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Lay people make statements like, “Hire for attitude, don't hire for competence". These people are right… and yet wrong. Actually, not wrong, just inaccurate. They recognise it’s not an ideal world. So in the real world, what does a manager 'hire for'? This blog illustrates how psychologists can help managers develop define foundation personal characteristics of ideal candidates. It shows they can then administer psychometric assessments to provide information to hiring managers to make rational decisions.
Building internal management training with BYPM3
Written by John Berry on 17th April 2023.0
2 min read
Training employees must, of course, be targeted to their needs – needs to take on new skills and learn new knowledge or needs to recover old rusty competencies. And determination of needs is a matter of analysis by managers.
But that said, there are many topics that we can identify as typical. And these are featured in our third edition of Because Your People Matter: a playbook for managers, entrepreneurs, and leaders. Here are some examples, with references to pages in the book.
How does society affect career development of young people?
Written by John Berry on 4th May 2017. Revised 3rd April 2023.
16 min read
This paper is about how the wider society in which a young person lives, is educated and works affects their career options, decisions and subsequent development. It considers how young people make decisions and what influences those decisions. It then describes the context of the wider society, drawing on sociology. In drawing conclusion this essay suggests that one cannot separate the individual and society in careers management and coaching.
When does a contractor become an employee?
Written by John Berry on 6th May 2017. Revised 1st April 2023.
4 min read
It's not always easy to know whether someone is classed as an employee or as a contractor. Many managers would want it one way or the other but unfortunately it’s not up to management. Others such as HMRC or an Employment Tribunal will make the decision.
The recent, very public, contest between Gary Lineker and the UK's HMRC (which HMRC lost) is a case in point that luckily (for Lineker) went the contractor's way. Few contractors have the resources to put up such a fight. Read more about the tests used.
So which psychometric?
Written by Sue Berry on 14th March 2023. Revised 24th March 2023.
10 min read
There's such an argument in practitioner circles about which psychometric test to use. Some say 'simpler the better' whilst others say 'accuracy first'. Others focus on the moral and ethical issues in providing any unfiltered information to test respondents. So how to make sense of this debate?
The key role of the user in computer system specification
Written by John Berry on 4th May 2017. Revised 14th February 2023.
12 min read
Computer systems comprising hardware and software form significant elements in many people’s working lives. In any new system implementation, users are not passive, compliant beings. They have choices. They can react in one of four ways: adoption, compliant acceptance, reluctant acceptance or rejection. As a result, it is critical that users are fully involved in system specification from initial management thoughts to implementation.
