How Can You Anticipate If A Candidate Will Be Motivated In Your Company
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How Can You Anticipate If A Candidate Will Be Motivated In Your Company?
You can’t make an exact prediction of whether a candidate will be motivated in your company, because there is a lot of data, on both sides, that remains unknown in the selection process, and afterward. But you can look for certain relevant data to better understand the candidate’s situation.
Basically, when an employee is motivated, he or she gives their best to accomplish their tasks, in a consistent way, and in a way that is beneficial for the company. This behaviour can only be sustained in the long term if the results the employee achieves for the company help them meet their personal goals and expectations.
For example, you may have highly motivated employees at the beginning of their work in your company, but if they consider that what they receive in return doesn’t meet their expectations, or that internal practices are not fair, they may reduce their efforts. Their expectations are not only about financial rewards, but also about how they want to be treated, the feedback they receive, the support they want from colleagues and leaders, the development opportunities they have, and so on.
Human resources theories, and research based on them, such as Victor Vroom’s Expectations Theory or Stacey Adams’s Equity Theory, have shown how important employee expectations and internal equity are when it comes to motivation.
So having more information about the candidates’ expectations in the selection process helps you make better decisions. The more you will be able to fulfil the candidates’ expectations in your company, the more likely they are to be motivated in a long term.
You can find out information about the candidate’s expectations considering the following:
1. Compare the candidate’s past work responsibilities with the responsibilities of the job you offer
It’s recommended that the responsibilities you offer to be at least at the same level or at a higher level than he or she previously had at other companies (unless the candidate didn’t manage their previous responsibilities well because they exceeded their competencies). We all want to grow, to have something better than we had before, and don’t want to regress.
You can be flexible here, at least in two ways:
⇒ Even if the candidate doesn’t have all the skills the job requires, but has the ability and desire to learn, and you have time to invest in his/her development, you may want to consider them.
⇒ Even if the candidate is a bit overqualified for the job, but you would like to have him/her at your company, maybe you can adjust the job’s level of responsibilities so that it’s similar to what they had in the past.
The match between job requirements and candidates’ competencies will rarely be perfect, so being flexible will help you see more hiring opportunities than if you only search for candidates who meet all the job requirements.
2. Compare the work environments where the candidate worked with the work environment in your company
The work environment can vary significantly across different companies.
You may consider:
- The working conditions the candidate had at his/her previous jobs (e.g.: workspace, dinning space, beverage provided, interior design, work resources / devices etc.)
- How communication and working relationships were at other companies (e.g.: open with all people, limited to people from the same or close hierarchical levels, etc. )
If the work conditions that your company offers are similar or better than what the candidate is used to, this will not necessarily increase their motivation, but at least they will not feel that they are losing something in this regard.
In terms of communication and relationship, for example, those who work in hierarchical organizations practice different communication and relationship patterns than those who work in flat organizations, which have fewer boundaries in this respect. Some people may be glad to move from one type of environment to another, but others may feel that their status decreases and they lose some privileges.
3. Compare the candidate past benefits with the benefits you can offer him/her
In general, the candidate will be satisfied with the offer if it’s above what he or she presently has. There are also situations in which they’ll accept the same financial benefits or less, just because they want to change their job or to be hired, in case they don’t have a job.
For example, some people may prefer a lower-paid job instead of a highly paid but very stressful job.
I recommend that the offer to be above what they had before, even if they’d accept less. They’ll be more grateful for the job, and they won’t see it as a regression in financial terms.
4. Find out the candidate’s development expectations and see if you can facilitate them in your company.
Most people want to grow, and they’ll look for development opportunities. On the other hand, if the job responsibilities remain unchanged for a long period of time, stagnation will set in and the job holders will become bored with their tasks, which means that their motivation will decrease.
As the employee becomes expert in what he or she is doing, you can add other tasks that will help them learn new things and develop. You’ll need to make space in their work schedule for these new tasks, and to add financial rewards for them. You can redirect some of his tasks to other employees, if they agree, or delegate some of their tasks to others. You can consider keeping them as supervisors, so that they don’t feel they are losing something in order to gain something new.
But this is not quite enough. For these changes to be motivating for the employee, they have to be aligned with the direction in which the employee wants to develop. If you think you can facilitate the candidate’s growth in the direction he or she wants, they’ll have a better chance of maintaining their motivation in the long run.
Conclusion:
If you pay attention to these four aspects, you’ll be able to better understand how the candidate perceives the position you are offering. This will help you anticipate the extent to which the candidate is likely to be motivated in your company. In this way, you’ll increase your chances of bringing high performing people who will stay with your company for the long term.
Check out this course to learn more about how to hire candidates who are motivated by your job offers.
Motivation is not a general trait of a candidate that will be present in any job they have. Motivation is determined in relation with the job characteristics, including everything the company has to offer to a candidate.
