Hiring for the organization, not the job

Executive Overview This article examines a new approach to selection in which employees are hired to fit the characteristics of an organization, not just the requirements of a particular job. Diverse firms—high and low-tech, U.S. and Japanese-owned—are using the approach to build cultures that rely heavily on self-motivated, committed people for corporate success. New, often expensive, hiring practices are changing the traditional selection model. An organizational analysis supplements a job analysis, and personality attributes are screened in addition to skills, knowledge, and abilities. We outline the basic steps of the new selection model and present a case description of a manufacturing company that used the model in hiring employees to work in its high-involvement organization. The new model works to its fullest advantage in organizations that allow employees enough freedom to use their unique attributes to influence job performance.