A common lament in retail automotive dealerships around the country is that finding and keeping good employees is a real challenge. I will go even further to say that most employers, regardless of industry, probably aren’t satisfied with their hiring results. We’ve all heard the saying, ”If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten,” and my guess is this is the reason most employers continue to be confounded in this area. I heard David Kain, a prominent consultant and trainer to automotive dealers in the area of Internet/BDC management and an NCM Associates 20 Group moderator, state it more simply: “The reason we keep ending up with the same frustration is we recruit the same way.”

Traditional hiring processes have leaned on assessment tools that attempt to identify and match a person’s personality traits with those that have been deemed critical for success in certain positions. One problem, though, is that many astute candidates understand what personality traits the employer is looking for and so will effectively “game” the assessment, answering questions in such a way that the revealed traits align nicely with the position. However, that fresh new hire will inevitably reveal his or her true personality and if those traits don’t correlate with the position, your once-perfect candidate becomes your worst nightmare.

That’s because personality is a reflection of how one acts, not necessarily how one thinks. It’s an important distinction because people who appear to act similarly may be doing so based on a completely different set of values. But if you know a person’s core beliefs, you are much more likely to understand what motivates them and by extension, if they are well suited for the position. This allows you to make better hiring decisions.

So we don’t become poster children for the old adage about insanity--doing the same things and expecting different results--perhaps it’s time to take a closer look at the way we’re hiring.

Recently, I was exposed to this fascinating concept in a white paper by Workforce Interactive entitled, “Correlating Human Behavior to Operating Performance.” It was brought to my attention because some respected auto dealers are using values science-based assessment tools and are having great results in improving employee morale and productivity and in reducing turnover.

The study of values and value judgments is called Axiology. More commonly referred to as Values Science, it was developed by Dr. Robert S. Hartman, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his work in value measurement using Axiology. Axiology uses a mathematical model to measure human values; therefore, structured assessments have been developed to determine a candidate’s internal value structure. Once a company understands the filters one uses to think, evaluate and make decisions, they are better equipped to determine if that individual has the competencies to perform the duties for which he is being considered.

Because two individuals with vastly different core values can exhibit the same personality traits, and as an illustration of why a standard based on values is more reliable than one based on personality traits, consider the example of two men hired for the same sales position.

Both men test strongly for the personality traits of being aggressive, competitive and results-oriented and are hired. One of the aggressive, competitive and results-oriented employees has a value system that imposes a high personal standard to always do things in a responsible manner.  Therefore, he can be counted on to “do the right thing” while also striving to make sales.  The other employee may value personal achievement and status more than personal integrity and would be more inclined to act irresponsibly when performing his sales duties. Both salesmen will make their quotas, but with which employee would you trust your dealership’s reputation? The risk for the employer is in how the candidate will perform the duties of the position and that risk is less likely to be mitigated based upon the individual’s personality profile.

Furthermore, because the values-based assessment uses a method of objective ranking rather than one of self-analysis, the test result data can be used as a benchmark to correlate key employee performance metrics to the company’s operating performance.  Think of the possibilities of using a hiring tool that not only accurately predicts an individual’s successful job performance, but also allows a company to measure and predict the impact of that performance on the company’s operating performance.  It would appear there is a possible answer to the frustration and profit-drain of poor hiring decisions after all!

To read more about Axiology and the Hartman-Kinsel Values Profile you can request a copy of “Correlating Human Values to Operating Performance” by emailing your request to valuespaper@workforceinteractive.com.