Welcome to the June 2, 2004 issue of The Total View

Your resource for cutting-edge news, tips, and tools to help you hire, manage,
and motivate top-performing employees.

=============================
In This Issue
=============================
1. DISC: Just the Tip of The Iceberg

2. An Employer's Guide to Good Practices: Testing and Assessment

3. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #156 to #160

4. What Would Happen if You Cut Your Resume Paperwork in Half?

5. What Interview Questions Can You Ask? -- Complimentary Guide Reveals All

6. FirstView Job Fit Indicator: Quick, Easy and Cost Effective

7. Last Call for Dumb Interview Stories

8. Work Wisdom

9. Have you missed an issue of The Total View? Read back issues online.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Total View is written and published each Wednesday by Ira S. Wolfe, founder of Success Performance Solutions. (Yes, Ira writes every article, every week!) and is distributed with permission by The Chrysalis Corporation.

Ira S. Wolfe ©2004 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

To learn more about The Chrysalis Corporation or to read back issues of The Total View, visit our web site at http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com

=============================
1. DISC: Just the Tip of The Iceberg
=============================

When screening candidates for selection and evaluating employees for succession and coaching, it is well accepted that breakthroughs in technology have made testing a powerful and statistically accurate aid in making better choices and decisions. But confusion exists whether managers should be testing for behaviors or personality - or both.

Tests like DISC and other four-style tests measure behaviors. But behaviors are really only the gift wrapping, while personality tests like TotalView(r) tell us what is inside the box. Sometimes the gift wrap give us a few hints qbout what is inside. At other times, the gift wrapping disquises what is inside and the recipient is surprised when they open the box. It's now more or less a mystery box.

Another analogy I like to use is that behaviors are just the tip of the iceberg. What you see is only a fraction of the whole person. The bulk of the iceberg, nearly ninety percent of its mass, lies beneath the surface, representing an individual's true personality. Included beneath the surface are the individual's values (See the Personal Interests Attutides and Values (tm) assessment at http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/piav.htm), motivational skills, and beliefs. An individual's personality is the sum total of all that lies below the behaviors. That is why behavioral assessments and behavioral interviews just scratch the surface when it comes to predicting the right employee fit.

Typically managers will make hiring decisions based on "gut" instinct or possibly by using a behavioral assessment such as DISC or Myers-Briggs. What candidates show us during interviews are behaviors and many times adaptive ones at that.

In one recent situation, our client "swore" by the DISC instrument for hiring salespeople. He was convinced that only DI (Direct and Influencing) "personalities" could sell for him. Unfortunately, several of his DI types weren't making it. What worked fairly well for him in the past, was nothing short of abysmal over the last year or two.

So we opted to run parallel tests on the two most recent hires. One was meeting expectations, the other was missing all his targets. To "dive" beneath the surface, I recommend two additional instruments - Personal Interests, Attitudes, and Values (tm) (PIAV) and TotalView Assessment System (tm).

PIAV identifies what an individual values, or what motivates them. Two primary motivators of many top performing salespeople are Utilitarian (driven by money) and Individualistic (driven by achievement). A third motivator, seen very often in successful consultative salespeople, is the Theoretical value -(driven by learning and problem solving).

Our client was quite surprised to find that the salesperson who was succeeding had a much lower "D" than expected. What really was driving his success was a strong Utilitarian and Individualistic value, ranked one and two respectively as his personal motivators. The under-performing salesperson, despite a high DI style that mirrored many of the most successful salespeople in the past, was not motivated by money at all; in fact, Utilitarian was nearly his lowest motivator. His primary values were Social (driven to help others) and Theoretical. Combined, Theoretical and Social individuals value knowledge and they like to share it - therefore, they are "teachers". He sold by teaching and sharing information, hoping that education would win the individual over.

The challenge for individuals with strong Social motivators is that this need to help can get in the way of cold-calling and closing, both responsibilities of the salespeople. Preferring to lend a helping hand and avoid a conflict, this employee struggles with the cold call and the close, activities viewed as confrontational and pushy. When the Social value kicks in, the salesperson back offs or avoids asking for the appointment or sale.

More performance flags revealed by "testing the waters" below the surface came from TotalView. What is important to take away from the examples above is that behaviors alone do not make the man. Managers tend to look for the magic motivational bullet to boost the productivity of under-performers. This is too shallow for too complex a problem. What our clients discover is that missed expectations can result from many factors: less drive competitiveness and assertiveness) than required for the job, personal motivators that clash with those required by the job or the rewards and recognition offered by the company, a lack of strong coping skills which puts the employee (and all around him) on an emotional roller-coaster, and cognitive skills that are not aligned with the requirements with the job and team.

Totalview(r) Assessment System includes twenty different scales including cognitive abilities, motivations and personality. One of the personality scales assesses the level of competitiveness; another scale describes the level of assertiveness.

In the situation described above, despite both individuals having "high D" styles, the more successful salesperson "scored" in the upper ranges of competitivenss and assertiveness while the under-performing scored in the mid-competitive range but more submissive than assertive.Although their observable behaviors were similar, their motivations and drive were worlds apart.

As human beings, we're complicated creatures. Trying to predict performance by assuming what you see is what you get often times misdirects a manager from making the right hiring and promotional decisions. Predicting job performance requires a manager to take a dive and see what lies beneath the surface.

For more information about DISC, Personal Interests Attutides and Values (tm), and TotalView(r), follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/mgt_sales_pre_employment.htm

=============================
2. An Employer's Guide to Good Practices: Testing and Assessment
=============================

This Guide is designed to help managers and human resource (HR) professionals use assessment practices to reach their organizations HR goals. It conveys the essential concepts of employment testing in easy-to-understand terms and was developed by the US. Department of Labor. To download the guide, follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/pdf/Testing_and_Assessment_Guide.pdf

=============================
3. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #156 to #160.
=============================

Fact #156
The annual growth rate of the nation's workforce will slow to 0.4 percent by 2010.

Fact #157
The annual growth rate of the nation's workforce was 1.1 during the 1990's.

Fact #158
The annual growth rate of the nation's workforce was 2.6 during the 1970's.

Source: The 21st Century at Work: Forces Shaping the Future Workforce and Workplace in the U.S. (Rand Corporation)

Fact #159
Half of all workers (51 percent) trust their companies to tell them the truth in employee communications.

Source: Towers Perrin

Fact #160
Obesity-related disability claims cost an average of $8,720 per employee each year.

Source: UnumProvident

=============================
4. What Would Happen if You Cut Your Resume Paperwork in Half?
=============================

Introducing Total APS(tm).

What is Total APS(tm)? It is our newest technology - it looks and functions like a private job board. Post your jobs and have your job applicants move through our structured screening process. Critical Rapid Screening Data (RSD) is captured, including resumes and job specific personality testing.

Managers are enabled to compare candidates and make accurate decisions quickly. Test batteries include:

--FirstView, a 15 minute indicator of basic job fit for 15 different job positions.

--CBI, a highly effective 15-minute assessment of honesty, integrity, dependability and tendencies toward aggressiveness and sexual harassment.

--TotalView, the definitive indicator of high performer job fit. This assessment can be benchmarked specifically for any job.

Total APS is available on a pay per-hire basis for 30or 60 days at an unbeatable cost! You can screen 5 people or 50 people all at the same low cost, until you find the right person for the job! For larger organizations or smaller businesses faced with high turnover or seasonal jobs, Total APS is also available for annual unlimited use licenses (based on number of positions and number of employees).

To Learn more about Total APS - Unlimited personality assessments and complimentary Interview Guide through May 31, 2004, follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/employee_applicant_processing_system.htm

=============================
5. What Interview Questions Can You Ask? -- Complimentary Guide Reveals All.
=============================

What Interview Questions Can You Ask? Ever wonder which questions are legal to ask and which ones increase your probability of landing you and your company in court as a defendant?

Download Our Interview Guide here.
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/pdf/what_interview_questions_can_you_ask.pdf

=============================
6. FirstView Job Fit Indicator: Quick, Easy and Cost Effective.
=============================

FirstView Job Fit Indicator is the newest generation of pre-employment personality tests which includes an optional cognitive section. FirstView requires only 15 minutes to complete and reports are available immediately. FirstView is the perfect solution to screen large candidate groups for 15 entry level positions in retail sales, hospitality, persuasive sales, administrative positions, drivers, IT positions, telemarketing, customer service, drivers, health care and more.

Each report includes job specific interview questions. FirstView evaluates a candidate's preferences in the following areas:

--Rules - consistency, ability to deal with change, need for structure, ability to follow rules and policies
--Extroversion - need to work with others, communication of enthusiasm, ability to talk or listen
--Assertiveness - decision making, selling and closing abilities, ability to handle confrontation, willingness to take direction from others
--Teaming - teamwork, collaboration with others, competitiveness
--Sensitivity - emotional stability, handling of criticism and feedback, dealing with stress
--Organization - planning, spontaneity, time management attitudes, ability to handle details
--Social Desirability - an internal validity scale to determine if the candidate is being frank with their answers
--Cognitive Ability - an overall aggregate measure of cognitive skills

To learn more about FirstView and to view sample reports, follow this link:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/first_view_jf.htm.

=============================
7. Last Call for Dumb Interview Stories.
=============================

For the last couple of weeks we've asked you to e-mail us the dumbest thing that you have ever heard a candidate tell you during an interview. Last week's response surpassed the previous week's.

This is the last week that we will be collecting your experiences of the dumbest thing you've ever been told during an interview. You can send your stories to interview@chrysaliscorporation.com.

Based on an interoffice vote, we will select the most usual experience out of all those submitted, and that company will be awarded with an assessment package valued at $150. If you have already sent in a response, you do not have to resubmit it -- we've kept a record of each submission and who sent it in. The deadline for submitting your story is Tuesday, June 8, 2004 at 12:00 Noon Eastern Standard Time.

The winning entry will be published in this newsletter, however the person and company submitting the experience will remain anonymous -- so feel free to tell all.

Please only one entry per person, and you are on the honor system to submit an experience that actually happened -- not a fabricated one. Remember, we are looking for the dumbest thing you ever heard a candidate tell you during an interview. E-mail your entry to: interview@chrysaliscorporation.com.

=============================
8. Work Wisdom
=============================

--Ulcers are contagious. You get them from your boss. (Unknown)
--According to the latest statistics, there are eight million Americans who aren't --working. And there are even more if count those with jobs. (Unknown)
--The best time to think about your retirement is before your boss does. (Unknown)
--Stick to your job until one of you is through. (Unknown)
--Some workers are trying to make both weekends meet. (Unknown)

=============================
9. Have you missed an issue of The Total View? Read back issues online
=============================

Visit the link below to view back issues of The Total View on our web site. Feel free to share our back issues with your colleagues and staff. A wealth of information on employee selection, assessments, coaching and development, plus much more is contained in previous issues of our newsletter. Check out the archive here:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/totalview_backissues.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contact Information:

Tbe Chrysalis Corporation
2001 Hammock Drive
Valdosta, GA 31602
229-257-0665

e-mail: mike@chrysaliscorporation.com

To learn more about The Chrysalis Corporation, visit:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com