaknesses, they are not afraid of making mistakes and accepting responsibility. When recruiting, identify employees who are likely to stand by the old adage ‘honest is the best policy’. Likability is also a critical attribute. Is one warm, friendly and easy going. Assess employees on their ability to bolster any winning line up and as well as their readiness and willingness to become a meaningful part of your organisation.

With this increasing need to match employee’s skills to the job, the role of recruiters in organisations is getting harder and short listing potential candidates for a job does not just end there. There are indeed those other aspects to consider before the final decision is made.

Emmanuel Jinda is the Managing Consultant of PROSERVE Consulting Group, a leading supplier of Professional Human Resources and Management services locally, regionally and internationally. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. tel: 263 773004143 or 263 4 772778