Strategic Hiring: Key Traits for Interviewing and Retention

Introduction and Study Overview

The justification for initiating this study was to develop a better understanding of the parameters involved in building an organizational interviewing process capable of hiring and retaining candidates who are best suited for the job and the company culture. In other words, the prevailing model of hiring used by many organizations needs to be altered so that companies can recruit and hire candidates who can successfully work within their strategic plan. It was hypothesized that to increase interviewing results, interviewers must be trained to determine whether candidates possess the following four key factors: (1) tenacity and the ability to accept and adapt positively to change, which leads to a high degree of adaptation; (2) a personal understanding of strengths, weaknesses, and goals, which leads to a high degree of self-awareness; (3) emotional intelligence; and (4) initiative. These elements were elaborated and discussed in Chapter 1.

In order to support the rationale for conducting this study, Chapter 2 collected, collated, and reported on a variety of academic sources of primary and secondary data and literature reviews germane to the topic, providing an outline of its intended structure focused on the four key factors noted above.

Chapter 3 focused on the means of eliciting opinions and data from selected respondents, with several research methodologies investigated and compared. The decision was made to use a quantitative methodology employing a survey and questionnaire approach. Based on this, a sampling was selected as the foundation for the research. Chapter 3 also described the measurements of the various variables and the statistical techniques used in analyzing the data.

Chapter 4 presented a report on the results of data collection and analysis in three sections: (1) tabulation and analysis of data; (2) comparison of responses regarding employee selection criteria; and (3) patterns of data for each hypothesis, with questions grouped according to the listed hypothesis.

Survey Conclusions on the Four Key Hiring Factors

This concluding chapter discusses the results of the quantitative study and each of the four factors identified in Chapter 1. It provides a summary of the research by detailing the findings for the research questions, draws implications for theory and practice, discusses the limitations of the research, and makes recommendations for further study on this topic.

With expanding competition and globalization, it is more important than ever for companies to hire and retain the right individuals. Too often, however, organizations either lack an interviewing strategy or have one that does not support hiring the type of individuals who will succeed. This study was conducted to provide suggestions on the characteristics needed when hiring for a technically advanced and fast-paced organization and to determine whether these suggestions were supported by organizations. The study requested responses regarding the following four key factors: (1) tenacity and the ability to accept and adapt positively to change; (2) personal understanding of strengths, weaknesses, and goals; (3) emotional intelligence; and (4) initiative.

The literature noted that all businesses are continually changing and need the right people who can adapt to the evolving 21st-century environment. As the saying goes: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." An organization needs to hire people who will step up and push through difficult times. This is especially true during periods of rapid growth, when the same core people must rise to the challenge repeatedly. In the research analysis, nearly all respondents (92%) agreed or strongly agreed that adaptability was important, responding favorably to the question: "Do you agree that employee adaptation to company culture is important?"

The literature review (e.g., Myers, 2006) noted that strong candidates are actively engaged in the discussion and focused on building a career, not merely finding a job. They demonstrate familiarity with their own abilities and personality, including strengths and weaknesses, and are clear about their expectations and goals. These high-quality candidates bring their entire selves to the interview, reflecting a genuine personal self-awareness. The research analysis indicated that a very high percentage of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed with the following questions: (1) "Do you agree that employees must be aware of their limitations?" (97%); (2) "Do you agree that employees must be aware of their own strengths?" (97%); and (3) "Do you agree that employees must have clear goals in their life?" (100%, rounded to the nearest whole number).

Emotional intelligence is increasingly recognized as an important factor in human personality traits that contribute to positive working situations. The literature review explained that emotional intelligence, as distinct from cognitive intelligence or emotional stability, refers to the ability to identify and manage one's own emotions as well as the capacity to correctly recognize and appropriately respond to the emotions of others. These skills are particularly important in organizational environments that emphasize collaboration and teamwork. Goleman (1995), who popularized the term emotional intelligence (EI), demonstrated that its possession is directly linked to leadership effectiveness (2004), defining EI as managing the mood of the organization and as the "sine qua non of leadership" (1997). In the survey, all three questions concerning EI received high combined agree-and-strongly-agree percentages: (1) "Do you agree that employees must have empathy for others?" (98%); (2) "Do you agree that employees must be tactful with others?" (99%); and (3) "Do you agree that employees must be good at managing conflict?" (97%).

According to the literature review, major corporations such as Microsoft truly value employees who have the initiative to set their own goals. As a result of hiring such motivated individuals, Microsoft reports great success with this recruiting strategy: despite long working hours, it has one of the lowest employee turnover rates among all high-tech companies (Gurumurthy & Kleiner, 2002). In the data analysis, 100% (rounded to the nearest whole number) of all those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that initiative was an important factor in hiring practices.

Implications for Theory

This study aimed at measuring suggested factors that are necessary for employees to succeed in their jobs, and thus the traits that human resources departments should assess during interview sessions. The study will be of interest to both future researchers in the areas of interviewing, hiring, and retention, and to organizations that rely on interviewing as the primary means of hiring employees. As noted in the literature review, more studies are needed regarding hiring practices, and — particularly given the changes occurring in global employment — emphasis must be placed on how to hire employees who will perform best over the long term.

From the organization's standpoint, this research confirms that companies must have a hiring strategy in place that defines the personality and skill traits conforming to their internal culture and organizational expectations. Once that definition is established, the human resources department must develop the skills to recognize candidates who possess these overall abilities. Too many organizations lack efficient hiring policies, leaving them either unable to fill open positions — causing work to suffer — or prone to hiring candidates who are unqualified in one way or another and who subsequently leave or are asked to leave.

Finally, the research model presented in Figure 1.2 is a modified interviewing framework that offers a more effective approach to hiring, reducing the number of positions that remain open or are filled with unqualified individuals. Although this report identified four success factors — adaptation, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and initiative — it is important for each organization to establish its own strategic objectives and confirm which factors are most important for its specific company culture.