I had a great discussion with my friend yesterday. A more talented, enterprising entrepreneur cannot be found. His business is growing and naturally the number of people at the company must also grow. He's looking to hire a new software engineer, and has just started interviewing candidates. He's not yet found the right fit for the job, but he's done a commendable job avoiding the wrong, mis-fit. He told me about one interview in particular, describing the candidate in detail:

The guy talked. He talked a lot. He gave an elaborate discourse on his qualifications and told stories about his colorful experiences in a variety of jobs. Not only did he meet the requirements for skills and qualifications, he was overflowing with impressive credentials! He talked, though, and he talked alot. Everyone knows a person like this, and knows the critical detail that they often dismiss: you can, indeed, talk too much. In the same vein, you can also be too eligible for a job.

My friend and I have talked in the past about the Belbin Team Role methodology and the many ways it can be applied in business, which we use at Catalyst Advancement. Our most recent workshops have focused specifically on how Belbin tools can be used to successfully recruit and retain the right people for the right jobs: the "best fits".Best fits achieve and maintain their highest level of performance because they are both eligible and suitable for the job.

The talkative fellow whom my friend interviewed was highly eligible: he had all the skills, qualifications and experience necessary for the job. However, these factors, historical in nature, cannot predict future success, which is the role of suitability factors: A person's behavioral tendencies, natural motivations, and personal attributes. People are more likely to fit best if they are highly suitable but do not come with a resume jam-packed with credentials than if they are eligible but as unsuitable as a shark in a sardine can.

Within a few minutes of conversation, it was clear that the applicant was, in Belbin terminology, a Specialist. His previous ventures were all passionate pursuits of knowledge, he thrived on acquiring technical skills and in depth experiences. The mental image is of this Specialist talking for years about his passion, not concerned with the passage of time or, in this case, even the fact that he was being interviewed for a job where his passion would be unecessary and unheard of. He would be assigned specific computer programming tasks: what, how, when, where, and why to program. Belbin roles define a person's natural suitability traits, the strengths to build on and work with, instead of struggling with weaknesses. My friend knew that this outspoken specialist was much too unsuitable for the job, and he made his decision based on this. He was proud of making such a sound, informed decision, and I couldn't help but be pleased as well: the shark was released back into the ocean to pursue his passion, and the sardines remained, suitably, in their can.

-Emily

Wow! This is growing at such a tremendous rate! Check out Catalyze This

Such an exciting time is the best time to begin this blog. The Catalyst Advancement Team participated in the North County Personnel Association Summit, and we were honoured to sponsor the keynote speaker, Barrie Watson. Barrie presented to all participants about the Belbin Team Role methodology, specifically about how the methods can be applied for recruitment and retention purposes in business.

Here we are at the NCPA summit. Pictured Catalyst Advancement Team members: Annina, Mary Kay, Paula, Emily, Barrie Watson(from CERT Consultancy), and Jerry.



Here at Catalyst we've also had a workshop on this topic, part of our Belbin for Business workshop series. We are planning new workshops, and details of those will also be explained here, comments & discussion welcome!

-Emily