A significantly shrinking talent pool worldwide means that competition is often stiff for organizations to identify and retain peak performers.
Organizations often invest in testing and assessment programs to ensure that new hires and internal promotions have the right "fit" with the company culture.
However, candidates do not always think about whether a company culture is compatible with their own values and professional needs. Employer-employee compatibility must be a two-way street for an appointment to be successful over the long-term.
To gauge compatibility, candidates should ask potential employers four critical questions during a selection process. Preferably these questions are asked of both management and would be peers at the new job:
How does this organization reward talent? Believe it or not, some companies reward employees who simply maintain the status quo and penalize employees who show initiative and talent. Therefore, this is a potentially challenging question to an interviewer who is also a manager at the hiring company.
The answer will reveal whether the organization is organized and committed about employee retention and professional development, as well as how it goes about it.
How does your employee performance evaluation process work? It may surprise you to learn that many companies do not have a systematic employee appraisal process in place. Therefore, the answer to this question will reveal whether the organization is organized and consistent in its performance expectations.
This directly feeds the notion of job security, which is a crucial factor to all employees.
How does this organization listen to employee feedback? Perhaps more than a few organizations fit the stereotype of a company that impersonally treats employees as numbers. And subservient numbers at that.
Consequently, the answer to this question will reveal whether the organization values the wisdom and contributions of its talent pool and engages the employees and instills a sense of company ownership in employees.
Can employees be themselves at this organization? Sometimes organizations demand that employees conform to management's skewed – or even downright counterproductive – definition of an "ideal employee."
With this in mind, the answer to this pointed question will help to reveal management's expectations for employee behavior – that is, whether employees are encouraged to act as company drones versus act as individuals with a unique personalities and perspectives to be shared and strategically leveraged.
Again, issues with skill set and lack of fit with the company culture are among the top reasons organizations disqualify candidates. Likewise, lack of recognition, advancement and fit with a candidate's value system are among the top reasons why candidates disqualify employers.
For this reason, we encourage candidates to conduct due diligence on companies just like employers do with applicants during the recruitment phase.
Come to think of it, any organization should contemplate the four questions above if increasing morale, productivity and profitability are top priorities.
A shrinking talent pool means that the onus is now often on companies to convince talented individuals why their time, devotion and energies should be invested in their organization versus their competitors.
About the AuthorJames Houran holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and is President of 2020 Assessment™. He is nearly a 20-year veteran in research and assessment on peak performance and experiences, with a special focus on online testing. His award-winning work has been profiled by a myriad of media outlets and programs including the Discovery Channel, A&E, BBC, NBC's Today Show, Wilson Quarterly, USA Today, New Scientist, Psychology Today, Forbes.com, CNN, Court TV and Rolling Stone. For information on best practice individual and organizational development services and training, contact:
James Houran, Ph.D.
jhouran@2020skills.com516.248.8828 x 264 www.2020skills.com 
