“Nine-tenths of wisdom consists in being wise in time.”
Theodore Roosevelt

Although we know that even the longest journey starts with the first step, often we take that first step in the wrong direction and frequently make a series of hasty moves right at the beginning. Almost all of us would also agree with the statement that people are the most important resource of any organization, and that practically all problems are both created and solved by people. How successful we will be and how many concerns or how much satisfaction our work together will bring depends on the people we are working with or will work with. Even though this seems obvious and logical, it is a fact that many organisations face great difficulties caused by the inadequate choice of people and by appointment of staff to the wrong positions, positions to which they are not suited.

The reasons for this phenomenon are manifold, but there are several common denominators in all such cases:

• unclear definition of job descriptions,
• too laid-back an approach to the process of selection and to the act and criteria of selection.,
• a lack of knowledge of contemporary methods and the techniques they entail,
• an unreasonable lack of time and funds allocated to the task of selection,
• huge underestimation of the expense of wrong choice and staff fluctuation.

This subject is so important that it deserves many hundreds of pages written about it. However, we will take the opportunity here to summarize some new aspects of staff selection. The basic questions from which this process begins are:

• what do we need the person for?
• what are the demands of the position?
• how do we find the candidate?
• what is the right time to advertise a vacancy internally or externally?
• who will participate in this task?
• who are the possible candidates?

To this collection of essential questions we need to add several more vital considerations which are often forgotten:

1. Who are the other members of the team with whom the candidate is going to be working? It is very important to form a complementary team whose members will be able to work together successfully.

2. If the candidate is a high-potential individual, but does not fit into the immediate working environment because of, for example, his or her personal managerial style, then we need to see what other position might suit him or her best. Having a talented individual in your company, matching them to the right position, motivating them and keeping them in the team – this is the key to the art of management. This also means analysis of the relationship between “superior and subordinate”. There are specific principles according to which these relationships can be investigated. Nobody needs assumptions which are going to constantly generate conflict.

3. If it is decided that a candidate is to be accepted for a trial period, they should be entered into the employee database; if a high-quality candidate has appeared for whom there is currently no vacancy, they should be entered into a database of potential candidates. Candidates who have not fulfilled the conditions in any way should also be documented, together with the reasons for their rejection, as it is not unknown for them to apply for other vacancies in the same company at a later date.

4. Also, the long-term aspects of the planned development of the company, department or position itself need to be taken into account, and the career of the candidate him or herself projected forward such that it will be productive and motivating. For all this to be achieved properly, we need suitable selection methods and techniques which together with the appropriate procedures form the basis of the system as a whole.

Our brain is divided into four hemispheres which carry out differing mental functions. All those functions participate in varying measure in all of our activities, and it is just those relative measures that are characteristic of certain occupations. For example, people in whom the upper left brain hemisphere is dominant make good financial staff and managers, accountants, engineers etc. People in whom the dominant hemisphere is the upper right are great entrepreneurs, artists, writers etc. There are benchmarks for occupations categorized according to development of individual brain hemispheres and vice-versa. These benchmarks can also be projected according to the desired requirements of a job position. Below , the materials given are examples of good and poor suitability of candidates to the demands of a job position.

These questionnaires serve to determine and compare the PAEI profiles of candidates and the PAEI requirements of the job position. For example, candidates applying for the job of salesman need to have highly-developed PI traits (to be energetic and persistent in seeing a job through while being good with people). Besides this, these questionnaires help to uncover positive PAEI traits (getting results, administration, entrepreneurship and integration skills), negative ("lone-rider" syndrome , bureaucratic tendencies, incendiary behaviour and supersubordination) as well as latent (hidden) PAEI traits.

Spiral dynamics and the new concept of “natural shaping ” offer a framework for the analysis of the personal value system of a candidate and the value environment of the organization, department and job position itself. By means of a “game” using “value cards ”, played according to a defined procedure, the dominant value levels of an individual are revealed, those which can easily, with some difficulty, or only with great difficulty be integrated into the value system of an organization. However much this may seem a “soft” indicator, failure to take it into account can lead to decisions which will sooner or later prove to have been flawed.

If needs be, some of the standardized intelligence tests can be used. Neither judgment of a candidate, nor a decision regarding his or her acceptance should be taken purely on the basis of an intelligence test.

Emotional intelligence is one of the keys to success in life, and so also at work. This instrument is used to evaluate the self-awareness of the candidate, their ability to manage their own emotions, their self-motivation, relationships with others and ability to direct the emotions of others. The results given by this instrument must be verified via a guided interview and teamwork simulations.

Candidates are given a form to fill in with questions in a precisely laid-down order which they fill in during testing, which they must do in their own hand. In this way, important information is collected for:

• checking the CV they have submitted,
• a basis for additional questions during the interview,
• graphological analysis of their handwriting,
• evaluation of their abilities in written expression, and
• additional information vital to forming as complete a picture as possible of the candidate.

When the shortlist of candidates is being evaluated this form of interview is essential, as no questionnaire or test can replace direct, live contact and expert monitoring of the interviewee’s reactions. The interview comprises a set of questions, standardized such that all candidates answer them, allowing their comparison. Within the interview, additional questions are put related to the information and results gained from the previous instruments and tests, and on this basis the candidate’s consistency and honesty are checked. Where necessary, “instant questions” are asked which may be stimulated by the situation in a given moment and by the course of the conversation itself. It is typical for this interview to serve as a basis for the evaluation of communication ability, spontaneity, adaptability, self-confidence, ability to distinguish between the important and unimportant, breadth of interest, etc.

Several shortlisted candidates form a team which is given an authentic problem from the company environment in an area which is relevant to the position. Two trained selectors monitor the progress of the team as it organizes itself, the “natural” emergence of leadership abilities and the group dynamic during the process of the work itself. Simulations such as these can be a source of high-quality information which can be used for forming a final list of candidates.

“It is better that we change our minds now than later…”
Dostoevsky