Hiring for Task and Hiring for Organizational Fit

Differences between Hiring for Task and Hiring for Organizational Fit

1. Staffing is the set of activities aimed at attracting and selecting individuals for positions to enhance the achievement of organizational goals. Increasingly, companies recognize that having committed employees with superior competencies can represent an essential source of competitive advantage. Therefore, a vital element in building a competitive advantage through people is attracting and hiring the right people through recruitment and selection processes associated with staffing (Beardwell, Holden, & Claydon, 2004). The following paragraphs examine the differences between two selection approaches (hiring for the task and hiring for organization fit). Also, the reasons for the difficulties in hiring for organizational fit and the techniques used in the selection process are outlined.
2. Hiring for a task seeks to select a candidate whose knowledge, skills, and abilities are in line with the specifications of a particular job. Bowen, Ledford, and Nathan (1991) argue that this is a convenient selection technique that does not consider the culture and characteristics of the company in which the jobs reside. This technique also disregards the competencies of the candidate that are inappropriate to the actual job requirements. In essence, the company hires new people who are part of the working team without any consideration of the organization’s values and culture. On the other hand, hiring for organization fit involves selecting individuals that best fit into the company’s culture. It depicts a significant reorientation of the hiring procedure toward recruiting “people,” not only knowledge, skills, and abilities, for “organizations,” not only jobs. In a conventional human resource view, this strategy is unique and exaggerated. Furthermore, this technique does not entirely consider a predefined role as in a task-oriented approach; the selected individuals can quickly find the parts within their work sections as they familiarize themselves with the culture (Hebert, 2009).
3. However, hiring for organization fit is a difficult task. When companies like CF & F rely on this technique, they might develop other problems such as discrimination, having a workforce without additional skills and personalities, or ignoring the need for competency-based skill composition. In addition, the organizational culture can be uncomfortable to a group of individuals, the minorities, as many cultures don’t open to such individuals. In assertion to this, Bowen et al. (1991) outline that the primary reasons for the difficulties in hiring for organizational fit include hiring investment in training interviewers, underdeveloped selection processes in many companies, employee stress, and lack of organization adaptation.
4. Therefore, an organization that needs to realize its corporate objective might select employees who fit its culture. Although a cultural fit is an important technique, candidates must still have the right capabilities to perform the work. Organizations must take strategic steps to reduce the likeliness of risks; training interviewers and other employees on an organization’s culture is an important exercise.
5. Change Strategies for Collaborative Group Relations
6. The management of innovation and change is a challenge to every organization’s senior management. It is essential to develop strategies that enhance change in a group set up at a strategic level. Thus the relevant plan includes:
7. Team members should be encouraged to communicate regularly with one another. Listening skills and the confidence to ask for clarification should be developed.
8. Use internal and external change agents to review the organization structure, suggest appropriate measures, and implement them in the collaborative groups.
9. Establish a central personnel group to advise on recruitment selection and induction of all staff categories and assist line departments in executing their own needs.
10. Establish a system whereby line and departmental managers can arrange internal or external training for their staff to improve group cohesiveness.
11. Devise and maintain a management succession plan as part of a management development system incorporating adequate on and off-job training.

References

Beardwell, I., Holden, L., & Claydon, T.(2004). Human Resource Management. A contemporary approach.Essex: Prentice Hall.

Bowen, E., Ledford, G., & Nathan, B. (1991). Hiring for the organization, not job. Academy of Management Executive.5 (4). 35-36.

Hebert, S.(2009). Hiring for Fit. Web.