Assess people on conscientiousness to groom for managerial positions

Published in THE HINDU Opportunities on May, 16th, 2012 Link to the published article http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-opportunities/article3423619.ece Employers in MNCs and corporate settings indicate that soft skills and personality traits are becoming integral to their hiring and training and development initiatives. In recent times, several companies are looking beyond educational qualification and experience to hire the best candidate for a job. HR and hiring managers evaluate candidates based on certain personality tests to decide if they can survive in the increasingly work driven environment. They also use these indicators to determine if existing people in the organisation can be groomed for promotions to managerial roles. Managers look for certain personality traits and attributes in their employees when they invest in training them for supervisory positions. It is also helpful for them to be aware of their own personality to develop themselves. This will help them grow as better employees and then help make the transition to become good managers. Here are some pointers on the traits that managers need to look for while grooming their staff for managerial roles. The “Conscientiousness” Factor According to research in human psychology, the Big Five Personality Theory discusses five factors based on which individuals respond differently to similar situations. HR professionals often use these traits to measure the personality of candidates when hiring or promoting them within the organisation. The Big Five traits are: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism (OCEAN). The topmost skill that managers need to evaluate and consider in their staff when thinking about developing an individual for managerial role is: conscientiousness. It is the employee's ability to be thorough in his work, reliable at all times, be organised, prompt and persevere in a given task even when faced with obstacles. By measuring people's assiduousness on the job, a manager can determine if they have that “conscientiousness” streak in them to be able to deliver quality job performance across a variety of roles. The Markings of a Conscientiousness Employee A conscientious employee is often characterised by their systematic approach to work and their resolute determination to keep at a given task. This particular attribute ensures their steady growth and success in the respective field. This is an employee who is usually entrusted to deliver an assignment on time as they are known for their prior planning and execution skills, rather than an impulsive nature to do something quickly. These employees may come as sticklers for rules within the organisation and are overachievers within their department. Specific traits of people with a high level of conscientiousness include: Reliable at all times Consistent in the quality of work Highly organised Thorough Punctual Career Progression and Conscientiousness Studies show that an employee's career graph is closely related to the test scores for conscientiousness when they are tested on a personality test or exam. A person with a high conscientiousness rating will have good attention to detail, strong organisational skills. He will combat against all obstacles to get the work done efficiently. This trait in individuals translates into work deliverables across a variety of positions and will be the distinguishing characteristic that sets an employee apart from the rest of the organisation when career growth occurs.